Wayne County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Wayne County





Middle Tennessee county established in 1817.

County Courthouse
Wayne County Courthouse 200 Court Square Waynesboro, TN 38485 Phone: 931-722-5517

Wayne County Clerk Marriage and probate records 100 Court Circle P.O. Box 367 Waynesboro, TN 38485 Phone: 931-722-5544

Wayne County Register of Deeds Land records 100 Court Circle Waynesboro, TN 38485 Phone: 931-722-5518

Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8 am - 4:30 pm

History


The county is named after Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne (1745-1796)].

Parent County
1817--Wayne County was established 24 November 1817 from Hickman and Humphreys Counties. Early records may be found under Hickman and Humphreys Counties. County seat: Waynesboro

Record Loss
1973--Fire damaged records

Research Guides

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

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

Bibliography


 * [Cook] See Grimes
 * [Grimes] Grimes, Jay Cook. Grimes, Cook and Related Families of Wayne County, Tennessee: A Genealogy. Related Families, Johnson, Morris, Montague, 1800-1960. Auburn, Alabama: J.C. Grimes, 1960. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 G883gc and FHL US/CAN Film 1321218 Item 4; digital versions available at Ancestry.com ($); Heritage Quest Online ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * [Johnson] See Grimes
 * [Morris] See Grimes
 * [Montague] See Grimes

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 Tennessee State Library and Archives 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 Tennessee State Library and Archives; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

 * Moore, Gerald K. Early Life in Wayne County, Tennessee. 2008. Digital version at BYU Family History Archives.

Military

 * McMurray, William Joseph. History of the 20th Tennessee Regiment Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A. Nashville, Tennessee: s.p., 1904. Free digital copy.

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. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Wayne 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

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Wayne County, Tennessee records 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 FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a.

Family Findings

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Wayne 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 FHL US/CAN 976.8 B2f.

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.

The River Counties

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Wayne 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 FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2rc.

Prisons
Learn if your Wayne County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW-TN-L (Southwest Tennessee List)
 * Wayne County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Wayne County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Wayne County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)