Lauderdale County, Tennessee Genealogy

Guide to Lauderdale County, Tennessee ancestry, family history and 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.

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

County Courthouse
Lauderdale County Courthouse County Courthouse; Ripley, TN 38063 Phone: 731.635.2561 County Clerk has marriage records from 1838 and probate records. Clerk Chancery CourtCourt has divorce records. General Sessions Court has court records. Register of Deeds has land records.

Lauderdale County Courthouse 100 Court Square Ripley, TN 38063 Phone: 1-901-635-2561


 * County Clerk has marriage and probate records Phone: 1-731-635-2561
 * Circuit Court Clerk has court records Phone: 1-731-635-0101
 * Register of Deeds has land records Phone: 1-731-635-2171

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

History
West Tennessee county. Established 1835.

The county was named after "James Lauderdale, who was killed in the War of 1812."

Parent County
1835--Lauderdale County was created 24 November 1835 from Tipton, Haywood, and Dyer Counties. County seat: Ripley

County Pronunciation

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

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
1869  Fire damaged courthouse records.


 * Lack of marriage records: 1835 to 1837

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Lauderdale County biography, court, and marriage 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: Lauderdale 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
All of the family biographies from the History of Lauderdale County, Tennessee (1886) by Goodspeed are available free online at My Genealogy Hound.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources


 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census
1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale 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 $

1840


 * Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, 1840 Census, 1850 Census, and 1850 Mortality Schedule. Memphis, Tenn.: B.B. Davis, 1983..

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, Western District, Lauderdale County on page 159.

1850


 * Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, 1840 Census, 1850 Census, and 1850 Mortality Schedule. Memphis, Tenn.: B.B. Davis, 1983. 

1850 Mortality Schedule


 * Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, 1840 Census, 1850 Census, and 1850 Mortality Schedule. Memphis, Tenn.: B.B. Davis, 1983. 

1880


 * Sistler, Samuel D. 1880 Census Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler and Associates, 2002.

1891 Male Voters


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

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Lauderdale County residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.


 * Brown - Descendant of Matthew Thomas Brown, b. 1831 Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Y-DNA 25 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 30372). Genetic signature available online (labeled Group No. 22), genealogical description available online, courtesy: Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study. Matches have been found.
 * Doss - Descendant of George W. Doss (c1864-c1900) of Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 88650). Genetic signature available online (labeled Jw-1), genealogical description available online, courtesy: The Doss DNA Project, World Families. Matches have been found.

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

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Lauderdale, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 15,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * Ellis - Benjamin F. Ellis Family, 1834-1952. MSS..
 * Ellis - Ellis, Bill. George Richard Ellis: His Ancestors and Descendants. Friona, Texas: Ellis Publishing, 2002..
 * Finch - Tuttle, Jacqulyn Davis. Finch, Pyland and Related Families of Lauderdale County, TN and Craighead County, AR. Grass Valley, Calif.: J.D. Tuttle, 1991?..
 * Holmes - Holmes, Raiford L. The John Holmes Family: of Montgomery and Carroll Counties, Mississippi. Bogalusa, Louisiana: R.L. Holmes, 197-?..
 * Powell - De Veau, Katharine Lee. Benjamin and Ambrose Powell of Culpeper County, Virginia: With Many Descendants of Benjamin. Unknown: K.L. deVeau, 1941. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 548787; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

 * Lauderdale County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1835 and is located at the Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Ripley, Tennessee 38063; Telephone: (731) 635-2561.The Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
 * The Family History Library has microfilmed copiies of deeds 1835-1900; land surveys 1822-1954.

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

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

Maps

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

Revolutionary War

 * 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, Western District, Lauderdale County on page 159.

