Decatur County, Tennessee Genealogy

Guide to Decatur County, Tennessee ancestry, family history and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records. 

Description
The County was named for Stephen Decatur, Jr., who gained national recognition in the First Barbary War, the Second Barbary War, and the War of 1812 by his leadership and achievements at sea. The County is located in the west central area of the state.

Decatur County Tennessee Courthouse
Decatur County Courthouse PO Box 488; Decaturville, TN 38329-0488 Phone: 731.852.3417 County Clerk has marriage records from 1869. Register of Deeds has land records.

Decatur County Courthouse P.O. Box 488 Decaturville, TN 38329-0488 Phone: 1-731-852-3417

Decatur County Clerk Marriage records Phone: 1-731-852-3417

Decatur County Register of Deeds Land records Phone: 1-731-852-3712

Circuit Court Clerk Court records Phone: 1-731-852-3125

Hours: Mon.-Tues. and Thurs.-Fri.8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wed. and Sat. 8 a.m.-noon

Decatur County Tennessee History
West Tennessee county.

The county is named after U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur (1779-1820).

Parent County
1845--Decatur County was created November 1845 from Perry County. County seat: Decaturville

County Pronunciation

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

Boundary Changes
[For animated maps illustrating Tennessee county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1869 and 1927 Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.


 * Marriages lost 1845 to 1869
 * Probate lost 1845 to 1869
 * Nearly all records, except deeds, lost in 1869 fire.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Counties

 * Benton
 * Carroll
 * Hardin
 * Henderson
 * Perry
 * Wayne

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Decatur County biography and cemetery 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: Decatur 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

Census
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Decatur 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 Decatur County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®

Church
Church records include baptisms, marriages and burials, as well as information about family members and clues about family migration. For additional information about church records, religions, and religious archives in Tennessee, see Tennessee Church Records.


 * Decatur County Church Records


 * - FamilySearch Catalog -


 * Church histories tell when a church started in the area, who the early members were, give data about church leaders, etc.


 * If the records you need are not found in the Family History Library collection, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived. Two sites that give information about churches in Bedford County are:


 * - List of Decatur County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)
 * - List of Decatur County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)


 * In 1936, a helpful guide to early Decatur County church records (Guide to Church Vital Statistics in Tennessee, also ) was published by the Works Project Administration. Use this guide to locate which church records exist and where they were housed in 1936. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has filmed some of these records. To locate which records are available at the TSLA, go to the appropriate "county fact sheet" on the TSLA Web site and scroll down to "selected manuscript material". All filmed church records at the TSLA for Decatur County are listed. Many of these filmed records are also available at the Family History Library.

Genealogies
More than a dozen genealogies have been published about Decatur County, Tennessee families. For more information visit Decatur County, Tennessee Compiled Genealogies.

Land
Decatur County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1846 and is located at 22 West Main Street, Decaturville, Tennessee 38329, or P.O. Box 488, Decaturville, TN 38329-0488; Telephone: 731-852-3712. Land and property records may include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries. The Family History Library has microfilmed deed records 1846-1896 with indexes to 1926 and survey books 1891-1918.

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.

Maps

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

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 Decatur County pensioners (p. 43).

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1891 - 1965 - at FamilySearch — images
 * Civil War Research Database ($)
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Regiments. Civil War service men from Decatur 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 Decatur County:

Confederate Soldiers


 * 10th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (DeMoss') - CSA - Company C.
 * 27th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company E.
 * 31st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (A. H. Bradford's) - CSA - Company H.
 * 51st Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, Companies A and E.
 * 52nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company A, D, and I.
 * Cox's Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry, Company C

Union Soldiers


 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Companies C, D, and E.
 * 6th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies G and H.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Decatur County:


 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Decatur County. Index 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). Online at Internet Archive. Decatur County, page 331.

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 Decatur County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Decaturville
 * Parsons

Obituaries

 * USGenWeb Archives

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. . Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Decatur County.

