Claiborne County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Claiborne County East Tennessee county. Established 1801.

Quick Dates
Claiborne County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
Claiborne County Courthouse P.O. Box 173 1740 Main St. Tazewell, TN 37879 Phone: 1-423-626-3283


 * County Clerk has marriage and probate records
 * Register of Deeds has land records
 * Clerk of Circuit Court has court records

Hours: Mon.-Fri.9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 8:30 a.m.-noon

History


The county is named after Governor of Louisiana and Governor of Mississippi Territory William C. C. Claiborne (c1775-1817).

Parent County
1801--Claiborne County was created 29 October 1801 from Grainger and Hawkins Counties. County seat: Tazewell

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken (female)
 * 2) Hear it spoken (male)

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss
1863 and 1931 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.


 * Lost censuses: 1810, 1820, 1890
 * Lack of marriage records: 1801 to 1837
 * Lack of wills: 1801 to1839

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle
 * When the Records are Gone in Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Genealogy Blog

Neighboring Counties

 * Bell County, Kentucky
 * Campbell
 * Grainger
 * Hancock
 * Lee County, Virginia
 * Union
 * Whitley County, Kentucky

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Claiborne County biography, court, land, probate, and tax records. To determine which books are being searched, or to search each publication's index individually, click here. You are now equipped with a checklist of books to pull off the shelves at a genealogy library, or a wish list for your personal book collection.

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Claiborne County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)

African American
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Cemeteries
The Tennessee Cemeteries page provides explanations of the following online resources:

Published Claiborne County cemetery records:

Census
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Claiborne County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Tennessee Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than nationwide online indexes.

See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

See Claiborne County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available:


 * Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001..

1820 - Lost

1820 Manufactures

The original manufactures schedules for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee are kept at the National Archives, Washington, D.C. FHL copies:.

The following book is a useful aid for finding the original records. A free online index, provided by Lineages, which cites the original document numbers, will help researchers determine if this resource can be of assistance:


 * National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. ; indexed at Lineages. [Covers this county.]

These records have also been abstracted:


 * 1820 Census of Manufactures: Claiborne County, East Tennessee Roots, Vol. 7, No. 1 :34. For availability, see Periodicals.

1830


 * Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969..

1840


 * Full name index linked to appropriate scanned census image.

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Eastern District, Claiborne County on page 152.]

1850


 * Full name index linked to appropriate scanned census image.

1860


 * Full name index linked to appropriate scanned census image.
 * Bishop, Brenda C. 1860 Census, Claiborne County, Tennessee. Elizabethton, Tenn.: B.C. Bishop, 1985..

1870


 * Minton, Vestina Lewis. Claiborne County People. Harrogate, Tenn.: T. and V. Minton, 1980. . [Includes 1870 Census.]
 * Bishop, Brenda C. 1870 Census Tennessee: Transcription for Claiborne County. Tallahassee, Fla.: B.C. Bishop, 1983..

1880


 * Sistler, Byron and Samuel D. Sistler. 1880 Census Claiborne County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1992..

1900


 * Minton, Vestina Laws. Claiborne County, Tennessee, 1900 (Census). Harrogate, Tenn.: T. and V. Minton, 1989..

Immigration
During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding 4 British aliens, some of whom had families, living in Claiborne County.

Land
The original Claiborne County Deed Books are held at the County Courthouse. TSLA microfilmed Deed Books A to Z2 (1801-1895) and the Index (1801-1910). FHL copies:.


 * Willis, Laura and Betty Sellers. Claiborne County, Tenn. Deeds. Melber, KY: Simmons Historical, 1997-1998. Three volumes. v. 1. 1802-1806 -- v. 2. 1806-1810 -- v. 3. 1803-1808. Available at . Digital version of volume 2 is available at World Vital Records ($). All three volumes available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

Law and Legislation

 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850: Index to Names. January 25, 2005. [In addition to creating new laws, legislative acts were often required to obtain a divorce, grant legitimacy to a child, or for appointments to or grant payments for public service.] The TSLA has created an index to names that appear in these acts covering the years 1796 to 1850. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

 * Holt, Edgar A. and Joy Bailey Dunn. Claiborne County. Memphis, Tenn.: Memphis State University Press, 1981..

Military
Revolutionary War

The following Claiborne County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1) 1835 Pension Roll
 * 2) 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

Additional resources include:


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Eastern District, Claiborne County on page 152.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb. [Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.]
 * Revolutionary War Soldiers List, Pathways, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Mar. 2005).

War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1960):40-45. ; digital version at journal website. [Includes Claiborne County pensioners (p. 40)]

Civil War


 * Civl War Research Database $
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Civil War service men from Claiborne County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Claiborne County.

Confederate Soldiers

 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Carter's) - CSA - Companies F and L.
 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby's) - CSA - Company B and D.
 * 4th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Branner's) - CSA - Company C.
 * 5th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (McClellan's) - CSA - Company C.
 * 29th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company C.
 * 37th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (7th Infantry) (1st East Tennessee Rifles) - CSA - Company B.
 * 61st Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Pitts') (81st Infantry) - CSA - Company H.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Claiborne County:

 * Civil War Veterans Buried in Claiborne County, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Hosted by rootsweb.
 * USGenWeb Archives, Claiborne County Tennessee Archives, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Civil War Claims and Civil War Rosters.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications : Claiborne County, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Includes soldier's name, county, pension #, unit or widow.
 * United States Pension Bureau, List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883: Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for ...(Washington Printing Office; 1883), (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Online at Internet Archive. Claiborne County, page 335-326.

Newspapers
Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at the TSLA. Most of these newspapers may be accessed by interlibrary loan to libraries within Tennessee, although there are some newspapers which are not available in or outside of Tennessee. For further information regarding interlibrary loan policies and newspapers not available for interlibrary loan click here. For a list of newspapers available at the archives for Claiborne County click on the following towns:


 * Cumberland Gap
 * New Tazewell
 * Tazewell

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. . Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Claiborne County.]
 * Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.

Periodicals
Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers who are new to their area would not likely discover. This type of material may be found in local, regional, or statewide genealogical society journals. The following periodicals cover this county:


 * Ansearchin' News
 * Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Claiborne County, Tennessee have been published in Ansearchin' News, the quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. To view a list of these articles, visit their county index. To read digitized versions of the first 36 years of articles (Vols. 1-36), browse their archive or conduct a surname search. The Family History Library has a complete collection of the Ansearchin' News quarterly
 * East Tennessee Roots
 * Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Claiborne County, Tennessee records have been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to these articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots.
 * Reflections
 * The Claiborne County Historical Society was founded in 1982 and publishes a quarterly entitled "Reflections." The Family History Library has current volumes beginning with Volume 5. For further information see website: Claiborne County Historical and Genealogical Society. Reflections is indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).
 * The Pellissippian
 * Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Claiborne County, Tennessee records were published in the The Pellissippian (25 vols., 1980-2004), the quarterly of the Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society. The society has posted tables of contents for all 25 volumes on their website. They also have back issues available for purchase. The Family History Library has acquired the first 20 volumes.
 * Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Claiborne County, Tennessee records have been published in the Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin (39+ vols., 1972-present), the journal of the Watauga Association of Genealogists. The organization has posted tables of contents for most volumes on their website. Back issues are available for purchase. The Family History Library has a complete collection, including Margaret W. Hougland and Betty Jane Hylton's Bulletin Subject Index: The First Thirty Years, 1972-2001 (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Association of Genealogists, 2002).

Prisons
Learn if your Claiborne County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

Probate
Claiborne County's early Will Books have been lost. Surviving records begin in the late 1830s. TSLA microfilmed Claiborne County Wills 1893 to 1932. FHL copy:.