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 Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County:

Confederate Soldiers


 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Neely's) - CSA - Company G.
 * 7th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Duckworth's) - CSA - Company M.
 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company K.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Lauderdale 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.
 * USGenWeb Archives, Lauderdale County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records.
 * CWSAC, Battle Summaries, Fort Pillow. Located in Lauderdale County.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Lauderdale 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. Lauderdale County, page 357.
 * TNGenWeb, Lauderdale County TN Civil War.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War Battle was fought in Lauderdale County:


 * April 12, 1864 = Fort Pillow


 * Map showing Civil War battles in Tennessee

World War I

 * Tennessee World War I Veterans list: Lauderdale County

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 Lauderdale County click on the following cities and towns:


 * Halls
 * Ripley

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. . Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale 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
 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Lauderdale 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.
 * 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 to retrieve them.
 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers
 * Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 . 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

Probate Records
The County Court, Chancery Court, and County Clerk have responsibility for the probate records of Lauderdale County.

Online Records


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


 * Wills, 1837-1904 (Vols. A-F)
 * Administrator records, 1884-1936
 * Bonds, Letters, 1847-1905 (7 vols.)
 * Guardian records, 1846-1857, 1874-1903
 * Insolvent estate records, 1849-1932
 * Inventories, Sales, Wills, 1837-1855 (3 vols.)
 * Minutes, 1836-1856 (Vols. A-C)
 * Settlements, 1871-1902
 * Widow provisions, 1866-1928

The following Lauderdale County probate records have been indexed:


 * 1837-1861 - 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.

Taxation
Lauderdale County's original Tax Books covering 1852-1856 and 1873 to 1887 are held at the County Courthouse. TSLA microfilmed these records in 1976. FHL copies:.

The original Lauderdale County Roadwork Excuses and Poll Tax 1882-1927 are kept at the County Courthouse. GSU microfilmed these records in 2008:.

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

Birth

 * 1881 - 1882 - Lauderdale County Birth Index 1881-1882. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1828 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1838 - 1895 - Lauderdale County Birth Index 1838-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.


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


 * 1908 - 1912 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in Lauderdale County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * 1794 - 1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..


 * 1851 - 1900 - For free lookups of Lauderdale County, Tennessee marriages 1851-1900 click here.


 * 1780 - 2002 - Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry.com's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 ($). Be aware that this index is not complete for all counties.


 * 1790 - 1950 - at FamilySearch - covers all counties in Tennessee.


 * 1790 - 1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1851 - 1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com— index and images $


 * 1838 - 1888 - at FamilySearch — index and images

The following Lauderdale County Courthouse marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * 1838 - 1866 - Historical Records Project Marriage records, 1838-1866, Lauderdale, County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1941. FHL US/CAN Film 24738


 * 1838 - 1867 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1989. ff. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.


 * 1838 - 1867 - Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee marriages, 1838-1867 Memphis, Tennessee: B.B. Davis, c1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.816 V2d


 * 1838 - 1962 - Lauderdale County, Tennessee County Court Clerk Marriage records (Lauderdale County, Tennessee), 1838-1962 Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1976-2008. FHL US/CAN Film 1008552-54, 1928748, 1928749-50, 1670147 item 1


 * 1844 - 1860 - Lauderdale County, Tennessee, marriages, 1844-1860 Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, (199-). FHL US/CAN 976.816 V2L


 * 1851 - 1875 - Lauderdale County, Tennessee, marriages, 1851-1875. Part of the TNGenWeb Project


 * 1867 - 1886 - Davis, Bettie B. Lauderdale County, Tennessee, marriages, 1867-1886 Memphis, Tennessee, B.B. Davis, c1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.816 V28d

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Lauderdale County divorce papers in diverse County Courthouse records, including some separate divorce cases, see the following resources:


 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.

Death

 * 1872-1923 - Tennessee, City Death Records 1872-1923 at Ancestry.com - index and images $


 * 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


 * 1823-1852 - Hays, Tony. West Tennessee Death Records (ca. 1823-1852). 2 vols. n.p.: Kitchen Table Press, 1987. . Lauderdale County is included in Vol. 2


 * 1917 - Lauderdale County Death Index 1917. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

For deaths of Methodists in Lauderdale 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 &amp; Genealogical Societies

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.
 * Lauderdale County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Lauderdale County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNLAUDER-L (Lauderdale County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List)
 * Lauderdale County TN Genealogy   (LDS Genealogy)