Hardin County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Hardin County West Tennessee county. Established 1819.





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

County Courthouse


Hardin County Courthouse 601 Main St. Savannah, TN 38372 Phone: 1-731-925-8166

Hardin County Clerk Marriage, probate, land and court records 500 Court Street Savannah, TN 38372 Phone: 1-731-925-3921

Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wed. and Sat. 8 a.m.-noon

History
The county is named after "Joseph Hardin legislator of the Southwest Territory and State of Franklin."

Parent County
1819--Hardin County was created 13 November 1819 from Chickasaw Indian Lands. County seat: Savannah

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
1859, 1864, 1949--Fires damaged records


 * Lost marriages: 1819 tp 1863
 * Lost probate: 1819 to 1836

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Alcorn County, Mississippi
 * Chester
 * Decatur
 * Henderson
 * Lauderdale County, Alabama
 * McNairy
 * Tishomingo County, Mississippi
 * Wayne

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Hardin County biography, cemetery, and history 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: Hardin 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

Census takers found no free African Americans living in Hardin County, Tennessee in 1820.

Resources include:


 * Free African Americans Enumerated in the 1860 Hardin County, Tennessee Census, available online, courtesy: Christine's Genealogy Website: Who are Your People?

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

The following websites may contain Hardin County cemetery records:


 * 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 Hardin County linking to the information about the people buried there,


 * Hardin County, TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.


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


 * Hardin County cemetery information with transcriptions on TNGenweb Project


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


 * Some cemetery transcriptions for Hardin County are on Interment.net


 * ePodunk list of Hardin County cemeteries

Census
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Hardin 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 Hardin County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1820


 * Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981.

1833


 * Brown, Albert The 1833 census of males 21 and over, Hardin Co., Tennessee Bethel Springs, Tennessee : History and genealogy, c1994 [FHL US/CAN book 976.831 X28]

1840


 * Curtis, Janet Austin 1840 U.S. census, Hardin County, Tennessee Fort Worth, Texas : American REference Publishing Company, 1972 FHL US/CAN book 976.8 A1

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. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Western District, Hardin County on page 159.]

1860


 * Brown, Albert The 1860 census of Hardin County, Tennessee Bethel Springs, Tennessee : A. Brown, c1998 FHL US/CAN book 976.831 X2

1870


 * Brown, Albert The 1870 census of Hardin County, Tennessee Bethel Springs, Tennessee : A. Brown, c1994 FHL US/CAN book 976.831 X28

1880


 * Sistler, Barbara 1880 census Hardin County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : B. Sistler and Associates, 2001 FHL US/CAN book 976.831 X2
 * Brown, Albert The 1880 Census of Hardin County, Tennessee Bethel Springs, Tennessee : A. Brown, c1994 FHL US/CAN book 976.831 X28

1890 - Lost, but substitutes are available:


 * Burress, Reita Jones. "1890 Civil War Veterans Census of Hardin County, Tennessee," available online.

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


 * [Doss] Descendant of Reuben Jackson Doss (1820-1910), resident of Shelby, Colbert, and Marion counties, Alabama and Hardin County, Tennessee. Y-DNA 67 Marker Test, FTDNA (Kit 76381). Genetic signature available online (labeled Wi-1), genealogical description available online, courtesy: The Doss DNA Project, World Families. Matches have been found.

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 Hardin, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 45,000 entries.


 * Hitt, Andrew P. Hardin Co., Tennessee Biographical Sketches. MSS., microfilmed by TSLA in 1970s. FHL US/CAN Film 983544 Item 3.

Bibliography


 * [Bratton] Jones, Louise Brint Family History of our Brattons, Masseys and Martins Salt Lake City, Utah? : L.B. Jones, 1985. Available at the Family History Library FHL book 929.273 B737j with a digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Brooks] Brooks, Moses Edward. Descendants of James Brooks. Unknown: unknown, 1974. Available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Cook] See Grimes
 * [Grimes] Grimes, Jay Cook. Grimes, Cook and Related Families of Wayne County, Tennessee: A Genealogy. Related Families, Johnson, Morris, Montague, 1800-1960. Auburn, Alabama: J.C. Grimes, 1960. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 G883gc and FHL US/CAN Film 1321218 Item 4; digital versions available at Ancestry ($); Heritage Quest Online ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * [Johnson] See Grimes
 * [Martin] See Bratton
 * [Massey] See Bratton
 * [McDougal] The McDougal Family in Hardin County, Tennessee. MSS., Paducah, Ky. Microfilmed in 1963. FHL US/CAN Film 301102 Item 53.
 * [Montague] See Grimes
 * [Morris] See Grimes
 * [Rose] Rose, Christine. Ancestors and Descendants of Frederick Rose : of Sussex County, Virginia, Orange County, North Carolina, and Wayne and Hardin Counties, Tennessee. San Jose, Calif.: C.C. Rose, 1980. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R72rch.

Land

 * Hardin County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1835 and is located at the Courthouse, 601 Main St., Savannah, TN 38372-2061; Telephone: (731) 925-3921.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 1835-1892 with indexes1835-1903; land entries 1820-1820-1853, tax sales to the state 1896-1913; and survey books1824-1934.

