Family Tree USA – September 2019

38 FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019

of a new county. For boundary change details, see Tennes-

see County Formation Maps <tngenweb.org/maps/county-

ani/tn-maps/tn-cf.html>.

Early Tennesseans left county records including petitions,

deeds, wills and licenses, but fi nding them can be a chal-

lenge. Residents may have lived in multiple counties and

have records scattered among county courthouses.

STARTING PLACES

You’ll need to identify your ancestors’ county (or counties)

because most genealogical records are based there. Ask

relatives and check these places for information:

CENSUSES: Tennessee didn’t take state or territorial

censuses. The US government fi rst counted Tennessee in

1810, but only the Rutherford County census survived. Like-

wise, most 1820 records of East Tennessee no longer exist.

1772

Early settlers form

an independent

government called

the Watauga

Association

timeline

1791

The Knoxville

Gazette is founded

as Tennessee’s fi rst

newspaper

1803

The Louisiana

Purchase increases

migration to and

settlement in

Tennessee

1828

Tennessean

Andrew Jackson

is elected US

president

1838–1839

Cherokee Indians

are driven out of

Tennessee along

the Trail of Tears

1861

Tennessee secedes

from the Union

TENNESSEE

Tennesseans

have always embodied

a pioneering spirit.

KENTUCKY

TA X LISTS: If your ancestors lived in Tennessee prior

to 1830, look to tax records as alternatives to the census.

Some lists provide just the names of taxpayers, but others

include the amounts of property, their value and locations.

Both the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA)

<sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/early-tennessee-tax-lists-tennes

see-state-library-and-archives> and the Family History

Library (FHL) <www.familysearch.org> have microfi lmed

tax lists.

Marion

Bradley

Franklin

Fayette McNairy Lincoln

Moore

Hardin

Hardeman

Giles

Hamilton

Lawrence

Shelby

Wayne

Ches Grundy Sequatchie

ter

Tipton

Lewis

Bedford

Coffee

Marshall

Bledsoe

Madison

Haywood

Henderson

Van Buren

Rhea

Perry

Decatur

Maury

Warren

Lauderdale

Cannon

Hickman

Crockett Williamson

White

Rutherford

Dekalb

Carroll Cumberland

Dyer

Gibson

Humphreys

Benton Dickson Wilson Putnam

Houston

Davidson

Smith

Cheatham Trousdale

Lake Weakley Henry

Obion Jackson Overton

Fentress

Stewart Montgomery Robertson Sumner Macon Clay Pickett

Center Hill L.

Chickamauga L.

Kentucky L.

Old Hickory L.

Tennessee^ R

Cum

berla

nd^ R.

Duck R

Mississ

ippi^ R.

Collierville

Millington Lawrenceburg

East Ridge

Brownsville

Red Bank

Tullahoma

Lewisburg

Shelbyville

Dyersburg

McMinnville

Dickson

Smyrna

Brentwood La^ Vergne

Union City

Lebanon

Goodlettsville

Sprin Gallatin

gfield

Germantown

Bartlett

Cleveland

Columbia

Franklin

Hendersonville

Cookeville

Jackson

Murfreesboro

Clarksville

Chattanooga

Memphis

Nashville

ALABAMA GEORGIA

AR

KA

NS

A

S

MISSISSIPPI

M

IS

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