Houston County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Houston County Middle Tennessee county on the Tennessee River. Established 1871.





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

County Courthouse


Houston County Courthouse 4725 East Main Street Erin, TN 37061 Phone: 1-931-289-3141

Houston County Clerk Marriage,probate and court records 4725 East Main St., Room 100 Erin, TN 37061 Phone: 1-931-289-3141

Houston County Register of Deeds Land records 4725 East Main St., Room 103 P.O. Box 412 Erin, TN 37061 Phone: 1-931-289-3510

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

History


The county is named after Sam Houston (1793-1863), Governor of Tennessee and later of Texas.

Parent County
1871--Houston County was created 23 January 1871 from Dickson, Humphreys, and Stewart Counties. County seat: Erin

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

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

 * Lost census: 1890
 * County records are complete.

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Houston 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

Cemeteries

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


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


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


 * Houston County cemetery information with transcriptions on TNGenweb Project


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists various records for Houston County. Some of the books or other books may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Houston County cemeteries


 * Douthat, James L. Kentucky Lake Reservoir Cemeteries. Vol. 2. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1988. Free Surname Index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.
 * Maupin, Judith Ann Cemetery Records of Land Between the Lakes (Betweist Rivers) 1814-1982 May 1982. Free lookups available!

Census
1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Houston 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.

1880


 * Finley, Nina. Census of Houston County Area.Erin, Tennessee : Friends of Houston County Library, 19--?. vol.9
 * Sistler, Samuel D. 1880 census - Houston County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 2000.

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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 2 1891. [Houston County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1890.

1900


 * Finley, Nina. Census of Houston County Area.Erin, Tennessee : Friends of Houston County Library, 19--?. vol.10

1920


 * Bush, Marisa, ed.. Houston County, Tennessee Census, 1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Available at Ancestry ($)

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

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 Houston, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 4,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * [Adams] Proctor, Irene Adams. The Adams Family Kith and Kin: From Halifax County, Virginia to Yellow Creek Valley and Grices Creek, Houston County, Tennessee; a Narrative Account: History, Biography, Genealogy and Legend. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 2000. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Ad17pi.
 * [Beasley] Lockhart, William Thomas. The Beasley Family of Benton, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart Counties of Tennessee. Florissant, Missouri: W. Lockhart, 1985. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B38Lw.
 * [Knight] Garrett, Jill Knight. Knight Cousins. Columbia, TN: Unknown, 1967. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 928090; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

 * Houston County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1871 and is located at the county Courthouse, P.O. Box 388, 100 Main St., Erin, Tennessee 37061; Telephone: (931) 289-3141. 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 1871-1967; probate deed books 1871-1957; trust deed books, 1872-1967; Plat books 1853-1967.

Local Histories

 * Goodspeed firm Goodspeed history of Tennessee The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886 Lookups available for histories of Montgomery, Robinson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, and Houston Counties of Tennessee.
 * Finley, Nina - compiled from records housed at Houston County Board of Education Houston County School Data Pre-1930. 1991 Free lookups available!
 * McClain, Iris Hopkins A history of Houston County. 1966 FHL US/CAN book 976.836 H2 Free lookups available!

Military
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 Houston County pensioners (p. 68)]

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 Houston County click on the following city:


 * Erin

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 Houston 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:


 * The River Counties
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Houston 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.

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 Houston County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Marriage
The original Houston County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Marriages are available from the time the county was created in 1871.

The following Houston County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1871-1991] Available at the TSLA.
 * [1871-1967] Available at the Family History Library. Some volumes are indexed.

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


 * Finley, Nina. Newpaper clipping collection : from the attic of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Brigham. Erin, Tennessee : Friends of Houston County Library, 19--.


 * 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, Discover Your Ancestors: indicate a surname, marriage "event", no date, and a county name (i.e. Houston, 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 many counties.

Houston County is not included in Sistler's Early Middle Tennessee Marriages.

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Houston 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 Houston County (or what later became Houston 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.]

Societies and Libraries
Houston County Historical Society c/o Nina Finley P.O. Box 401 Erin, TN 37061

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Houston County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Houston County Public Library PO Box 183 Erin, TN 37061-0183 Phone: 1-931-289-3858

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Houston County, Tennessee by Dan Martin. Genealogy Resources, Local History, Queries
 * Houston County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Houston County, Tennessee Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Houston County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Houston County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: DanvilleCrossing-L (Tennessee River County Genealogy and History List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: DanvilleQueries-L (Tennessee River County Genealogy and History List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List)