Cumberland County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the Cumberland Mountains. The County is located in the central area of the state.

Cumberland County Tennessee Courthouse
Cumberland County Courthouse 2 North Main St. Crossville, TN 38555 Phone: 1-931-484-6442

Cumberland County Clerk Marriage and Probate records 2 North Main Street, Suite 206 Crossville, TN 38555 Phone: 1-931-484-6442

Cumberland County Register of Deeds Land records 2 North Main St., Suite 204 Crossville, TN 38555 Phone: 1-931-484-5559

Cumberland County Circuit Court Clerk Court records 2 North Main, Suite 302 Crossville, TN 38555 Phone: 1-931-484-6647

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cumberland County Tennessee History
The county is named after the Cumberland Mountains.

Border county between East and Middle Tennessee. Part of the Sequatchie Valley.

Parent County
1855--Cumberland County was created 16 November 1855 from White, Bledsoe, Rhea, Roane, Morgan, Putnam, and Van Buren Counties. County seat: Crossville

County Pronunciation

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

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Tennessee county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1905   Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.


 * Marriages recorded between 1855 and 1904 are lost
 * Probate records 1855 to 1904 are lost
 * All other records, except deeds, destroyed in 1905 fire

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * Bledsoe
 * Fentress
 * Morgan
 * Putnam
 * Rhea
 * Roane
 * Van Buren
 * White

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Cumberland County biography and land 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: Cumberland 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
1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Cumberland 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 Cumberland County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project®

1810 - 1891

Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

1860


 * Kirkeminde, Patricia Barclay. 1860 Census of Cumberland County, Tennessee. n.p.: n.p., 198?..

1870


 * Kirkeminde, Patricia Barclay. 1870 Census of Cumberland County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1984..

1880


 * Sistler, Byron and Samuel D. Sistler. 1880 Census, Cumberland County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler &amp; Associates, 1992..

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. . Cumberland County is included in Vol. 5.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978..

Male Voters


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

Church

 * Hedgecoth, Carolyn Hamby Antioch Church Record Book 1850-1905 C.H. Hedgecoth, 1997 Free lookups available!

Family Histories
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 Cumberland, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 15,000 entries.


 * Compendium of Local Biography, Cumberland, County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1997?..

Bibliography


 * Copeland - Halsell, Orpha Ancestors and descendants of Solomon Addison Copeland Oklahoma City, Oklahoma : P.C. Fletcher, 1988

Land

 * In 1969, the TSLA microfilmed the original Cumberland County Deed Books A to H (1854-1884) and Deed Index Books A to C (1854-1939). Copies of their films are also available at the Family History Library:.
 * Cumberland County (Tennessee) Entry Taker Entry taker's book, 1856-1904 Nashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1969. Free lookups available!
 * Historical Records Project (Tennessee) Journal, 1856-1860, Cumberland County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1940. Free lookups available!

Local Histories

 * Krechniak, Helen Bullard and Joseph Marshall Cumberland County's first hundred years Crossville, Tennessee : Cumberland County Centennial Committee, 1956. Free lookups available!
 * Parsons, Barbara B. Facts, folks and photos of Cumberland County, Tennessee Evansville, Indiana : Wipporwill Pub., c1988 Free lookups available
 * Raulston, J. Leonard and James Weston Livingood. Sequatchie: A Story of the Southern Cumberlands. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1974..

Maps

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

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 Cumberland County pensioners (p. 41)

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1891 - 1965 - at FamilySearch — images
 * Civil War Research Database ($)
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Regiments. Civil War service men from Cumberland County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Cumberland County:

Confederate Soldiers


 * 28th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies B and K.
 * 28th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (2nd Tennessee Mountain Volunteers) - CSA - Companies A and B.

Union Soldiers


 * 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - Company D.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Cumberland County:


 * TNGenWeb, Cumberland County and the Civil War. Information for Union and Confederate Soldiers.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Cumberland 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. Cumberland County, page 328.

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 Cumberland County click on the following city:


 * Crossville


 * Boniol, Michael W. Genealogical and Historical Notes from Crossville, TN Newspapers, Vol. I, 1878- 1899 Crossville, Tennessee : M.W. Boniol, c1995  Free lookups available!

