DeKalb County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
DeKalb County was named for Revolutionary War hero Major General Johann de Kalb. The county is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
DeKalb County Courthouse 1 Public Square Smithville, TN 37166 DeKalb County Website Phone: 615-597-5711 Circuit Court Clerk Phone: 615-597-5711 County Clerk Phone: 615-597-5177 Clerk and Master Phone: 615-597-4360 County clerk has marriage records from 1848 and probate records from 1854 Chancellor Court clerk has divorce records Register 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

Middle Tennessee county.

The county is named after Revolutionary War hero Johann de Kalb (1721-1780), a German baron.

Biographies

 * All of the family biographies from the History of DeKalb County, Tennessee (1887) by Goodspeed Publishing Co., are available online at My Genealogy Hound.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. 2004. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. . Includes DeKalb County.

Census Records
1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of DeKalb 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 ($)

1840
 * Parsley, Jorene W. DeKalb County, 1840, Eleven Districts Population. Smithville, Tennessee: J.W. Parsley, 1985.

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, Middle District, DeKalb County on page 155.

1850
 * Parsley, Jorene W. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1850 for DeKalb County, Tennessee. Smithville, Tennessee: J.W. Parsley, 1988.

1860
 * Parsley, Jorene W. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1860 for DeKalb County, Tennessee. Smithville, Tennessee: J.W. Parsley,19-?.

1870
 * Parsley, Jorene W.Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1870 for DeKalb County, Tennessee. Smithville, Tennessee: J.W. Parsley, 198-?

1880
 * Parsley, Jorene W. and Brenda J. Tramel Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1880 for DeKalb County, Tennessee. Smithville, Tennessee: J.W. Parsley and B.J. Tramel, 198-?
 * Sistler, Byron. 1800 Census, DeKalb County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B.H. Sistler, 1993.

1890 Lost, but substitutes are available:


 * 1890 Civil War Veterans Census of DeKalb County, Tennessee, available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.

1891 Male Voters
 * Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry ($)
 * See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.
 * See DeKalb County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®

1900


 * Parsley, Jorene W. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1900 for DeKalb County, Tennessee. Smithville, Tennessee: J.W. Parsley, 1988.

1920


 * Young, Denise, ed.. DeKalb County, Tennessee Census, 1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Available at Ancestry ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places


 * Grime, John Harvey. History of Middle Tennessee Baptists: With Special Reference to Salem, New Salem, Enon and Wiseman Associations. Nashville, Tennessee: Baptist and Reflector, 1902.Includes names changes for places in Middle Tennessee. Free digital copy.
 * Salem Baptism Church Minutes, 1809-1908, Dekalb County, Tennessee. TGenWeb Project. Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939.

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.

Genealogies
More than 23 genealogies have been published about DeKalb County, Tennessee families. For more information visit DeKalb County, Tennessee Compiled Genealogies.


 * The Justin Potter Library in Smithville, Tennessee maintains an online list of published genealogies held in their collection. See: An Inventory of Genealogy Books found at the Justin Potter Library.

Land and Property Records

 * Dekalb County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1838 and is located at Courthouse, Room 205, Smithville, Tennessee 37166; Telephone: (615) 597-517. 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 deeds 1838-1897 with indexes 1898-1968; Land entries 1838-1905.

Local Histories

 * DeKalb County History. 1915. By Will T. Hale. Nashville, Tennessee: P. Hunter. Online at Internet Archive.
 * The Goodspeed Histories of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren and White Counties: With Biographical Sketches and Aboriginal Map of Tennessee. McMinnville, TN: B. Lomond Press, 1972. Reprint. Originally published: Nashville, TN: Goodspeed Pub. Co., 1887. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library;

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * Revolutionary War Veterans, Dekalb County, Tennessee A list of those who served in the Revolutionary War and later lived in Dakalb county, including biographies.

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, Middle District, DeKalb County on page 155.

