McNairy County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    McNairy County

West Tennessee county. Established 1823.





County Courthouse


McNairy County Courthouse 170 Court Avenue Selmer, TN 38375 Phone: 731-645-3511

McNairy County Archives 170 Court Avenue, Basement level McNairy County Courthouse Selmer, TN 38375 Phone: 731-645-7095

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8 am - 1 pm Closed Wednesdays and weekends

History
The county is named after "John McNairy, judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Tennessee."

Parent County
1823--McNairy County was established 8 October 1823 from Hardin County. County seat: Athens

Record Loss
1881--Fire damaged records
 * Lost marriages: 1823 to 1860

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: McNairy 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.)

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

Bibliography


 * [Auten] Langston, Kathryn. Auten News. [Newsletter] Lavon, Texas: K. Langston, 1997-2002. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.27305 Au81a.
 * [Ballard] Miller, Lynne D. Texas Ballards. Lincolnton, North Carolina: L.D. Miller, 2000. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B212mtx; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Birchett] See Combs.
 * [Brooks] Brooks, Moses Edward. Descendants of James Brooks. Unknown: unknown, 1974. Available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Cain] Truett, Earl A. William Hardin Cain, His Descendants and the Founders of Northwest Lafayette County, Mississippi. 2 vols. Oxford, Miss.: E.A. Truett, 1978-1980. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C123t ff.
 * [Combs] Cooke, Katherine Joss. The House that Grew. Alexandria, Va.: K.J. Cooke, 1988. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C733ck.
 * [Dawson] Ebrom, Janet Dawson and Gregory Alan Dawson. Dawson -- Deaton, Pioneers to Texas. San Antonio, Texas: Dawson Books, 1989. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D327e.
 * [Deaton] Wilson, Larry M. Genealogy of the Family of Deaton. Kansas City, Missouri: L. Wilson, 1993. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D349w; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Donnell] Frame, Peggy Campbell. The Albert Franklin Donnell Family. Aztec, N.M.: P.C. Frame, 2005. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D718f; digital version at BYU Family History Archives..
 * [Ellis] Family Records of the Ellis and Leonard Families. MSS., microfilmed in 1965; FHL US/CAN Film 414865.
 * [Harris] Crockett, Barbara Jean Harris. Barbara's Book: A Compilation of Harris History. Fenton, Michigan: B.J.H. Crockett, 1981. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H24cb.
 * [Harris] Gohr, Glenn W. James David Harris: His Kith and His Kin: A Compilation of Harris History. Springfield, Missouri: G.W. Gohr, 1990. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H24go.
 * [Hightower] Hales, Samuel Dale. A History of Some English Speaking People Called Hales, Hendricks, Hightower and Hearne Who Lived in the South and in Texas, 1634-1934. Shawnee Mission, Kansas: S.D. Hales, 1975. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H137hs.
 * [Hurst] Branch, Virginia. The Hurst Nation: A Family History. 2 vols. Paragould, Ark.: V. Branch, 1987-1991. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H943b ff.
 * [Richards] Richards, James P. Richards Family Genealogical Records, 1743-1978. Typescript, FHL US/CAN Film 1320608 Item 31.
 * [Wharton] Wharton, Richard. Richard Wharton papers, 1863 - 1906. Book contributor: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A diary, letters and other writings including his service in the Confederate Army, letters relating to family matters, a genealogy of the Wharton family, poems and speeches. Free digital copy.

Local Histories

 * Wright, Marcus Joseph. Reminiscences of the Early Settlement and Early Settlers of McNairy County, Tennessee. Washington, D.C.: Commercial Pub. Co., 1882. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 599232. Digital version at Google Books.

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. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes McNairy 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 McNairy County, Tennessee records 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.

Back Trackers

Publication of the McNairy County Genealogical Society, Selmer, Tenn. The Family History Library has Vols. 1-4 (1991-1994): FHL US/CAN Book 976.829 B2b.

Family Findings

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of McNairy County, Tennessee records have been published in Family Findings, the quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society (42+ vols.). The Family History Library has most issues of this quarterly FHL US/CAN 976.8 B2f.

Tables of contents for some volumes are available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb Project:


 * Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
 * Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
 * Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
 * Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)

Many articles from this publication have been reproduced on the TNGenWeb Project website, try this specialized Google search to retrieve them.

McNairy County History and Genealogy Newsletter

The Family History Library has volume 12 no. 3 and 4 FHL US/CAN 976.829 D25n The Newsletter is indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)

West Tennessee Historical Society Papers

Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Prisons
Learn if your McNairy County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: [http://www.state.tn.us/tsla/ Tennessee State Library and Archives

Taxation
The original McNairy County Tax Books 1867-1882 were microfilmed by the Tennessee State Library and Archives. A copy of their film is also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 983095-983096.

The following McNairy County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1890] Brown, Albert. McNairy County, Tennessee, Research Records: The 1890 Tax Record of McNairy County. Bethel Springs, Tenn.: A. Brown, 1994. FHL US/CAN Book 976.829 R4b.

Vital Records
Marriage

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


 * [1861-1865] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 1 ff. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.]

Death

For deaths of Methodists in McNairy 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.]

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * McNairy County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * McNairy County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * McNairy County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW-TN-L (Southwest Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNMCNAIR-L (McNairy County, Tennessee List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List)