Fentress County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for James Fentress (1763-1843), who served as speaker of the statehouse, chairman of Montgomery County Court. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Fentress County Courthouse 101 S Main Street Jamestown, TN 38556 Fentress County Courthouse Phone: 931-879-8615 County Clerk Phone: 931-879-8014 Register of Deeds Phone: 931-879-7818 Circuit Court Clerk Phone: 931-879-7919

County clerk has marriage records from 1905 Register of deeds has land records

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:

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.

Census Records
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Fentress 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.

1810-1891


 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry ($)

Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry ($)

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

1830


 * Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969..
 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enumeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.

1833


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enunmeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.

1840


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enunmeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.

1840 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, Middle District, Fentress County on page 155.

1850


 * Carpenter, V.K.Seventh Census of the United States, 1850, Fentress County, Tennessee. Huntsville, Arkansas: Century Enterprises, Genealogical Service, 1969.
 * Hatfield, Wanda S. Early Records, Fentress County, Tennessee: 1830, 1840, 1850 Census; 1833 Enunmeration. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988.
 * Peden, Eva C. 1850 Census of Fentress County, Tennessee.Glasgow, Kentucky, Gorin Genealogical Publishing, 1992.
 * Robbins, Kathleen W.1850 Fentress County Census. Huntsville, Tennessee: Scott County Historical Society, 19-?.

1860


 * Robbins, Kathleen W.1860 Fentress County Census. Huntsville, Tennessee: Scott County Historical Society, 198-?.

1870


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1870 Federal Census Fentress County, Tennessee. Pall Mall, Tennessee: W.S. Hatfield, 1992.

1880


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1880 Federal Census Fentress County, Tennessee. S.I.:s.n., 1986?
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census Fentress County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler and Associates, 1993.

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. . Fentress County is included in Vol. 5.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978..

1900


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1900 Federal Census of Fentress County, Tennessee. Pall Mall, Tennessee: W.S. Hatfield, 1991
 * Minton, Vestina L.Fentress County Census, Tennessee,1900.Harrogate, Tennessee: T. and V. Minton, 1990.

1910


 * Hatfield, Wanda S. 1910 Federal Census of Fentress County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1989

1920


 * Ramsey, Gerald R.1920 Census of Fentress County, Tennessee.Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1994.

Court Records
Court records began in 1842

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.

Genealogies
More than 15 genealogies have been published about Bledsoe County, Tennessee families. For more information visit Fentress County, Tennessee Compiled Genealogies.

This Personal Ancestral File database contains genealogies of nearly every family to live in Fentress County from its foundation. (Info file):


 * York, Bruce E. Fentress County, Tennessee Genealogy Database. Gilbert, Arizona: B.E. York, 2006..
 * Updated version: York's Fentress Co, TN Database.

Land and Property Records
Fentress County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1820 and is located at Courthouse, Main St., Jamestown, TN 38556; (931) 879-8615. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries. Online Records and Indexes
 * 1820-1838 Deed Book A: 1820-1838 Strictly By Name - Index only
 * 1837-1843 Deed Book B: 1837-1843 Strictly By Name - Index only

Local Histories

 * Hogue, Albert Ross. History of Fentress County, Tennessee: The Old Home of Mark Twain's Ancestors. Nashville, Tenn.: Press of Williams Printing Co., 1916. Digital version at Google Books. 1975 reprint:.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

Military Records
Revolutionary War The following Fentress County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * Select Revolutionary War Pension Applications

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, Middle District, Fentress County on page 155.]
 * 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.

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 Fentress County pensioners (p. 44)]
 * Transcription typed and formatted by Harold Keisling. Third? Regiment Tennessee Militia, Capt. Wiley Huddelston's CompanyRaised from men who were from Overton, Pickett and Fentress County, Tennessee. Courtesy: TNGenWeb

Civil War

Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1891-1965 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Research Database
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Confederate)- CSA - Company I.
 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Murray's) - CSA - Company F.
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Smith's) - CSA - Company I.
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company F.

