Henderson County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for James Henderson, a soldier in the War of 1812. The County is located in the west central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Henderson County Courthouse 17 Monroe Ave. Lexington, TN 38351 County Courthouse Phone: 731-968-2801 County Clerk Phone:  731-968-2856 Register of Deeds Phone: 731-968-2941 Clerk & Master Phone:  731-968-9801

Circuit Court 170 Justice Center Drive Lexington, TN 38351 Circuit Court Clerk Phone: 731-968-2031

The Circuit court has marriage records Land records, and has some court records.

County Pronunciation
 * 1) Hear it spoken (female)
 * 2) Hear it spoken (male)

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 established in 1821.

The county is named after War of 1812 officer James Henderson.

Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Resources
 * Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator
 * Cemeteries of Henderson County - Genealogy Trails

Census Records
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Henderson 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.

1810-1891


 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry ($)

See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

See Henderson County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®

1820 and 1860


 * Smith, Jonathan Kennon Thompson A genealogical miscellany, Henderson County, Tennessee Jackson, Tennessee J.K.T. Smith, c1997, 2001-2002 (One page correction of the 1860 census and 1/2 page 1820 U.S. census, Perry County of those who lived in what became Henderson County.)

1840 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, Henderson County on page 159.

1870


 * Green, Exie Johnson 1870 census, Henderson County, Tennessee Hope, Arkansas E.J. Green, 1987?

1880


 * Scanned census images. USGenWeb Archives
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara 1880 census Henderson County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee B. Sistler and Associates, 2001

1891 Male Voters 


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

1900


 * Scanned census images. USGenWeb Archives

1910


 * Scanned census images. USGenWeb Archives

1920


 * Scanned census images. USGenWeb Archives

Church Records
Presbyterian


 * 1830-1893 - Mt. Gilead Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Marriage Index 1830-1893. Batch in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch

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. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

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


 * Doss - Descendant of John Doss (1784-1846) of Henderson County, Tennessee. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 59752). Genetic signature available online (labeled Jn-1), genealogical description available online, courtesy: The Doss DNA Project, World Families. Matches have been found.

Family Histories


 * As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Henderson, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 39,000 entries.


 * Waddle, Laura: Some Early Families of Henderson County, TN Arnold, Barrow, Bradford, Cooper, Christopher, Darden, Davis, Grice, Joyner, Lewis, McCarver, McGlaughlin, Meredith, Mills, Ray, Rhodes, Waddle/Waddill, Wadley..


 * Adams - Hampton, Estelline Adams. John Adams, Esquire (III): Ancestors and Descendants. Unknown: unknown, 1976. Available at ; digital versions available at Ancestry ($); FamilySearch Digital Library ; and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Bell - Lewis, Leroy Carlisle. Leander Bell of Henderson County, Tennessee: A Genealogical Survey and Historical Record of His Life and the Lives of His Descendants and His Ancestors. Searcy, Ark.: L.C. Lewis, 1987..
 * Bell - Lewis, Leroy Carlisle. William Samuel Bell of Tennessee, Texas and Arkansas: A Genealogical Survey and Historical Record of His Life and the Lives of His Descendants and His Ancestors. Searcy, Arkansas: L.C. Lewis, 1987. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B413LLc.
 * Brown - Brown, George Washington Reminiscences of the Republic of Texas 1910 Available at the Family History Library with a digital version through FamilySearch Digital Library  (found in the Library of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas April 1965 by his Grandson Earl Travis Brown)
 * Conner - See Cravens.
 * Cravens - Cravens, John Park. Records of the Ancestry of John Park Cravens: The Lines of Direct Lineal Descent and a Summary. Booneville, AR: Unknown, 1957. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 288184; digital vestion at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * Harwell - See Cravens.
 * Herndon - See Cravens.
 * Lane - See Cravens.
 * Reed - King, Clefaine Elizabeth Reed. Joseph Reed Sr. and His Family Through The Years, A Legend To His Family, printed 1991. (Found in the Family History Center in La Jara, Colorado; contact Marilee, 719-274-5261.)
 * Rice - See Cravens.
 * Stewart - Wadley, Richard Cratis and Eunice Stewart Goddard. Tennessee Roots: Catherine Stewart of Henderson County. Norman, Oklahoma: Eunice and Jim Goddard, 1990..

