Henderson County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Henderson County





West Tennessee county established in 1821.

County Courthouse


Henderson County Courthouse 17 Monroe Avenue Lexington, Tennessee 38351 Phone: 731-968-2801

County Clerk has marriage and probate records Phone: 731-968-2856

Register of Deeds has land records Phone: 731-968-2941

Circuit Court Clerk has court records Phone: 731-968-2031

Hours: Mon.-Tues. and Thurs.-Fri. 8 am - 4:30 pm Friday 8 am - noon Closed on Wednesdays

History
The county is named after War of 1812 officer James Henderson.

Parent County
1821--Henderson County was created 7 November 1821 from Chickasaw Indian Lands. County seat: Lexington

Record Loss
1896--Fire damaged records

Neighboring Counties

 * Carroll
 * Chester
 * Decatur
 * Hardin
 * Madison

Research Guides

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

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General

Bibliography


 * [Adams] Hampton, Estelline Adams. John Adams, Esquire (III): Ancestors and Descendants. Unknown: unknown, 1976. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 982157 Item 7; digital versions available at Ancestry ($); BYU Family History Archives; and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Conner] See Cravens.
 * [Cravens] Cravens, John Park. Records of the Ancestry of John Park Cravens: The Lines of Direct Lineal Descent and a Summary.  Booneville, AR: Unknown, 1957. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 288184; digital vestion at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Harwell] See Cravens.
 * [Herndon] See Cravens.
 * [Lane] See Cravens.
 * [Rice] See Cravens.

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 Tennessee State Library and Archiveshas 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 Tennessee State Library and Archives; another version is available at World Vital Records.

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 Henderson 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 FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a.

Family Findings

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Henderson 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 FHL US/CAN 976.8 B2f.

Tables of contents for some volumes are available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb Project:


 * 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 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. 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 Henderson County ancestors went to prison!


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

Taxation
The following Henderson County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1824] Unpaid Taxes List, 1824, Ansearchin' News, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Winter 2000). For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1836-1837] West, Betsy F. "Henderson County, Tennessee 1836-1837 Tax Lists," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring 1977):11-14; Vol. 24, No. 2 (Summer 1977):83-87; Vol. 24, No. 3 (Fall 1977):111-114; Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter 1977):159-163. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [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.

Vital Records
Death

For deaths of Methodists in Henderson 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. FHL US/CAN Books 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 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
Henderson County Historical Society PO Box 128 Wildersville, TN 38388

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Henderson County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Henderson County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Henderson County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNHENDER-L (Henderson County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List)