Union Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Company D.
 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - Companies B and D.
 * Beaty's Company, Tennessee Independent Mounted Scouts - Organized in Fentress County.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Fentress County: 


 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Fentress 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. Fentress County, page 333.
 * 1890 Census for Pickett, Fentress, and Clay Counties. Here is a listing of all Union Civil War veterans and their wives. It lists name, rank, company, town they lived in, any ailments, and county.
 * Fentress County Tennessee Civil War Heroes.

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 Fentress County click on the following cities:

For deaths of Methodists in Fentress County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:
 * Allardt
 * Jamestown
 * 1794-1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..


 * 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.

Prisons

 * 1831-1850 - Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850 at Tennessee State Library and Archives
 * 1851-1870 - Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870 at Tennessee State Library and Archives

Periodicals

 * Ansearchin' News: Quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. For a keyword search, go to the county index. Read previous issues on their website;
 * Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter: Publication of the Fentress County Historical Society.
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History: Quarterly magazine of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. For surnames, use the volume-by-volume index, or do a keyword search of the Article Index..
 * Overton County, Tennessee Kin: Publication of the Overton County Genealogical Society, covering all the area in Overton, Fentress, and Pickett County, TN along with Monterey in Putnam County, and Clinton, Wayne and Cumberland County in Kentucky. FHL US/CAN
 * The Pellissippian: Published by the Anderson County Historical Society (formerly called, Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society). The table of contents for some issues are available on their website..

Probate Records
The Fentress County Court has responsibility for the probate records, which began in 1905.

Online Records and Indexes


 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.


 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1833 - Barham, Eleanor R. and Elizabeth R. Nichols. "1833 Enumeration, Fentress County, Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Spring 1980):9-12. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Fentress. (600 names)
 * 1833 York, Bruce. "1833 Fentress County Tax List," available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
 * 1865 Tax List, 1865, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Fall 1992. Vol. 4 Iss. 3.
 * 1872 Tax Books, 1872, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Summer 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 2; Fall 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 3; Winter 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 4; Spring 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 1; Summer 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 2; Fall 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 3; Winter 1990. Vol. 2 Iss. 4; Spring 1991. Vol. 3 Iss. 1.
 * 1872 Hatfield, Wanda S. 1872 Tax Records, Fentress County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tennessee Mountain Press, 1991. ; online: index and purchase details.
 * 1875 Dog Tax, 1875, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Spring 1992. Vol. 4 Iss. 1.
 * 1892 Tax Book, 1892, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Spring 1989. Vol. 1 Iss. 1.
 * 1892 Delinquent Tax List, 1892, Fentress County Historical Society Newsletter. Jamestown TN: Fall 1992. Vol. 4 Iss. 3.

Birth

 * 1828-1939 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1869-1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1912 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Marriage
Online Indexes and Records
 * 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1780-2002 - Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1780-2002 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1790-1962 - [1790-1962] - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection. Covers all counties in Tennessee.
 * 1796-1950 - (Indexes only) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1838-1888 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1980-2014 - Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Death

 * 1869-1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1874-1955 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1933 - Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1908-1912 - Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1933 - Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1966 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1949-2014 - Death Records Index 1949-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Divorce
Online Records
 * 1796 - 1850 - Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1980-2014 - Divorce Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Family History Centers

 * Jamestown Tennessee Family History Center

Libraries
Fentress County Public Library 306 South Main St. Jamestown, TN 38556 931-879-7512 Fax: 931-879-6984 E-mail: fcpublib@txlakes.net Facebook Website
 * Genealogy Reference Material available.

Societies

 * Fentress County Historical Society PO Box 1431 Jamestown, TN 38556 (931) 879-4333 Email: [mailto:fentresshistory@gmail.com fentresshistory@gmail.com] Facebook


 * Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. PO Box 575 Cookeville, TN 38503-0575 Email: [mailto:info@ucga.info info@ucga.info] Website

Websites

 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.
 * Fentress County TN Genealogy
 * Fentress County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Fentress County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)

Research Guides

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