Hancock County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

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

County Courthouse


Hancock County Courthouse PO Box 347 Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 423.733.4341

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1930, land records from 1875 and military records from 1917.

Hancock County Courthouse 1237 Main St. Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 1-423-733-4341

Hancock County Clerk Marriage and Probate records 418 Harrison St. P.O. Box 201 Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 1-423-733-2519

Hancock County Register of Deeds Land records 1237 Main St. P.O. Box 347 Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 1-423-733-4545

Hancock County Circuit Court Clerk Court records 1237 Main St. P.O. Box 347 Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 1-423-733-2954

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

History


East Tennessee county.

The county is named after Founding Father John Hancock (1737-1793).

Parent County
1844--Hancock County was created 7 January 1844 from Hawkins and Claiborne Counties. County seat: Sneedville

County Pronunciation

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

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
1885 and 1930 Fires damaged courthouse records.


 * Lost marriage records: 1844 to 1930
 * Lost probate records: 1844 to 1924

Neighboring Counties

 * Claiborne
 * Grainger
 * Hawkins
 * Lee County, Virginia
 * Scott County, Virginia

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Hancock 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

Biographies

 * Douthat, James L. Hancock County, Tennessee History and Biographies. 1887; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources


 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator
 * Hancock County Cemeteries Free Lookups Available!

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

1810 - 1891


 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

1880


 * Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Hancock County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1996..

1890 - Lost, but substitutes are available:


 * Reed, Sue S. Enumeration of Male Inhabitants of Twenty-one Years of Age and Upward, Citizens of Tennessee, January 1, 1891, as Provided for by an Act of General Assembly of Tennessee, Passed January 15, 1891, and Approved January 22, 1891. 8 vols. Houston, Texas: S.S. Reed, 1989. . Hancock County is included in Vol. 6.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978..

1891 Male Voters 


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

1930


 * Collins, Betty VanOver. Hancock Co., Tennessee Federal Census, 1930. Knoxville, Tenn.: B.J.V. Collins, 2004?..

Church
Baptist


 * DeBoard, George Mitchell et al. Personal Records of a Minister: Rev. George Mitchell DeBoard, Grainger County, Tennessee; Includes Many People from Hancock, Hawkins and Hamblen Counties, Tennessee). Dallas, Texas: H.P. Garner, 2001?..

Family Histories
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

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Hancock, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 25,000 entries.


 * Hancock County Historical and Genealogical Society (Tennessee). Hancock County, Tennessee and Its People. 3 vols. n.p.: Walsworth Pub. Co., 1990-2004. ff.

Bibliography


 * Church - Murray, James Lawrence. Church - Edens Families of Hawkins and Hancock Counties, Tennessee. El Paso, Texas: J.L. Murray, 1960..
 * Eppes - Johnson, Mary Lou Shoemaker. Family of Edward Eppes of Knox County, Tennessee. Fountain City, TN?: Unknown, 1951. Available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Flagg - Descendants of Josiah Flagg of Berkeley County, W. Va.; with Sketches of the Flagg, Keyes, Foss, Shively, Hughes, Slemons and Campbell Ancestries. Boston: Press of T.R. Marvin, 1920. Free digital copy, courtesy: Internet Archive.
 * Goins - Rhea, Johnnie Clyde. Alexander Goins Family of Newman's Ridge, Hancock, Tennessee. Sneedville, Tenn.: J.C. Rhea, 1999..
 * Greene - McNeil, Jack (John Edward, Jr.) The nine Greene sisters of Benton County, Arkansas Parkin, Arkansas : J. McNeil, c1992 . Digital version available at.

Land
The original Hancock County Deed Books are held at the Hancock County Courthouse. The TSLA microfilmed Deed Books J through Q (1879-1902) and the Index (1879-1968) in the 1970s. Copies of their microfilms are also available at the Family History Library:.

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
Hancock County Historical and Genealogical Society (Tennessee) Hancock County, Tennessee and its people United States: Walsworth Pub. Co., c1990-2004 Free lookups available

Maps



 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

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 Hancock 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 Hancock County:

Confederate Soldiers


 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby's) - CSA - Company C.
 * 5th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (McClellan's) - CSA - Company D.
 * 29th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company D.
 * 25th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company I (Lee Rangers later Lee Greys).

Union Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies A and B.
 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies L and M.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Hancock County:


 * Carter, William Randolph. History of the First regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry in the Great war of the Rebellion, with the Armies of the Ohio and Cumberland, under Generals Morgan, Rosecrans, Thomas, Stanley and Wilson. Knoxville, Tennessee: Gaut-Ogden Co. Printers, 1902. Free digital copy. Union.
 * 1890 Census of Union Veterans and their Widows, Hancock County. TN. Extracted by Hallie Price Garner for Our Mountain Heritage.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications:Hancock County. 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. Hancock County, page 342-343.

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 Hancock County click on the following town:


 * Sneedville

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 Hancock 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
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Hancock 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.
 * Our Mountain Heritage
 * Primary emphasis of the quarterly news-letter is on the "publication of local records that are not available elsewhere."(website: www.overhomesneedville.com) Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI). 1989-1994 available at FamilySearch.
 * Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Hancock 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).

Probate Records
Online Records


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

Taxation
The following Hancock County tax lists have been abstracted:


 * 1880 - 1880 Hancock County Tax List, East Tennessee Roots, Vol. 6, No. 1; Vol. 6, No. 2; Vol. 6, No. 3; Vol. 6, No. 4. For access, see Periodicals.
 * 1880 - Tax Records, 1880. Our Mountain Heritage, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Spring 2002); Vol. 14, No. 3 (Summer 2002); Vol. 14, No. 4 (Fall 2002); Vol. 15, No. 1 (Winter 2003); Vol. 15, No. 2 (Spring 2003); Vol. 15, No. 3 (Summer 2003); Vol. 15, No. 4 (Fall 2003); Vol. 16, No. 1 (Winter 2004); Vol. 16, No. 2 (Spring 2004); Vol. 16, No. 3 (Summer 2004); Vol. 16, No. 4 (Fall 2004); Vol. 17, No. 1 (Winter 2005); Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr. 2005); Vol. 18, No. 2 (Apr. 2006).

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

Birth

 * 1828 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1869 - 1909 -bTennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1908 - 1912 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1914 - 1825 - Wiefering, Edna and Cleveland Public Library. Hancock County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1914 through 1925. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library, 199-?..


 * 1874 - 1955 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1908 - 1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1914 - 1955 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images

For deaths of Methodists in Hancock County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try the following resources:


 * 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.

Marriage

 * 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 $

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

Hancock County Tennessee Historical &amp; Genealogical Society P O Box 307 Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 1-423-733-0140 or 1-423-733-4541

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

Hancock County Public Library 138 Willow St. Sneedville, TN 37869 Phone: 1-423-733-2020 Hours: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. The Hancock Public Library has a genealogy and local history section.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Hancock County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Hancock County TN Genealogy
 * Hancock County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNHANCOC-L (Hancock 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)