War of 1812
 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1960):40-45. ; digital version at journal website. Includes DeKalb County pensioners (p. 43)

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
 * 1891-1965 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Research Database
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 1st Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (McNairy's) - CSA - Company E.
 * 1st Battalion, Tennessee Infantry (Colms') (20th Battalion) - CSA- Companies A and C.
 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry-CSA- Companies C, D, F, and K.
 * 7th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA
 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Smith's) - CSA - Company D.
 * 11th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Gordon's) - CSA - Company F.
 * 16th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies A and G.
 * 22nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Barteau's) -CSA - Company C.
 * 23rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Martin's) - CSA-2nd Company C.
 * 24th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company F.
 * 35th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (5th Infantry) (1st Mountain Rifle Regiment) - CSA - Company I.
 * 50th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies B and K.
 * 84th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA

Union Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Company G.
 * 4th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Companies E, F, G, and K.
 * 5th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies A, B, C, and K.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from DeKalb County:


 * Head, Thomas A. Campaigns and battles of the Sixteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteers, in the war between the states, with incidental sketches of the part performed by other Tennessee troops in the same war.1861-1865. Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House, 1885. Free digital copy
 * TNGenWeb, DeKalb County, Tennessee, Civil War. A variety of links available.
 * Allison's Cavalry Squadron. A brief history and organization.
 * USGenWeb Archives, DeKalb County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: DeKalb 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. DeKalb County, page 331-332.

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 Dekalb County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Alexandria
 * Liberty
 * Smithville


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

For deaths of Methodists in DeKalb 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;


 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History: Quarterly magazine of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. For surnames, use the volume-by-volume index, or do a keyword search of the Article Index..


 * The Upper Cumberland Researcher: Quarterly magazine of Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association. Articles include abstracts of records of Cannon, Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Van Buren, Warren, and White counties. Index of first 17 years, with county list starting on page 19. (1975-1993) and  (1994-present).

Probate Records
The DeKalb County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Online Records


 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1838-1967 DeKalb County portion of at FamilySearch - images only; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.- How to Use this Collection
 * 1838-1967 Images of Wills, Inventories 1838-1854; 1859-1872; 1854-1900; 1873-1900; 1901-1950; 1951-1967 at South Eastern Genealogy ($)

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1846-1907 - Majors, Betty Moore. DeKalb County, Tennessee, Genealogy from Administrator's Settlement Books, 1846-1907. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1992. Indexed. (FS Library book 976.8532 D2m.)
 * 1838-1861 - 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 probate records.
 * USGenWeb's DeKalb County page also has some 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
Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1839 "DeKalb County, Tennessee 1839 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Summer 1993):65-70. For possible FS Library and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * 1839 - Douthat, James L. 1839 DeKalb County, Tennessee Tax List. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Mountain Press provides online surname list.
 * 1846 "DeKalb County, Tennessee Delinquent Property Taxes, 1846," Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 2 (1992):76-.
 * 1906-1907 - "DeKalb County, Tennessee Road Taxpayers, 16th District, 1906-7," Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Fall 1992):116-.

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
 * 1838-1888 at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1848-1859 - Marriage Records, 1850-1866, DeKalb County, Tennessee.Typescript. FS Library film 24639 (Item 4). Click on camera to open.
 * 1848-1895 - DeKalb County Marriage Index 1848-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1851-1900 Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1980-2014 Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Book Abstracts and Indexes


 * 1848-1880 - Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. FS Library|976.8 V2sb|book v. 2. Indexes names of brides, grooms, marriage dates for this county for the specified years.
 * 1848-1900 - Marriages recorded in DeKalb County, Tennessee, 1848-1900. FS Library|976.8532 V2p|book

Death

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

Family History Centers

 * Cookeville Tennessee Family History Center
 * McMinnville Tennessee Family History Center
 * Nashville Tennessee Family History Center
 * Brentwood Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives - an affiliate library.
 * Williamson County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Justin Potter Library 101 S. 1st St. Smithville, TN 7166-1706 Phone: 615-597-4359 Website This library holds the now defunct DeKalb County Genealogical Society's collection: Genealogy materials. Alexandria Branch Library 109 Public Square P.O. Box 367 Alexandria, TN 37012-0367 Phone: 615-529-9124 Website Dowelltown Branch Library Church Street P.O. Box 87 Dowelltown, TN 37059-0087 Phone: 615-536-5997 Liberty Public Library 103 College Street Liberty, TN 37095 Phone: 615-536-6116

Websites

 * DeKalb County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region
 * – 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.

Research Guides

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