Tennessee, Jackson County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Tennessee  Jackson County

What Is in the Collection?
This collection includes digital images of marriage records, 1888-1974 and records of the Chancery and Circuit Courts,1801-1962 from Jackson County, Tennessee. Additional records are available at the Jackson County Archives, P.O. Box 193, Gainesboro, TN 38562.

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Tennessee marriages click here.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Key genealogical facts in marriage records usually include:


 * First name of bride
 * Maiden name of bride
 * First name of groom
 * Last name of groom
 * Place of marriage

Key genealogical facts in court records usually include:


 * Names of involved individuals
 * Court date
 * Name of court
 * Location of court
 * Details of the dispute or case
 * Monies assessed or exchanged
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of the bride or groom.
 * The approximate marriage date.
 * The place of marriage.
 * The name of the intended spouse.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "County" ⇒Select the "Record Type, Date Range and Volume" which takes you to the images.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the residence and names to locate church and census records.
 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the parents’ birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment records or military records.
 * Search for records of people in the county who shared a surname. These may have been the couple’s parents, uncles, or other relatives. Your ancestor may have been an heir who sold inherited land that had belonged to parents or grandparents.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Some counties were subdivided or the boundaries may have changed. Consider searching neighboring counties as well since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Image Citation: