Lewis County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Lewis County

Middle Tennessee county. Established 1843.





County Courthouse


Lewis County Courthouse 110 North Park Street Hohenwald, Tennessee 38462 Phone: 931-796-3734

Lewis County Clerk Marriage, probate and court records 110 N. Park, Room 105 Hohenwald, TN 38462 Phone: 931-796-2200

Lewis County Register of Deeds Land records 110 N. Park, Room 104 Phone: 931-796-2255

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm

History


The county is named after Explorer Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809).

Parent County
1843--Lewis County was created 21 December 1843 from Hickman, Maury, Lawrence, and Wayne Counties. County seat: Hohenwald

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Research Guides

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

Census
1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Lewis 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, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than those available online.

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. 8 1891. [Lewis County is included in Vol. 8.]
 * 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.

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


 * Lewis County Historical Society. History and Families, Lewis County, Tennessee. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 1995. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8432 H2L.

Bibliography

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 Tennessee State Library and Archives 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 The Tennessee State Library and Archives; another version is available at World Vital Records.

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 Lewis 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

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Lewis 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.

The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Lewis County, Tennessee have been published in The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, the quarterly of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society (23+ Vols.). To view a list of these articles, visit their online Index to Articles (1988-2005). Surname indexes are also available online for Vols. 2-22. The website also offers back issues for sale in paper and on CD. The Family History Library has a complete collection of this quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.85 D25m.

The River Counties

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Lewis 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
The following Lewis County probate records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1842-1861] 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.]
 * [1846-1936] Coleman, Brenda Willis. Tennessee, Lewis County Court Clerk Wills, Nov 1846-1936. Atoka, Tenn.: B.W. Coleman, 199-?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8432 P2c.

Vital Records
Death

For deaths of Methodists in Lewis 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
Lewis County Historical Society PO Box 703 Hohenwald, TN 38462 Telephone 931-796-3505

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Lewis County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Lewis County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Lewis County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)