Dyer County, Tennessee Genealogy

Guide to Dyer County, Tennessee ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Description
Dyer County was named for Robert Henry Dyer (circa 1774-1826). The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Dyer County Courthouse P.O. Box 1360 115 Market Street Dyersburg, Tennessee 38025-1360 Dyer County Website Phone: 731-286-7814 County Clerk Phone: 731-286-7818 Register of Deeds Phone: 731-286-7814 County clerk has marriage and probate records from 1850, divorce and court records from 1927, and funeral records from 1914-1956. Recorder of Deeds has land records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
Additional Information West Tennessee county.

The county is named after "Tennessee state legislator Robert Henry Dyer."

Biographies

 * Family Biographies from The History of Dyer County, Tennessee (1887) published by Goodspeed are available on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. 2006. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. . Online at MyHeritage ($). Includes Dyer County.

Census Records
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Dyer 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 Dyer 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 ($)

1840 Revolutionary War 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, Dyer County on page 158.

1850


 * Carpenter, Mrs. V.K. Seventh census of the United States, 1850; Dyer County, Tennessee,population schedules Huntsville, Arkansas Century Enterprises, Genealogical SErvices, 1969

1860


 * Felldin, Jeanne Robey and Tucker, Charlotte Magee 1860 United States census, Dyer County, Tennessee, surname index Tomball, Texas Genealogical Publications, c1976

1880


 * Sistler, Samuel 1880 census, Dyer County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee Byron Sistler and Associates, 2002

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. . Dyer County is included in Vol. 3.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978..

Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places


 * If the records you need are not found in the Family History Library collection, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived.Two sites that give information about churches in Dyer County are:


 * - List of Dyer County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)
 * - List of Dyer County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)


 * In 1936, a helpful guide to early Dyer County church records was published by the Works Project Administration. Use this guide to locate which church records exist and where they were housed in 1936. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has filmed some of these records. To locate which records are available at the TSLA, go to the appropriate "county fact sheet" on the TSLA Web site and scroll down to "selected manuscript material". All filmed church records at the TSLA for Dyer County are listed. Many of these filmed records are also available at the Family History Library.
 * Tennessee Diaries, Memoirs and Church Records in the Manuscript Division, Tennessee State Library and Archives: Listed by County. Nashville, Tenn.: Manuscript Division, 1965. Digital versions of this guide are available at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).

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. The TSLA has created an index to names that appear in these acts covering the years 1796 to 1850. Online searchable index at TSLA.

Land and Property Records
Dyer County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1823 and is located at Courthouse Square, P.O. Box 1360, Dyersburg, Tennessee 38025-1360; Telephone: (731) 286-7814. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of deed books 1824-1882 with indexes 1822-1915, land survey books 1827-1860, and survey entries 1820-1911.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * Map of 1888 Dyer County, Tennessee with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * Select Pension applications

Additional resources include:


 * 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, Dyer County on page 158.

War of 1812 There were no War of 1812 pensioners or widows of pensioners living in Dyer County on 2 January 1883.

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
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 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


 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Neely's) - CSA - Company K.
 * 12th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company A.
 * 12th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies D and F.
 * 13th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company K.
 * 15th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Stewart's) - CSA
 * 20th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Russell's) - CSA - Company D.
 * 22nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company I and K.
 * 22nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Freeman's) - CSA - Companies I and K.
 * 47th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies B, C, D and E.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Dyer County:


 * Dyer County Tennessee Military History. Links available for Confederate and Union forces, Dyer County TN Civil War Veterans Index, etc.
 * Genealogy Trails, Men from Dyer County in the Civil War. Includes, name, service, date of death, place or cause of death and rank.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Dyer 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. Dyer County, page 333.

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 Dyer County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Dyersburg
 * Newbern

For deaths of Methodists in Dyer 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. 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.

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;
 * Family Findings: Quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society. For tables of contents and online access to issues, see TNGenWeb Project. Also try this specialized Google search..


 * Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
 * Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
 * Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
 * Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)


 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers: Occasional publication of the West Tennessee Historical Society. . To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Probate Records
The County Court has responsibility for Dyer County probate records.

Online Records


 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1836-1905 Images of Wills 1836-1854; 1855-1905 at Southeastern Genealogy ($)
 * 1853-1893 Dyer County portion of at FamilySearch - images only; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.- How to Use this Collection
 * 1853-1893; 1893-1920; 1908-1912; 1920-1937 Images of Wills 1853-1893; 1893-1920; 1908-1912; 1920-1937 at Southeastern Genealogy ($)

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1853-1893 - Lambert, Agnes and Mary N. Gilmore, transcribers for Works Progress Administration. Dyer County, Tennessee Wills. Nashville, Tennessee: Byron Sistler &amp; Assoc., 1998. (FS Library book 976.815 P2L v. 1.)
 * 1853-1861 - 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 wills.
 * USGenWeb's Dyer County page has links to several transcribed wills.

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
The original Dyer County Tax Books 1862, 1873-1884 were microfilmed by the TSLA in 1970. FHL copy:.

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1836 - Tatum, Ausborn C. "Dyer County, Tennessee 1836 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Winter 1982):177-180. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 29-30 (1982-1983);digital version at society's website. For further access, see Periodicals.
 * 1836 - Tax List, 1836, Tennessee Genealogy and History. Signal Mountain TN: Aug 1997. Vol. 1 Iss. 2-3.
 * 1836 - Douthat, James L. 1836 Dyer County, Tennessee Civil Districts and Tax Listing. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2003..
 * 1836 - Alsup, Samuel. "1836 Tax Rolls, Dyer Co., TN," available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
 * 1859 - Appling, Lynn Pierce. "Dyer County Tax Sales 1859," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Spring 1998):36-38. FHL US/CAN ;Book 976.8 B2a v. 45-46 (1998-1999). For access, see Periodicals

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 [1790-1962] - at FamilySearch. index and images. Covers all counties in Tennessee.- How to Use this Collection
 * 1796-1950 (Indexes only) at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1900 Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1860-1880 - Marriage records, 1860-1880, Dyer County, Tennessee  (click on camera)
 * 1860-1895 - Dyer County Marriage Index 1860-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Book Abstracts and Indexes
 * 1794-1851 - Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851..
 * 1860-1879 - Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. ff. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates in this county for the specified years.

Death

 * Hays, Tony. West Tennessee Death Records [ca. 1823-1852]. 2 vols. n.p.: Kitchen Table Press, 1987. . [Dyer County is included in Vol. 2]
 * 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 Digital Library.

Family History Centers

 * Jackson Tennessee Family History Center
 * Trenton Tennessee Family History Center
 * Bolivar-Hardeman County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Chester County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Hamilton Parks Public Library 74 Parks Plaza Trimble, TN 38259 Phone: 731-297-3601 Email: [mailto:trimblelibrary@hotmail.com trimblelibrary@hotmail.com] Facebook McIver's Grant Public Library 204 N Mill Ave Dyerburg, TN 38024 Phone: 731-285-5032 Email: [mailto:library38024@yahoo.com library38024@yahoo.com] Facebook Website Newbern City Library 220 E Main St Newbern, TN 38059 Phone: 731-627-3153 Email: [mailto:newber_c@bellsouth.net newber_c@bellsouth.net] Facebook West Tennessee Heritage Study Center Paul Meek Library 10 Wayne Fisher Dr. Martin, TN 38238 Phone: 731-881-7065 Website Houses a variety of genealogical resources including materials relating to the following counties in Tennessee: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Stewart, Tipton, Wayne, Weakley and Carlisle (KY), Fulton (KY), and Hickman (KY) counties in Kentucky.

Societies
Dyer County Historical Society 120B McGaughey Street E. Dyersburg, TN 38024 Phone: 731-286-7829 Facebook

Websites

 * – 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.
 * Dyer County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Dyer County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)

Research Guides

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