Tennessee

Welcome to our Tennessee family history research page. Here you'll find record collections, history, and genealogy resources to help you trace your Tennessee ancestors.

Data Collections

A genealogical history

Statehood: June 1, 1796
Capital: Nashville
Largest City: Memphis
Counties: 95
State motto: Agriculture and Commerce
State nickname: The Volunteer State
Neighboring states: Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri

Interesting facts

• Prior to European settlement Native American tribes in present-day Tennessee included Cherokee, Chocktaw, Chickasaw, and Shawnee. The area was a hunting ground for these and other native groups.
• Prior to the American Revolution, Tennessee was claimed by North Carolina. That state ceded its claim to the federal government after the war, although it reserved some sections for grants to Revolutionary War veterans. Part of the territory ceded to the government for a time became the state of Franklin which lasted only four years before merging with the new state of Tennessee.
• Sections of the boundary between Tennessee and Kentucky were disputed for many years. In 1820 a survey still left sections in question and it wasn’t until a subsequent survey in 1859 that the boundary was finally established. Records for both states should be checked for families living in that area prior to the settlement of the boundary.
• Although Tennessee seceded from the Union in May of 1861, there was strong pro-Union sentiment in eastern portions of the state and many Tennesseans served in the Union forces. More than 400 battles were fought within the state during the Civil War.
  

Featured Tennessee collections

Famous people

WWI hero, Alvin C. York ("Sergeant York"), World War I Draft Registration Card

WWI hero, Alvin C. York ("Sergeant York"), Marriage Record

Help and advice

• Tennessee Family History Research
• Counties of Tennessee
• Cumberland and Atlantic States Research
• Against the Historical Background
• The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands
• Why Southern Research Is Different, Part I and Part II

Resources

Tennessee Census Research

Federal censuses for Tennessee have been lost or destroyed for 1790 and 1800, though tax lists can serve as substitutes for the missing enumerations. The 1810 census has survived for only Rutherford and Grainger counties, and the 1820 enumeration exists for only twenty-six counties, all in middle and west Tennessee.

Beginning in 1830, the censuses are available for each census year, except for the destroyed census of 1890.

No territorial or state censuses are known to exist. However, some reconstructed records can be found in 1770–1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements: Davidson, Sumner, Tennessee Counties (In What is Now Tennessee).

Tennessee Vital Records

Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1914, with general compliance achieved by the early 1920s. Some fragmented earlier records also exist.

Marriages have been recorded on a county basis since as early as 1778, though many counties are incomplete or missing until as late as the 1850s.

• Tennessee Office of Vital Records: Holds records of births, marriages, divorces, and deaths.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives: See the Research and Collections page for a discussion of Tennessee vital records, and links to Tennessee Death Indexes covering the years 1908-1912 and 1913-1930.

Tennessee Research Resources

The organizations listed below provide information about Tennessee history and genealogy. In addition to these state-level resources, many counties and towns maintain important genealogical collections in local libraries, genealogical societies, or historical societies, so check for a local resource when

Statewide Research Resources

• Tennessee State Library and Archives: In addition to the extensive on-site collections in Nashville, the Digital Collections provide a wide range of online resources, including the Tennessee Virtual Library (TeVA), Civil War information, Nashville City Directories, and more.
• Tennessee Historical Society: The Society’s collections are held at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
• Tennessee Genealogical Society
• Tennessee GenWeb
• Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA): A digital archive of Tennessee history and culture, this site contains many collections of interest to genealogists, including several on the Civil War.
• The National Archives at Atlanta: This facility maintains records from Federal agencies and courts in Tennessee, including census, military, court, naturalization, and immigration records.

Specialty and Regional Resources

• East Tennessee Historical Society – Genealogy page: Lists local research resources, including the McClung Historical Collection at Knox County Library, a key resource for East Tennessee research.
• Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society
• West Tennessee Historical Society

Search for historical records for ancestors in Tennessee.