Tipton County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
Tipton County was named for Jacob Tipton, 18th-century soldier. The county is located in the southwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Tipton County Courthouse 100 Court Square P.O. Box 528 Covington, TN 38019 County Courthouse Phone: 901-475-3320 County Register of Deeds Phone: 901-476-0204

Tipton County Clerk Marriage, probate and court records P.O. Box 528 220 Hwy. 51 N., Suite 2 Covington, TN 38019 County Clerk Phone: 901-476-0207

County Clerk has marriage records from 1840. General Sessions Court has divorce records from 1823 and court records. Clerk Chancery Court has probate records from 1823. 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:

History Timeline
Additional Information West Tennessee county.

The county was named after "Jacob Tipton, father of Armistead Blevins, who supervised the organization of Shelby County; Tipton was killed by Native Americans in 1791 in a conflict over the Northwest Territory."

Biographies
All of the family biographies from the History of Tipton County, Tennessee (1886) by Goodspeed are availableonline at My Genealogy Hound.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. 2006. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. . Online at MyHeritage ($). Includes Tipton County.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census Records
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 Tipton County federal population schedules 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.

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

1840 Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Tennessee, Western District, Tipton County on page 159.

1850


 * Carpenter, Mrs. V.K. Seventh census of the United States, 1850, Tipton County, Tennessee,population schedules Searcy, Arkansas L.E. Presley, 1979

1860


 * Felldin, Jeanne Robey and Tucker, Charlotte Magee. 1860 United States census, Tipton County, Tennessee, surname index. Tomball, Texas Genealogical Publications, c1976

1880


 * Sistler, Byron H. and Samuel D. 1880 census, Tipton County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee B. Sistler and Associates, 1992

1891 Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry $

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
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. Online searchable index at TSLA.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American The Runaway Slave Blog is an online resource where runaway slaves listed in pre-1865 West Tennessee newspapers are identified. Some of the runaway ads appeared in Tipton County newspapers.

Genealogies
General


 * Hayes, Sallie. Tipton County, Tennessee Family Histories &amp; Cemetery Records. n.p.: S. Hayes, 199-. . Includes information about surnames: Ruffin, Craddock, Hyde, Sasser and Sherman.
 * Matthews, Paul A. Early Families of the Memphis Area: Profiles of 135 Families of Fayette, Shelby and Tipton Counties in Tennessee, Crittenden County, Arkansas and DeSoto and Marshall Counties in Mississippi: With Historical Time Lines and Photographs of Those Counties. Memphis, Tennessee: Descendants of Early Settlers of Shelby and Adjoining Counties, 2008..

Bibliography


 * Baskerville - Baskerville, P. Hamilton (Patrick Hamilton), 1848-1925. Baskerville Family. Richmond W.M. Ellis Jones' Sons, Inc. 1912. Free digital copy.
 * Bird - Embry, Iola. Bird History. Typescript..
 * Cox - Bush, Lorena W. They followed the sun: some ancestors and descendants of Zachary Taylor Cox and Elizabeth Jane Hitt. Unknown: unknown, 1979. Available at ; ; digital version at Ancestry ($); Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Cullum - Cullum, David and Ed Cullum. Cullums Synonymous: The Descendants of Reverend Marcus Hiram Collum and Elizabeth Jane Davis (North Carolina--Tennessee--Texas). Dallas, Texas: Cullums Synonymous, 1984..
 * Cullum - Cullum, David and Ed Cullum. Cullums Synonymous [Newsletter]: A Cullum Family Newsletter. Dallas, Texas: Cullums Synonymous, 1984-1994..
 * McCain- Lynn, E. Elizabeth. McCain Family Members: From the Waxhaws, Tipton County, Tennessee, and Elsewhere. Montreat, North Carolina: E.E. Lynn, 1984..
 * Mitchell - Goggans, Helen Mitchell, Mavis P. Kelsey and Billie Mitchell Langford. The Mitchell Family of Tipton County, Tennessee: Their Antecedents in Colonial Southside Virginia Including Jones and Bishop and Their Numerous Descendents. Kingsland, Arkansas: H.M. Goggans, A. Mitchell, &amp; B.M. Langford, 1990..
 * Pace - Pace, William Carroll and Doris Pace Resner. Pace's, Smith's, Baucom's. 2 vols. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: W.C. Pace, [1990?]. ff.
 * Pullen - Archibald Pullen Family Bible Records, 1777-1851 and Pedigree Chart, 1762-1923..
 * Trobaugh - Kennedy, Chester C. Konawa, I.T.: Two Pioneer Families, Hammons and Trobaugh. Konawa, Oklahoma: C.C. Kennedy, 1993..
 * Wood - Wood, McFarland W. Descendants of Josiah Wood through his son David Wood, Albermarle County, Virginia. [microform]. Hopkinsville, KY: Unknown, 1947. Digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($). One branch of the family went to Tipton County.

