Dickson County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Dickson County





County Courthouse
Dickson County Courthouse 4 Court Square Charlotte, Tennessee 37036 Phone: 615-789-6005

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4 pm

History
The county is named after "U.S. Representative William Dickson (1770–1816)."

Parent County
1803--Dickson County was created 25 October 1803 from Robertson and Montgomery Counties. County seat: Charlotte

From 1788 to 1796 people living in what is now part of Dickson County were in extinct Tennessee County. Their records for that period are now found in Robertson County, Tennessee.

Record Loss
1830--Tornado damaged records

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Cheatham
 * Hickman
 * Houston
 * Humphreys
 * Montgomery
 * Williamson

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Dickson 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.)

Cemeteries
For a list of Dickson county cemeteries, click here.

Census
1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available:
 * Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810.

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


 * [Adams] Hampton, Estelline Adams. John Adams, Esquire (III): Ancestors and Descendants. Unknown: unknown, 1976. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 982157 Item 7; digital versions available at Ancestry ($); BYU Family History Archives; and Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

 * Willis, Laura and Betty Sellers. Dickson County, Tennessee Deeds. Melber, KY: Simmons Historical Pub., 1998. 9 volumes. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.844 R2w FHL is missing volume 4. Digital versions of selected volumes available at World Vital Records ($). v. 1 - 1804-1808; v. 2 - 1808-1812; v. 4 - 1815-1818; and v. 6 - 1820-1823. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

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.

Newspapers

 * Willis, Laura and indexed by Betty Sellers. Dickson County, Tennessee Newspaper Abstracts. Melber, KY: Simmons Historical Pub., 1998, 2001, 2003. 8 volumes. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.844 B38w. Digital versions of select volumes available at World Vital Records ($). v. 1 - 7 Jan 1910-22 Apr 1910; v. 2 - 22 Apr 1910-15 Jul 1910; v. 3 - 15 Jul 1910-6 Jan 1911; and v. 4 - 23 Dec 1910-31 Mar 1911. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

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 Dickson County.]

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Dickson 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.

The River Counties

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Dickson 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

 * 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.

Probate

 * Dickson County Will Books Vol. 1-1838-1847. Kentucky. Simmons Historical Publications, s.d. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * Dickson County Will Books Vol. 2-1848-1868. Kentucky. Simmons Historical Publications, s.d. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * Dickson County Will Books Vol. 3-1866-1895. Kentucky. Simmons Historical Publications, s.d. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * Dickson County Will Books Vol. 4-1895-1914. Kentucky. Simmons Historical Publications, s.d. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
 * Dickson County Will Books Vol. 5-1914-1929. Kentucky. Simmons Historical Publications, s.d. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

Vital Records

 * Tennessee. Tennessee Divorce and Other Records, 1800-1965. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Sistler, Byron. Dickson County, Tennessee Marriages, 1850-70 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

Web Sites

 * Dickson County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Dickson County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Dickson County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)