Lewis County, Tennessee Genealogy

Lewis County, Tennessee ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Guide to Lewis County (established 1843) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Tennessee Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for explorer Meriwether Lewis, who died and was buried at Grinder's Stand near Hohenwald in 1809. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lewis County Courthouse 110 N Park Street Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 931.796.3734 County Clerk has marriage records from 1881, probate and court records. Clerk Circuit Court has divorce records; Register of Deeds has land records.

Lewis County Clerk Marriage, probate and court records 110 N. Park, Room 105 Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 1-931-796-2200

Lewis County Register of Deeds Land records 110 N. Park, Room 104 Phone: 1-931-796-2255

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

History


Middle Tennessee county. Established 1843.

The county is named after Explorer Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809).

Parent County
1843--Lewis County was created 21 December 1843 from Hickman, Maury, Lawrence, and Wayne Counties. County seat: Hohenwald

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

 * Lost marriage records: 1844 to November 1847
 * Lost probate records: 1844 to 1845

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:

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Lewis County biography and WPA 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: Lewis 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
Additional Cemetery Resources


 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Lewis 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 Lewis 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 $

1850


 * Lightfoot, Marise P. and Evelyn B. Shackelford. Maury County Neighbors : Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee.Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee : s.n., 1967.

1880


 * Sistler, Byron. 1880 Census Lewis County, Tennessee.Nashville, Tennessee : Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1998.

1890 Lost

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. . Lewis County is included in Vol. 8.
 * 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 $

Church of Christ

 * 1871-1894 - Union Church of Christ Baptism Index 1871-1894. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Genealogy
As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Lewis (County), Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 7,000 entries.


 * Lewis County Historical Society. History and Families, Lewis County, Tennessee. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 1995..

Land

 * Lewis County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1844 and is located at the county Courthouse, 110 N Park St., Hohenwald, TN 38462; Telephone: (931) 796-2200. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
 * The Family History Library has microfilm copies of deeds 1844-1905 with indexes 1844-1926; land entries and surveys 1827-1883.

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. 4 (Oct. 1960):90-93. ; digital version at journal website. Includes Lewis County pensioners (p. 93).

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 Lewis 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 Lewis County:

Confederate Soldiers


 * 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Clack's) - CSA - Company K.
 * 19th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Biffle's) - CSA - Company H.
 * 48th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Voorhies') - CSA - Company C.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Lewis County:


 * Lewis County, Tennessee 1890 Civil War Veterans Census. All spelling is recorded as it was written, contributed by: Reita Jones Burress 2004.
 * TNGenWeb, Lewis County The Civil War Page. Confederate Roll of Honor: Lewis County, Lewis County Confederate Pension Applications, Roster of Company C, Clack's 3rd Infantry Regiment.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Lewis 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. Lewis County, page 357.

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 Lewis County click on the following city:


 * Hohenwald

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. . Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Lewis 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 Lewis 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
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Giles County, Tennessee have been published in The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, the quarterly of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society (23+ Vols.). To view a list of these articles, visit their online Index to Articles (1988-2005). Surname indexes are also available online for Vols. 2-22. The website also offers back issues for sale in paper and on CD. The Family History Library has a complete collection of this quarterly.
 * The River Counties
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Lewis County, Tennessee records were published in The River Counties Quarterly, (14 vols.) edited by Jill K. Garrett. The Family History Library has a complete collection

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

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


 * Wills, 1846-1931
 * Inventories, Settlements, 1846-1926

The following Lewis County probate records have been abstracted, indexed, or both:


 * 1844 - 1900 - Lightfoot, Marise P. and Evelyn B. Shackelford. Maury County Neighbors: Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee. Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee: [N.p.], 1967. Indexed. Includes these Lewis County records: cemeteries, marriages, historical sketch, abstracts of wills and settlements 1844-1900, and 1850 census. (FHL book 976.8 V22Ls.)
 * 1842 - 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.
 * 1846 - 1936 - Coleman, Brenda Willis. Tennessee, Lewis County Court Clerk Wills, Nov 1846-1936. Atoka, Tenn.: B.W. Coleman, 199-?..

Taxation
The following Lewis County tax lists have been abstracted:


 * 1854 - Tax List, 1854, River Counties, Vol. 12, Nos. 1-4 (1983).
 * 1887 - Tax List, 1887, River Counties, Vol. 9, Nos. 1-4 (1980).
 * 1917 - Tax List, 1917, River Counties, Vol. 10, Nos. 1-4 (1981); Vol. 12, Nos. 1-4 (1983).

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

Birth

 * 1828 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index


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


 * 1908 - 1912 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage
The original Lewis County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Marriages from 1844-Nov 1847 are lost. 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 Lewis County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * 1847 - 1992 - Available at the TSLA. Marriages 1847-1920 are available for interlibrary loan.
 * 1847 - 1956 - Available at the Family History Library. Indexes at the front of each volume.

The following Lewis County marriage records have been indexed:


 * 1844 - 1880 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1988. ff. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.


 * 1847 - 1895 - Lewis County Marriage Index 1847-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * Lightfoot, Marise P. and Evelyn B. Shackelford. Maury County Neighbors: Records of Giles, Lewis and Marshall Counties, Tennessee. Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee: [s.n.], 1967.


 * 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 $

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 Lewis County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try searching the following records:


 * 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
See also a List of Tennessee Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies


 * Lewis County Historical Society PO Box 703 Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 1-931-796-3505


 * Meriwether Lewis Chapter Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation P.O. Box 145 Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 1-931-796-5365 or 1-931-796-5654 E-mail: pchoate@tfbol.com or chapter@meriwetherlewis.net


 * Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Lewis County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005


 * Lewis County Public Library 15 Kyle Ave. Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 1-931-796-5365

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

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