Land and Property Records

 * Henderson County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1856 and is located at the Courthouse, P.O. Box 40, 17 Monroe Street, Lexington, TN 38351; (731) 968-2856. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
 * The Family History Library has microfilmed copies of deeds 1856-1900 with indexes 1856-1935.
 * "Tennessee Trails" Landowners of Henderson County, TN

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

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


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

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, Henderson County on page 159.
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb. Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.

War of 1812
 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Jul. 1960):65-68. ; digital version at journal website. Includes Henderson County pensioners (pp. 67-68)

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 - U.S., 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


 * 13th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company I.
 * 18th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Newsom's) - CSA - Company G.
 * 19th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Biffle's) - CSA - Company K.
 * 21st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Wilson's) - CSA - Company C and F.
 * 27th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies D, F, I, and K.
 * 51st Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA- Company C.
 * 52nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company F.
 * 55th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Brown's) - CSA - Company F.

Union Soldiers


 * 7th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company C.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Henderson County:


 * Yesterday's Henderson County. A large assortment of external links about the Civil War.
 * TNGenWeb, War Records Henderson County Civil War Records.
 * Those Who Served From Henderson County TN. Civil War and Civil War "Shiloh".
 * CWSAC, Battle Summaries, Parker's Cross Roads. Location Henderson County.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Henderson 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. Henderson County, page 346-347.

Civil War Battle The following Civil War battle was fought in Henderson County:


 * December 31 - Parker's Cross Roads


 * Map showing Civil War battles fought in Tennessee.

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 Henderson County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Lexington
 * Sardis
 * Scotts Hill

For deaths of Methodists in Henderson County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try searching the following records:
 * 1794-1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..
 * 1847 - 1851 - 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.

Other Records
Historic Residences
 * Crook, W. Clay. The Jeremiah Crook Plantation of Henderson County, Tennessee: ca. 1820-1865. Crook Family Archives, Crookland, Middlefork Village, Luray, Tenn. Microfilmed in 2001..

 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 the probate records of Henderson County.

Online Records and Indexes


 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1861-1966 - Henderson County portion of at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.

Tax Records
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1824 Unpaid Taxes List, 1824, Ansearchin' News, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Winter 2000). FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 47 (2000). For access, see Henderson.
 * 1836-1837 - West, Betsy F. "Henderson County, Tennessee 1836-1837 Tax Lists," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring 1977):11-14; Vol. 24, No. 2 (Summer 1977):83-87; Vol. 24, No. 3 (Fall 1977):111-114; Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter 1977):159-163. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 24 (1977);digital version at society's website. For further access, see Henderson.
 * 1848 "1849 Land Sales Held in 3 West Tennessee Counties for Unpaid Taxes," [1848 taxpayers in Decatur, Carroll, and Henderson counties], Ansearchin' News, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Winter 1997):12. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 44 (1997). For access, see Henderson.

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 - How to Use this Collection. Covers all counties in Tennessee.
 * 1796-1950 - (Indexes only) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1838-1888 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1893-1895 - Henderson County Marriage Index 1893-1895. International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * Marriages in Henderson County at Genealogy Trails

Death

 * 1874-1955 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1933 Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1908-1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1914-1966 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection


 * "Tennessee Trails" Deaths Henderson County, TN

Divorce

 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FamilySearch Digital Library;

Libraries
Everett Horn Public Library 702 W Church St Lexington, TN 38351 Phone: 731-968-3239 E-mail: director@ehlibrary.com Website Facebook.
 * Genealogical Resources: The Tennessee Room holds a variety of resources including Cemetery Records, Census Indexes, Military records, County Histories, Tax Lists, and pre-1890 Courthouse Records.

West Tennessee Heritage Study Center Paul Meek Library University of Tennessee at Martin Phone: 731-881-7060 Hours vary by semester Website
 * The Heritage Study Center holds a variety of genealogical resources 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
West Tennessee Historical Society P.O. Box 111046 Memphis, TN 38111 Phone: 901-475-6608 E-mail: [mailto:efrank@memphis.edu efrank@memphis.edu] Website

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.
 * Henderson County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Yesterday's Tennessee
 * Welcome to Henderson County, Tennessee "Tennessee Trails"
 * Henderson County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)

Research Guides

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