Van Buren County, Tennessee Genealogy

Guide to Van Buren 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 President Martin Van Buren. The County is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Van Buren County Courthouse Veterans' Square P O box 126 Spencer, TN 38585 County Courthouse Phone: 931-946-2121 County Clerk Phone: 931-946-2121 County Register of Deeds Phone: 931-946-7363 County Circuit Court Clerk Phone: 931-946-2153 County Elected Officials Phone: 931-946-2314

County Clerk has birth records 1925-1938, death records 1926-1938, marriage andprobate records from 1840. Clerk and Master has divorce records from 1840. General Sessions Court has court records from 1840. Register of Deeds has land records from 1840.

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

History Timeline
Additional Information

Middle Tennessee county.

The county is named after President Martin Van Buren (1782-1862).

Biographies

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

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

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census Records
1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Van Buren 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 Van Buren, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files and scanned images of census microfilm. The USGenWeb Census Project®.

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

1850


 * Rhinehart, Margaret. United States census Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1850. Spencer, Tennessee: Van Buren County Historical Society, 1982.

1860


 * Rhinehart, Margaret. United States census Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1860. Spencer, Tennessee: Van Buren County Historical Society, 1982.

1870


 * Rhinehart, Margaret. United States census Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1870. Spencer, Tennessee: Van Buren County Historical Society, 1982.

1880


 * Rhinehart, Margaret. United States census Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1880. Spencer, Tennessee: Van Buren County Historical Society, 1983.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census Van Buren County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler and Associates, 1999.

1891 Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry $

1900


 * Rhinehart, Margaret. United States census Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1900. Spencer, Tennessee: Van Buren County Historical Society, 1983.

1910


 * Rhinehart, Margaret. United States census Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1910. Spencer, Tennessee: Van Buren County Historical Society, 1984.

1920


 * Young, Denise, ed.. Van Buren County, Tennessee Census, 1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Available at Ancestry

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.] 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 TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
Native Americans
 * Walker, Opless and Landon D. Medley. Synthesis of Available Data Concerning Indians in Van Buren County, Tennessee. Doyle, Tenn.: Medley Research Group, 1985. . WorldCat

Genealogies
General


 * As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Van Buren, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 19,000 entries.


 * Compendium of Local Biography Van Buren County, Tn. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, (1997?)..

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

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


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

Additional sources


 * 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. 8, No. 3 (Jul. 1961):95-98. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Van Buren County pensioners (p. 98).

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


 * 16th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry- CSA - Company I.
 * 22nd Battalion, Tennessee Infantry (Murray's)- CSA - Company E.
 * 35th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (5th Infantry) (1st Mountain Rifle Regiment)- CSA-2nd Company C.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Van Buren County:


 * Head, Thomas A. Campaigns and Battles of the Sixteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteers, in the War Between the States, with Incidental Sketches of the Part Performed by Other Tennessee Troops in the Same War. 1861-1865. Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House, 1884. Free digital copy, courtesy: Internet Archive.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Van Buren 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. Van Buren County, page 381.
 * TNGenWeb, Civil War in Van Buren County Tennessee.

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 Van Buren County click on the following town:


 * Spencer


 * 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;
 * The Upper Cumberland Researcher: Quarterly magazine of Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association. Articles include abstracts of records of Cannon, Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Van Buren, Warren, and White counties. Index of first 17 years, with county list starting on page 19. (1975-1993) and  (1994-present).
 * Van Buren County Journal: Published by Van Buren County Historical Society table of contents.

Probate Records
The Van Buren County Court has responsibility for probate records.

Online Records and Indexes
 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry  $
 * 1840-1968  Van Buren County portion of  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1840-1861 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler and Associates, Inc., 1990. . Includes an index to this county's probate records.
 * USGenWeb's Van Buren County page has some will abstracts.

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


 * 1812 Combs-Coombs &amp;c. "1812 Warren Co, Tennessee Tax Lists (A Start toward an Annotated List) Index and Search Engine," available online, courtesy: Combs-Coombs &amp;c. Research Group and Warren Co., TNGenWeb. Benjamin Lockhart's District includes the area that later became Van Buren County.
 * 1891 Tax List, 1891, Van Buren County Historical Journal, Vol. 6 (1986).

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
 * 1840-1861 - Marriage Records, 1840-1861, Van Buren County, Tennessee. FHL Film 24846 Item 2 Typescript +++
 * 1840-1895 - Van Buren 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


 * 1840-1870 - 35,000 Tennessee Marriage Records and Bonds 1783-1870. 3 vols.  ff. Includes names of brides, grooms, bondsmen, marriage bond dates, and officiators for this county for specified years.
 * 1840-1875 - Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. ff. Indexes names of brides, grooms, marriage dates for this county for specified years.
 * 1840-1935 - Van Buren County marriage records: book I through book V, May 21, 1840 to September 2, 1935. FHL Book 976.8657 V2v

Death

 * 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

Libraries
Burritt Memorial Library P.O. Box 18 427 College St. Spencer, TN 38585-0018 Phone: 931-946-2575 Fax: 931-946-2575 Facebook

Societies
Van Buren County Historical Society  330 Baker Mountain Rd Spencer, TN 38585 Website
 * Publication: Semi-annual: Newsletter; Annual Van Buren County Journal; begun 1981. Table of contents online thru 1992.

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 Website
 * The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Van Buren 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

Websites

 * Van Buren County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Van Buren County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Van Buren 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

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