Montgomery County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Montgomery County





Middle Tennessee County established in 1796. The east half of the county belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.

County Courthouse
Montgomery County Courthouse 350 Pageant Lane Clarksville, Tennessee 37040 Phone: (931) 648-5700 Genealogical requests to the county offices are referred to the archives at 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 101-D (P.O. Box 323), Clarksville, Tennessee. Phone: (931) 553-5159

Courthouse hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm

History
The county is named after "John Montgomery (c. 1750–1794), leader of the Nickajack Expedition."

Parent County
1796--Montgomery County was established 9 April 1796. Originally organized as Tennessee County, North Carolina and the name was susequently changed to Montgomery County when Tennessee became a State. County seat: Clarksville

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

Record Loss
1878, 1900--Fires damaged records

1999--Tornado damaged records

Neighboring Counties

 * Cheatham
 * Christian County, Kentucky
 * Dickson
 * Houston
 * Robertson
 * Stewart
 * Todd County, Kentucky

Research Guides

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

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.

Court

 * Willis, Laura and Doris Dublin. Montgomery County, Tennessee County Court Minutes, December 1805 - December 1807. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.845 P2wL. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($).

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


 * Masters, Jack and Bill Puryear. Founding of the Cumberland Settlements: The First Atlas 1779-1804: Showing Who Came, How They Came, and Where They Put Down Roots. Gallatin, Tenn.: Warioto Press, 2009. FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d. Supplements: FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 E7d supp. 1 ff. Purchase at Cumberland Pioneer Settlers.
 * Whitley, Edythe Johns Rucker. Red River Settlers: Records of the Settlers of Northern Montgomery, Robertson, and Sumner Counties, Tennessee. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1980. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.84 D2w. Digital versions available at Ancestry ($) and World Vital Records ($).

Bibliography


 * [Haggard] Haggard, David D. History of the Haggard Family in England and America, 1433 to 1899. Bloomington, IL: Unknown, 1899. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 982126 Item 3; digital versions at BYU Family History Archives; Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Jameson] See Jamison.
 * [Jamison] Jamison, Henry Downs. The Jamison Family, 1647-1960: Genealogical Records and Memoranda. Nashville, TN: Unknown, 1960. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 J245ja; FHL US/CAN Film 854155 Item 2; digital versions at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Spain] See Jamison.
 * [Trotter] Trotter, Susie Eager. Trotter Genealogy: The Virginia-Tennessee-Mississippi Trotter Line, 1725-1948. Louisville, KY: Press of Mayes Print. Co., 1948. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 1401448; digital versions at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land
Deeds


 * Willis, Laura. Montgomery County, TN, Deeds. Melber, Kentucky: Simmons Historical, 1996. 5 volumes. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.845 R29w. Digital versions of selected volumes available at World Vital Records ($): Volume 1 1796-1800; Volume 4 1805-1809; and Volume 5 1808-1812. All volumes available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

Land Grants


 * Free index to 1500+ Pioneer Cumberland Settlements Land Grants, available online, courtesy: Cumberland Pioneer Settlers. The Cumberland Settlements region covered what is now this county. To view the land grants platted on maps, purchase the books described on this site, or access those available at the Family History Library FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.8 E7d.

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.

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 Montgomery County.]

Periodicals
Ansearchin' News

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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

 * Willis, Laura. Montgomery County, Tennessee Wills and Administrations [1796-1826]. Melber, KY: Simmons Historical Pub., c1995. 10 volumes Available at FHL US/CAN Book 976.845 P2w.. Digital versions of selected volumes available at World Vital Records ($): Volume 1 1796-1804; Volume 2 1805-1814; Volume 4 1814-1817; Volume 6 1819-1821; Volume 7 Oct 1821-Jan 1823; Volume 8 Jan 1823-Oct 1823; Volume 9 Oct 1823-Oct 1824; and Volume 10 Oct 1824-Jan 1826. All volumes available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications. Also available for purchase are volumes 11-14 covering years 1825-1830.

Taxation

 * [1798] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. & B. Sistler, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4s. [Includes 1798 tax list.]

Vital Records
Birth

Marriage


 * Montgomery County, Tennessee, Marriage Records, Grooms, Volume 1. Simmons Historical Publications. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($).
 * Montgomery County, Tennessee, Marriage Records, Brides, 1858 - 1869, Volume 2. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($).
 * Montgomery County Marriage Records Vol. 2-1857-1869. Simmons Historical Publications. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($).
 * Montgomery County Marriage Records Vol. 1-1838-1857, Montgomery County Marriage Records Vol. 2-1857-1869, and Montgomery County Marriage Records Vol. 3-1869-1874 are available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

Death

Family History Centers
Clarksville Tennessee 3242 Hwy 41-A S Clarksville, Montgomery, Tennessee, United States Telephone: 931-358-5264

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Montgomery County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Montgomery County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)