Land and Property Records

 * Tipton County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1824 and is located at the Courthouse, P.O. Box 528, Covington, Tennessee 38019-0528; Telephone: 901-476-0204.Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
 * The FamilySearch Library has microfilmed copies of deed records 1824-1896 with indexes 1824-1900; land entry books 1820-1870; and land surveys 1821-1903. Catalog

Local Histories

 * Old Times in West Tennessee: Reminiscences, Semi-historic, of Pioneer Life and the Early Emigrant Settlers in the Big Hatchie Country. By Joseph S. Williams. Memphis, Tenn.: W.G. Cheeney, 1873.  Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * Map of 1888 Tipton County, Tennessee with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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


 * Tennesseeans in the Revolutionary War: Tipton County

Additional resources include:


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Tennessee, Western District, Tipton County on page 159.
 * 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 at 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. 8, No. 3 (Jul. 1961):95-98. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Tipton County pensioners (p. 97).

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  (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry  (free)
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1891-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Heavy Artillery (Jackson's) - CSA - Company C
 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Neely's) - CSA - Company I.
 * 7th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Duckworth's) - CSA - Companies B and K.
 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company C.
 * 12th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Green's) - CSA - Companies C and G.
 * 15th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - CSA - Companies I and K.
 * 16th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Logwood's) - CSA - Company I.
 * 51st Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA- Companies G and H.
 * 51st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies A, G, and K.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Tipton County:


 * Lynn, H.M. H.M. Lynn Papers, 1858-1882. Southern Historical Collection, Manuscripts Dept., Wilson Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Free digital copy. 9th Tennessee Regiment, Company C.
 * Genealogy Trails, Tipton County Tennessee Military.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Tipton 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. Tipton County, page 379.
 * TNGenWeb, Tipton County Civil War Archives Index.

Newspapers
Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 Tipton County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Covington
 * Munford
 * Randolph


 * 1794-1851 Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..
 * 1847-1851 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. (Largely Methodist?)

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;
 * Family Findings: Quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society. For tables of contents and online access to issues, see TNGenWeb Project. Also try this specialized Google search..
 * Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
 * Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
 * Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
 * Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)


 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers: Occasional publication of the West Tennessee Historical Society. . To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

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

Online Records and Indexes
 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry  $
 * 1824-1918  Tipton County portion of  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.
 * 1824-1867; 1843-1859; 1865-1884; 1882-1918 Probate Records - Images of Wills 1822-1827;1827-1832;1832-1834;1834-1838;1838-1841;1842-1845 at Southeastern Genealogy $

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1824-1861 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.

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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1836 Douthat, James L. 1836 Tipton County, Tennessee, Civil Districts and Tax List. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2001. ; online: index and purchase details.
 * 1837 Davis, Bettie Brandon. "1836 Map of Tipton County, Tennessee" and "Tipton County, Tennessee 1837 Tax List," Ansearchin' News. Vol. 40, No. 3 (Fall 1993):103-108; Vol. 40, No. 4 (Winter 1993):175-176. For possible FS Library and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * 1837 Tax List, 1837. Tennessee Genealogy and History, Vol. 4, No. 2 (2000).
 * 1837-1838 Tipton County, Tennessee, Tax Rolls 1837-1838. Buffalo, Texas: Four Scribes, 1987..

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 - 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
 * 1840-1895 - Tipton County Marriage Index 1840-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1851-1900 Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry $
 * 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1840-1874 Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols.  ff. Indexes names of brides,,grooms, marriage or marriage bond dates for this county for specified years.
 * 1840-1860 Marriage records, 1840-1860, Tipton County, Tennessee FS Library US/CAN Film 24841item 1.

Death

 * 1823-1852 Hays, Tony. West Tennessee Death Records (ca. 1823-1852). 2 vols. n.p.: Kitchen Table Press, 1987. . Tipton County is included in Vol. 1
 * 1874-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1933 Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1908-1958 Tennessee Death Records 1908-1958 at Ancestry $
 * 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 Online Titles
 * 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
 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FamilySearch Books Online

FamilySearch Centers

 * Frayser Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Jackson Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Memphis Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Memphis Tennessee Spanish FamilySearch Center
 * Bolivar-Hardeman County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Chester County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Germantown Regional Hist & Genealogy Center - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Munford Memorial Public Library 1476 Munford Avenue Munford, TN 38058 Phone: 901-837-2665 Email: [mailto:munford@bigriver.net munford@bigriver.net] Website Tipton County Public Library 300 W Church St. Covington, TN 38019 Phone: 901-476-8289 Email: [mailto:tiptonpl@covingtontn.com tiptonpl@covingtontn.com] Website Cemetery Records, Military Rosters, Marriage Records, Census Indexes, Local Histories, Newspapers including Covington Leader, Commercial Appeal, Randolph Recorder, Deeds, Court Minutes, Birth and Death Indexes, Bible Records, Tax Records, Probate Records, etc. West Tennessee Heritage Study Center Paul Meek Library 10 Wayne Fisher Dr. Martin, TN 38238 Phone: 731-881-7065 Website Holds a variety of genealogical resources including materials relating to the following counties in Tennessee: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Stewart, Tipton, Wayne, Weakley and Carlisle (KY), Fulton (KY), and Hickman (KY) counties in Kentucky.

Websites

 * Tipton County, TN Genealogy and History (American History and Genealogy Project)
 * Tipton County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Tipton County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Tipton County TN Genealogy  (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * – 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.

Research Guides
Use theSearch for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Tipton County biography, tax, 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.


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