Scott County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Scott County East Tennessee county. Established 1849.





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

County Courthouse
Scott County Courthouse 282 Court St. Huntsville, TN 37756 Phone:1-423-663-2618

Scott County County Clerk Marriage and probate records 282 Court St. Huntsville, TN 37756 Phone: 1-423-663-2588

Scott County Register of Deeds Land records 283 Court St. Huntsville, TN 37756 Phone: 1-423-663-3075

Scott County Circuit Court Clerk Court records 243 Court St. Huntsville, TN 37756 Phone: 1-423-663-2440

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

History


The county is named after General Winfield Scott (1786-1866).

Parent County
1849--Scott County was established 17 December 1849 from Anderson, Campbell, Fentress, and Morgan counties. Early records may be found under Anderson, Campbell, Fentress, and Morgan counties. County seat: Huntsville

County Pronunciation


Did we get the accent right? If not, contact Nathan W. Murphy, [mailto:murphynw@familysearch.org murphynw@familysearch.org].

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss
1946--Fire damaged records


 * Lost census: 1890
 * Lost marriage records: 1842 to 1854
 * Lost probate records: 1842 to 1892

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in Tennessee Genealogy Blog
 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Scott County census, court, and land 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: Scott 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

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone.  May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Scott County linking to the information about the people buried there.


 * Scott County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project lists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Scott county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Scott County cemeteries


 * Cooper Funeral Home Records Vol. I (1932-1942) and (1948-1953). Free Lookups Available!
 * Cooper Funeral Home Records Vol. II (1927-1932) and (1943-1947). Free Lookups Available!
 * Scott County, Tennessee Cemetery Records. 2 vols. Free Lookups Available!
 * West-Murley Funeral Home Records (1949-1964). Free Lookups Available!

Census
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Scott 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 Scott County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®].

1850


 * Creekmore, Pollyanna. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1850 (seventh census) for Scott County, Tennessee. Knoxville, Tenn.: Clinchdale Press, 1959. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A1 no. 5.

1850 Agricultural Census


 * Green, Linda L. Tennessee 1850 Agricultural Census. 2 vols. Woodbridge, Va.: L.L. Green, 2000. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2g v. 1 ff. [Scott County is included in Vol. 2.]

1860


 * Douthat, James L. 1860 Scott County, Tn Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1985. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 X2d.

1870


 * 1870 Census, Scott County, Tennessee. n.p.: Scott County Historical Society, 1986?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 X2s.

1880


 * Reed, Joyce. 1880 Census, Scott County, Tennessee. Huntsville, Tenn.: Scott County Historical Society, 19--. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 X2r 1880.
 * Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Scott County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1994. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 X2ss 1880.

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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 5 1891. [Scott 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1890.

1900


 * Reed, Clyde and Joyce Reed. 1900 Census, Scott County, Tennessee. Huntsville, Tenn.: Scott County Historical Society, 1987. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 X2r 1900.

1910


 * Carson, Louise, Norma Mabe, Evelyn Jeffers and Scott County Historical Society. 1910 Census, Scott County, Tennessee. Huntsville, Tenn.: Scott County Historical Society, 1995?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 X2s 1910.

1920


 * Lemasters, Paul W. and Scott County Historical Society. 1920 Census, Scott County, Tennessee. Huntsville, Tenn.: Scott County Historical Society, 1994. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 X2L 1920.

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

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 Scott, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 75,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * [Anderson] John Anderson Biography, Blockhouse Proprieter and Frontier Legend, Revolution Battles, 1750-1817,  Appalachian Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec. 2004).
 * [Blankenship] Blankinship, Leslie C. The Blankenship Family History. New Orleans, La.?: J. Q. Blankinship, 1967. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B611bL; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Blankensop] See Blankenship.
 * [Blankingship] See Blankenship.
 * [Cross] Cross Family of Scott County, Tennessee. Typescript. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C884cr.
 * [Lawson] Lawson, Anna R. The Lawsons, of Scott County, Tennessee. [Huntsville, Tenn.?: A.R. Lawson], 1996. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 D2L.
 * [Litton] Cox, Holland E. The Litton Family. Birmingham, AL: Unknown, 1999. Available at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Low] Low and Related Families. Free Lookups Available!
 * [Robbins] Bailey, Robert L. Robbins Family of Scott County, TN. Huntsville, Tenn.: R. Bailey, 1992. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R534b.
 * [Sexton] Bailey, Robert L. The Sexton Family of Scott County, Tennessee. 5 vols. Huntsville, Tenn.: [Scott County Historical Society], 1992. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 D2b ff.
 * [Terry] Terry, George Alvin. The Terrys of Scott County, Tennessee. Goodlettsville, Tenn.: G.A. Terry, 1984. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 T279tg.

Land
The original Scott County Deed Books are kept at the County Courthouse. In the 1970s, TSLA microfilmed Deed Books A to P (1850-1885) and an Index to Deed and Mortgage Records (1850-1915). FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Film 926295-926302.