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Claiborne County probate records. They offer a research service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * 1) Inventories and Settlements of Estates, Wills: Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions: 1812-1814

The following Claiborne County probate records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1812-1814] Strictly By Name (see above).
 * [1837-1865] Historical Records Project (W.P.A.). Will Books, 1837-1865, Claiborne County, Tennessee. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed 1939. . [Will Books A to D.]
 * [1837-1846] Claiborne County, Tennessee, Will Book A, 1837-1846. n.p.: Claiborne County Historical Society, 1992..
 * [1839-1861] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1990. . [Includes an index to this county's probate records.] Free Lookups Available!
 * [1844-1865] Fletcher, Virginia Billingsley. Index to the Probate Court Records Claiborne County, Tennessee 1844-1865: Estate Settlements, Wills, Inventories, Sales, Guardian Reports; the Records Copied by the Historical Records Survey Transcritpion Unit as Will Books B, C, D. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: V.B. Fletcher, 1993..
 * [1848-1851] Claiborne County Will Books Vol. 1-1848-1851. Kentucky: Simmons Historical Publications. s.d. Digital version at World Vital Records ($); purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * [1851-1855] Claiborne County Will Books Vol. 2-1851-1855. Kentucky: Simmons Historical Publications. s.d. Digital version at World Vital Records ($); purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * [1855-1865] Claiborne County Will Books Vol. 3-1855-1865. Kentucky: Simmons Historical Publications. s.d. Digital version at World Vital Records ($); purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * [1878-1921] Claiborne County, Tennessee, Bonds and Letters of Administration, December 1878 - August 1921. Kentucky: Simmons Historical Publications. s.d. Digital version at World Vital Records ($); purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

Taxation
The original Claiborne County Tax Books covering the years 1850 to 1900 (gaps) were microfilmed by the TSLA. FHL copy:.

The following Claiborne County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1803] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. &amp; B. Sistler, 1977. [Includes 1803 tax list.]
 * [1803] Curtis, Mary Barnett. Early East Tennessee Tax Lists. Fort Worth, Texas: Arrow Printing Company, 1964. . [Includes 1803 petition.]
 * [1814] "Direct Federal Tax-Delinquent Property Owners Listed for 1814," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 3(Fall 1996):115-120. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. [Includes Claiborne County.]
 * [1817] "U.S. Holds 1817 Public Sale of Federal Tax-Delinquent Properties in Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer 1996):63-68. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. [Includes Claiborne County.]
 * [1836] Douthat, James L. Claiborne County, Tennessee, 1836 Tennessee Civil District and Tax List. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. ; online: free surname index and purchase details.
 * [1839] Lemasters, Paul W. and Claiborne County Historical Society. Claiborne County, Tennessee, 1839 Tax List. n.p.: Claiborne County Historical Society, 199-?..
 * [1857] District No. 10, 1857, Pathways. Maynardville TN: Sep 2002. Vol. 21 Iss. 3.

Transportation

 * Stage Book Belonging to Harman Roberts, Sr., Claiborne Co., Tennessee, 1846-1848. MSS.;.

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in Claiborne County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..

The following Claiborne County Courthouse marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1838-1868] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early East Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1987. . [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.] Free Lookups Available!

Death

 * Wiefering, Edna and Cleveland Public Library. Claiborne County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1914 through 1925. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library, 1993..

For deaths of Methodists in Claiborne County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:


 * Smith, Jonathan K.T. Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths, the Nashville Christian Advocate. [1847-1914] 10 vols. [Jackson, Tenn.]: J.K.T. Smith, 1997-2003. ff; digital versions at David Donahue Memorial: Tennessee Records Repository. [Website expands upon the publications and includes deaths from the 1830s, 1840s, 1910s and 1920s.]

Societies and Libraries
Claiborne County Historical Society P.O. Box 32 Tazewell, TN 37879 Phone: 1-423-526-5737

East Tennessee Historical Society 601 S. Gay St. P.O. Box 1629 Knoxville, TN 37901-1629 Phone: 1-865-215-8824 E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

Barbara Reynolds Carr Memorial Library 1304 Old Knoxville Road Tazewell, TN 37879 Phone: 1-423-626-5414

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Cumberland Gap Tennessee Family History Center (Arthur)

2063 Highway 63 Arthur, Claiborne, TN

Phone: 1-423-869-2481 Hours: By appt These are not mailing addresses. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

 * Claiborne County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Claiborne County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Claiborne County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum
 * Claiborne County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Claiborne County, TN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (MyTennesseeGenealogy)
 * (FamilySearch)
 * Mailing List: TNCLAIBO-L (Claiborne County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: ETN-L (East Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: UPPEREASTTN-L (Upper East Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)