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
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Decatur 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

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Decatur County, Tennessee records have been published in Family Findings, the quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society (42+ vols.). The Family History Library has most issues of this quarterly. Tables of contents for some volumes are available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb Project:
 * Family Findings
 * Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
 * Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
 * Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
 * Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)

Many articles from this publication have been reproduced on the TNGenWeb Project website, try this specialized Google search.
 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers
 * Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 . The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Prisons
Learn if your Decatur County, Tennessee Genealogy ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870

Probate Records
The County Court has responsibility for the probate records of Decatur County.

Online Records


 * 1779 – 2008 - Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)


 * Wills, 1869-1927 (Vol. 1)
 * Bonds, 1869-1975
 * Bonds, Letters, 1869-1930 (3 vols.)
 * Insolvent estate records, 1869-1941
 * Inventories, 1869-1905
 * Settlements, 1869-1913 (4 vols.)

Taxation
The original Decatur County Tax Books 1888-1889, 1896-1898 are kept at the County Courthouse. In the 1970s, the TSLA microfilmed these records. FHL copies:.

The following Decatur County tax records have been abstracted:


 * 1848 - "1849 Land Sales Held in 3 West Tennessee Counties for Unpaid Taxes," [1848 taxpayers in Decatur, Carroll, and Henderson counties], Ansearchin' News, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Winter 1997):12. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * 1852 - 1882 - Hill, Phyllis. "Decatur County, TN - Misc - Tax Receipts of W.G. Riggs," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives. Abstracts of receipts Riggs received for paying his taxes, various years between 1852 and 1882.
 * 1888 - Hill, Phyllis. "Decatur County, TN - Land - Property Tax Records, District 12, 1888," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * 1889 - Hill, Phyllis. "Decatur County, TN - Land - Property Tax Records, District 12, 1889," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * 1896 - Hill, Phyllis. "Decatur County, TN - Land - Property Tax Records, District 12, 1896," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.

Vital Records
See also How to order Tennessee Vital Records or order electronically online.

Birth

 * 1828 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1850 - Porch, Deane Decatur County, Tennessee, 1850 census Nashville, Tennessee: D. Porch, 1970.
 * 1869 - 1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry.com — index and images. ($)
 * 1880 - Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara 1880 Census, Decatur County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : B. Sistler and Associates, c1993.
 * 1881 - 1903 - Decatur County Birth Index 1881-1903 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1908 - 1912 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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


 * 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1794 - 1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..

The following Tennessee marriage records have been indexed:


 * 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1780 - 2002 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1790 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images
 * 1796 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1838 - 1888 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1851 - 1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com— index and images $

The following Decatur County Courthouse marriage records have been indexed:


 * 1869 - 1895 - Decatur County Marriage Index 1869-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1869 - 1898 - Historical Records Project Marriage records, 1869-1898, Decatur County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939.
 * 1869 - 1921, 1927-1992 - Alexander, Fred and Margie Early marriage records of Decatur County, Tennessee Decaturville, Tennessee: F. Alexander, (1987?). This book covered all recorded marriages from 1869 to 1921. A fire on March 25, 1927 destroyed all records between March 23, 1921 and March 25, 1927. The book then begins with the records following the fire and continues through the year 1992.
 * 1869 - 1921, 1927 - 1959 - Decatur County (Tennessee) County Court Clerk Marriages (Decatur County, Tennessee), 1869-1921, 1927-1959 Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives and History, 197?-1988.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Decatur County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, see:


 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.

Death

 * 1874 - 1955 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1908 - 1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1914 - 1966 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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


 * 1847 - 1914 - 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.

Decatur County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries
See also a List of Tennessee Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Decatur County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

 * The Decatur County Obituary Project
 * Decatur County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Decatur County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Decatur County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Decatur County Archives, USGenWeb Archives
 * (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Mailing List: TNDECATU-L (Decatur County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Yesterday's Tennessee