 * Scott County, Tennessee Surveyor's Book 1 1850-1867. Free Lookups Available!
 * Scott County, Tennessee Surveyor's Book 2 1868-1887. Free Lookups Available!

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.

Military
Revolutionary War


 * Revolutionary War Plaque, Huntsville, Pellissippian, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jul. 1980).

War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr. 1961):49-52. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes Scott County pensioners (p. 52).]
 * War of 1812, Marshalls 5th TN Militia, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Spring 1989).

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 Scott County click on the following towns:


 * Helenwood
 * Huntsville
 * Oneida

The following abstracts have been published:


 * Thomas, Marlene C. Some Extractions from the Scott County Newspapers Regarding Nicks Creek, Campbell County, Tennessee Digital version at BYU Family History Archives.

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2m. Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Scott County.]
 * Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.

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 records of Scott 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 FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a.


 * East Tennessee Roots


 * Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Scott County, Tennessee records have been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to these articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 D25e.


 * FNB Chronicle


 * Several genealogical and historical articles about Scott County, Tennessee have been published in FNB Chronicle, the publication of the First National Bank, who "relies heavily on the cooperation of the Scott County Historical Society as well as the recollections and keepsakes of county residents." Tables of contents to the first 20 volumes (1989-present) are available online (click FNB Chronicles category). Many of the articles have been digitized on the same site.


 * The Pellissippian


 * Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Scott County, Tennessee records were published in the The Pellissippian (25 vols., 1980-2004), the quarterly of the Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society. The society has posted tables of contents for all 25 volumes on their website. They also have back issues available for purchase. The Family History Library has acquired the first 20 volumes FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 D25p.


 * Scott County Historical Society Newsletter


 * "This newsletter publishes historical and genealogical information pertaining to Scott County, Tennessee such as: lists of obituaries from church records; cemetery records; church minutes; marriages; and county court minutes, etc." The Family History Library has volumes 1 - 16 (1983 - 1999) FHL US/CAN 976.871 D25s Indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI). For additional information see the following website: http://www.tngenweb.org/scott/genealogy_societies.htm#scott_county

Prisons
Learn if your Scott County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

Probate
The original Scott County Wills Books survive, but have not been microfilmed. Scott County Historical Society has published abstracts of the early records:


 * Lemasters, Paul W. Wills, Scott County, Tennessee, 1850-1927. Huntsville, Tenn.: Scott County Historical Society, 1991. FHL US/CAN Book 976.871 P28L. Free Lookups Available!

Taxation
TSLA microfilmed Scott County Tax Records 1875-1972 (Rolls 197-211) and 1973-1983 (Rolls A-6088 to A-6099).

The following Scott County tax records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1818] Tax List, 1818, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Spring 1997).
 * [1861] Delinquent Polls, 1861, Districts 1 &amp; 8, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Fall 2000).
 * [1875] Tax List, 1875, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Winter 1998); Vol. 16, No. 3 (Spring 1999).
 * [1876, 1907-1918] Female Dog Registry, 1907-1918, 1876, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Fall 2005).
 * [1906] Delinquent Tax List, 1906, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Fall 1997).
 * [1909] Tax Levy Committee Report, 1909, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Summer 2006).
 * [1911] Poll Tax, 1911, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Fall 1996).
 * [1915] Poll Tax List, 1915, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Winter 2002).
 * [1950] Veterans Poll Tax Receipt Book, 1950, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Summer 1992).
 * Veterans Poll Tax Receipts, Scott County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Winter 1992).

Marriage
The following Scott County marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1850-1919] Scott Co, TN - Some Original Marriage Licenses &amp; Bonds, Vol. I (1850-1919). Free Lookups Available!
 * [1854-1880] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early East Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1987. FHL US/CAN 976.8 V2s v. 1. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.] Free Lookups Available!
 * [1851-1940] "Scott County, Tennessee Marriages," [1851-1940] available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb. [Abstracts names of brides and grooms as well as dates of bond, license, and/or marriage; includes scanned images of some records.]

Death
For deaths of Methodists in Scott County (or what later became Scott County) between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:


 * 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. FHL US/CAN Books 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 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
Scott County Historical Society P.O. Box 7 Huntsville, TN 37756 E-mail: scottcountyhistoricalsociety@yahoo.com

East Tennessee Historical Society 601 S. Gay Street P.O. Box 1629 Knoxville, TN 37901-1629 Phone: 865-215-8824 E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

Huntsville Public Library 314 Court House Square Huntsville, TN 37756 Phone: 1-423-663-9230

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Mailing List: TNSCOTT-L (Scott County, Tennessee List)
 * Mailing List: ETN-L (East Tennessee List)
 * Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List)
 * Mailing List: UPPEREASTTN-L (Upper East Tennessee List)
 * Scott County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Scott County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Scott County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Scott County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Scott County, TN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (MyTennesseeGenealogy)