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 TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

 * Brazelton, B.G. A History of Hardin County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House, 1885. FHL US/CAN Book 976.831 H2bg; digital version at Google Books.

Military
Revolutionary War

The following Hardin County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1) 1835 Pension Roll
 * 2) 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. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Western District, Hardin 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Hardin County pensioners (p. 66)]

Civil War

Quintard, Charles Todd. ''Doctor Quintard, Chaplain C.S.A. and Second Bishop of Tennessee. ''Sewanee, Tennessee: The University Press, 1905. Free digital copy. Chaplain of the 1st Tennessee Regiment.

The Civil War Battle of Shiloh took placein Hardin County, a few miles southwest of Savannah,on the Tennessee River near an area called Pittsburg Landing. Shiloh Military Park occupies this site today.

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 Hardin County click on the following city:


 * Savannah

Occupations

 * Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Hardin County.]

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
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Hardin 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.
 * Family Findings
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Hardin 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.
 * Hardin County Historical Quarterly
 * Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)
 * West Tennessee Historical Society Papers
 * Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Prisons
Learn if your Hardin County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

Probate
Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. You may find the names of married daughters or other relatives and their residences; or information about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Probate records do not always give an exact date of death, but the death usually occurred within a few months of probate. These documents are important to family history researchers, because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept.

The County Court has responsibility for the probate records of Hardin County.

The following Hardin County probate records have been indexed:


 * [1866-1902] Brown, Albert. Index to Guardians Settlement Records, Jul 1866 - Jul 1902. Bethel Springs, Tennessee: A. Brown, 1994. (FHL 976.829 P28b.)
 * [1836-1861] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills &amp; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, Inc., 1990. FHL US/CAN 976.8 P22s. [Includes an index to this county's probate records.]
 * USGenWeb's Hardin County page has links to some wills and estate records.

Taxation
The original Hardin County Record of Tax Sales to the State records 1896-1913 were microfilmed by the TSLA. FHL copy: FHL US/CAN Film 983534 Item 1.

The original Hardin County State Tax on Mortgage records 1917-1928 were microfilmed by TSLA. FHL copy: FHL US/CAN Film 983534 Item 2.

The following Hardin County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1821-1823] "Hardin County Sheriff Seeks to Collect Three Years of Unpaid Taxes," [1821-1823] Ansearchin' News, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Spring 2000):17-18. For access, see Periodicals.
 * [1833] "1833 Enumeration, Hardin County, Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 30, No. 4 (Winter 1983):159-163. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 29-30 (1982-1983); free digital version at society's website. For further access, see Periodicals.
 * [1836-1837] "Hardin County, Tennessee 1836 Civil District Map" and "Hardin County, Tennessee 1836 and 1837 Tax Lists," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Spring 1990):20-26; Vol. 37, No. 2 (Summer 1990):81-87. For access, see Periodicals.
 * [1836-1837] Brown, Albert. 1836 &amp; 1837 Tax List Hardin Co., Tennessee. Bethel Springs, Tenn.: History &amp; Genealogy, 1994. FHL US/CAN Book 976.831 R49b.
 * [1862-1866] Direct Tax Assessment List, 1862-66, Hardin County Historical Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jul. 1982); Vol. 1, No. 2 (Oct. 1982); Vol. 1, No. 4 (Apr. 1983); Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan. 1984); Vol. 2, No. 2 (Apr. 1984); Vol. 2, No. 4 (Oct. 1984); Vol. 3, No. 2 (Apr. 1985); Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jul. 1985); Vol. 3, No. 4 (Oct. 1985); Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan. 1986); Vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr. 1986); Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul. 1986); Vol. 4, No. 4 (Oct. 1986).

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in Hardin County during the first few years of its existence. In 1838, a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978..

The following Hardin County Courthouse marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1859-1881] Brewington, Tonney R. Marriage records of Hardin County, Tennessee, 1859-1881 : a listing of marriage data taken directly from the marriage registers found in the Hardin County courthouse Enville, Tennessee : Brewington Genealogical Services, c1991. FHL US/CAN Book 976.831 V2b
 * [1859-1887] Brown, Albert Hardin County, Tennessee, marriages index, 1859-1887 Bethel Springs, Tennessee : A. Brown, c1994. FHL US/CAN Book 976.831 V28b
 * [1863-1958] Hardin County (Tennessee) County Court Clerk Marriage records (Hardin County, Tennessee), 1863-1958 Nashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, [197-?]-1988. FHL US/CAN Film 981000, 879045-48, 1928699-701
 * [1865-1868] Historical Records Survey (Tennessee) Marriage records, 1865-1868, Hardin County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939. FHL US/CAN Film 24684 item 3
 * RecordSearch at FamilySearch now includes indexed Tennessee marriages. This is a free pilot site and still under construction.  At this time, it is best to search from the home page titled Discover Your Ancestors; indicate a surname, marriage "event" and a county name (i.e. Hardin, Tennessee).  Browse through the results for that surname. You may need to supply any variant spellings of the surname in separate searches.
 * Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 ($). Be aware that this index is not complete for all counties.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Hardin County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, see:


 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.

Death
For deaths of Methodists in Hardin 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.]

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Hardin County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Hardin County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Hardin County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW-TN-L (Southwest Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNHARDIN-L (Hardin County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List)