Occupations

 * Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.
 * Tennessee Post Office and Postmaster Appointments 1789-1984 Free lookups available!

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 Cumberland 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
 * East Tennessee Roots
 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of Cumberland County, Tennessee records have been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to these articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots.
 * Overton County, Tennessee Kin
 * "This newsletter, although called “Overton County,” covers all the area in Overton, Fentress, and Pickett County, TN along with Monterey in Putnam County, and Clinton, Wayne and Cumberland County in Kentucky”—Vol. 7, no. 4, p. 2. The Family History Library has vol. 1, issues 1-4; vol. 2, issues 1-4; vol. 3, issues 1-4; vol. 4, issues 1-4; vol. 5, issues 1-4; vol. 6, issue 1; vol. 7 issue 4, vol. 8, issue 2. FHL US/CAN . Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).

Probate Records
Early Cumberland County Will Books were destroyed. In 1969, the TSLA microfilmed surviving Will Books 1 to 3 (1904-1969). A copy of this film is also available at the Family History Library:.

Online Records


 * 1779 – 2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * Wills, 1904-1969 (3 vols.)
 * Bonds, 1905-1969 (3 vols.)
 * Bonds, Letters, 1905-1969 (4 vols.)
 * Letters, 1905-1967 (3 vols.)
 * Settlements, 1906-1969 (7 vols.)

Taxation
The original Cumberland County Tax Books 1904-1968 are kept by the Trustee's Office at the County Courthouse. TSLA microfilmed these records.

The following Cumberland County tax records have been abstracted:


 * 1857 - 1858 - Unpaid Property Taxes, 1857 and 1858, Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin. Cookeville TN: Summer 1986. Vol. 11 Iss. 3.
 * 1858 - Taxpayers, 1858, Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin. Cookeville TN: Winter 1986. Vol. 11 Iss. 1.
 * Delinquent Railroad Taxes, Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin. Cookeville TN: Spring 1986. Vol. 11 Iss. 2.

Vital Records
See also How to order Tennessee Vital Records or order electronically online.

Birth

 * 1869 - 1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1828 - 1939 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1908 - 1912 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry.com — index $


 * 1780 - 2002 - at FamilySearch.org— index


 * 1790 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index and images


 * 1796 - 1950 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1838 - 1888 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1851 - 1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com— index and images $
 * 1905 - 1962 - Reed, Jan M. and Davis, Loreda W. Marriage records of Cumberland County, Tennessee: vol. 1, 1905-1962 Crossville, Tennessee: Cumberland Geneal. Research, 1991 (Crossville, Tennessee : Cumberland Business Suppliers) Free lookups available!

Death

 * 1914 - 1925 - Wiefering, Edna and Cleveland Public Library. Cumberland County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1914 through 1925. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library, 199-?..

For deaths of Methodists in Cumberland County (or what later became Cumberland County) between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:


 * 1847 - 1914 - 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.


 * 1874 - 1955 - at FamilySearch.org — index


 * 1908 - 1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry.com — index and images $


 * 1914 - 1966 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Cumberland County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries
See also a List of Tennessee Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Cumberland County Historical Society Main Street Crossville, TN 38557 Phone: 1-615 456-6532

East Tennessee Historical Society 601 S. Gay St. P.O. Box 1629 Knoxville, TN 37901-1629 Phone: 1-865-215-8824 E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

Art Circle Public Library 154 East First Street Crossville, TN 38555 Phone: 1-931-484-6790 Fax: 1-931-484-2350 Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed. and Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Cumberland County Tennessee Family History Centers
Introduction to Family History Centers

Crossville Tennessee Family History Center 1550 Genesis Rd Crossville, TN Phone: 1-931-484-2507 Hours: Tues., Sat. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

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

Cumberland County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

 * Cumberland County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Cumberland County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Cumberland County TN Genealogy
 * Cumberland County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
 * Mailing List: TNCUMBER-L (Cumberland County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
 * Mailing List: TN-UPPER-CUMBERLAND-L (Upper Cumberland Tennessee Region Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region