Hamblen County, Tennessee

In the 1780s, this county's land fell within the bounds of the State of Franklin.

East Tennessee county established in 1870. From 1784 to 1788, this land was claimed by the abortive, and short-lived State of Franklin.

Hamblen County is named after Tennessee pioneer Hezekiah Hamblen.^[3]

The land which eventually became Hamblen County was first organized by the State of Franklin in March 1786 from parts of Greene and Sullivan counties under the name of Spencer later Hawkins County, and from part of Greene County under the name Caswell County.^[4][5]However, the Franklin statehood effort faded by 1789. Spencer and Caswell counties existed only briefly, their legality is questionable, and little trace remains.

The records of lost Spencer County are now found on the Wiki
The records of lost Caswell County are now found on the Wiki

North Carolina and the Southwest Territory did not recognize any of Franklin's new counties. Later in 1786 the North Carolina legislature created a parallel-county of Franklin's Spencer County and called it Hawkins County. It was known by both county names while Frankln's statehood efforts lasted up to 1788.^[5] Since then the land on which the lost county of Spencer County was located has been called Hawkins County, Tennessee.

In 1792 the Southwest Territory using land from its Greene and Hawkins counties erected a new county named Jefferson County.^[5] In 1796 all these lands also became part of the new State of Tennessee, and Grainger County was split off from Hawkins County.

In 1870 Tennessee used parts of Hawkins, Grainger, and Jefferson counties to form Hamblen County.^[6]

Parent County

1870--Hamblen County was created 8 June 1870 from parts of Grainger, Jefferson, and Hawkins Counties.
County seat: Morristown^[7]

County Pronunciation

1. Hear it spoken^[8] (female)
2. Hear it spoken^[9] (male)

Boundary Changes

"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss

Records are complete.

Places / Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Hamblen County biography, cemetery, and marriage records. To determine which books are being searched, or to search each publication's index individually, click here. You are now equipped with a checklist of books to pull off the shelves at a genealogy library, or a wish list for your personal book collection.

Research Guides

• Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Hamblen County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)

African American

United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Cemeteries

Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

The Tennessee Cemeteries page provides explanations of the following online resources:

Published Hamblen County cemetery records:

Census

1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Hamblen 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 familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than nationwide online indexes.

See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

1880

• Scanned census images [in the USGenWeb Archives]
• Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census Hamblen County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler & Associates, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8923 X2s 1880.

Church

Baptist

• DeBoard, George Mitchell et al. Personal Records of a Minister: Rev. George Mitchell DeBoard, Grainger County, Tennessee; Includes Many People from Hancock, Hawkins and Hamblen Counties, Tennessee). Dallas, Texas: H.P. Garner, 2001?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8932 K2d.

Court

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

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Hamblen, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 6,800 entries.

Bibliography

• [Flagg] Descendants of Josiah Flagg of Berkeley County, W. Va.; with Sketches of the Flagg, Keyes, Foss, Shively, Hughes, Slemons and Campbell Ancestries. Boston: Press of T.R. Marvin, 1920.  Free digital copy, courtesy: Internet Archive.
• [King] History of the King Family of Hamblen County, Tennessee. Typescript, TSLA, Nashville, Tenn. Microfilmed in 1939. FHL US/CAN Film 24670 Item 4.
• [Lee] Lee Family Collection, ca. 1613-1924. Typescript. FHL US/CAN Film 1550782.
• [Miller] Wine, Cecil J. The Michael Miller Family. Radford, VA: Commonwealth Press, 1964. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M612w; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

The original Hamblen County Deed Books are held at the County Courthouse. In the 1970s, the TSLA microfilmed Deed Books 1-10 (1870-1891) and Indexes (1870-1952). Copies of their films are available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 969627-969633.

Local Histories

Maps

Military

Revolutionary War

• Russellville, Brief History of Soldiers, 1776+, Tennessee Ancestors, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Aug. 2002).

War of 1812

• Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Jul. 1960):65-68. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Hamblen County pensioners (p. 66)]

Civil War

• Civl War Research Database $
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Civil War service men from Hamblen County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Hamblen County.

Confederate Soldiers

• 12th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Day's) - CSA - Company D.
• 59th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Cooke's) (Eakin's 1st Battalion) - CSA - Company I.
• 60th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Crawford's) (79th Infantry) - CSA - Company H.
• 61st Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Pitts') (81st Infantry) - CSA - Company G.

Union Soldiers

• 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company D.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Hamblen County:

• TNGenWeb, Hamblen County Civil War Page, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). 
• USGenWeb Archives, Hamblen County Tennessee Archives, (accessed 30 Jan 2012).  Civil War Records.
• CWSAC Battle Summaries, Bull's Gap, (accessed 30 Jan 2012).  Located in Hamblen and Greene Counties.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications : Hamblen County, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Includes soldier's name, county, pension #, unit or widow.
• United States Pension Bureau, List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883: Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for ... (Washington Printing Office; 1883), (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Online at Internet Archive. Hamblen County, page 340.
• The Civil War & Morristown, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). 

Civil War Battles

The following Civil War battle was fought in Hamblen County.

• November 11-13, 1864 = Bull's Gap[10]

Map showing Civil War battles in Tennessee.

Newspapers

Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at the TSLA. Most of these newspapers may be accessed by interlibrary loan to libraries within Tennessee, although there are some newspapers which are not available in or outside of Tennessee. For further information regarding interlibrary loan policies and newspapers not available for interlibrary loan click here. For a list of newspapers available at the archives for Hamblen County click on the following cities or towns:

• Morristown
• Whitesburg

Occupations

• Miller, Alan N. East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2m. Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Hamblen County.]
• Blomquist, Ann Kicker Cheek's Cross Roads, Tennessee, store journal 1802-1807 Baltimore, Maryland : Gateway Press, c2001 FHL book 976.8923 U3b. Digital version available at FamilySearch Books Online.

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

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Hamblen 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.

East Tennessee Roots

A genealogical article with abstracts of Hamblen County, Tennessee records has been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to this publication's articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 D25e.

Hamblen Heritage

Family History Library has Volume 1 - 13 (1986 - 1998) FHL US/CAN book 976.8923 B2h
Hamblen Heritage is indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)

Private Papers

• Diary and Scrapbook of Catherine (Kate) Livingston, 1857-1868, Hamblen County, Tennessee. Typescript, Tennessee State Library, Nashville, Tenn. FHL US/CAN Film 24670 Item 3.

Probate

The original Hamblen County Loose Wills are held at the County Archives. In 2007, the Genealogical Society of Utah microfilmed these records, date range: 1870 to 1974: FHL/VAULT US/CAN Film 1669931-1669932, 1669941 Item 1.

FamilySearch has placed scans of the following records online in the Tennessee, Probate Court Books, 1795-1927 collection. These are browse-only collections. Handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes:

• Wills 1870-1974

Taxation

The original Hamblen County Tax Books 1877-1889 (gaps) are held at the County Courthouse. In the 1970s, the [[Tennessee_State_Library_and_Archives|TSLA] ]microfilmed these records. A copy of their film is also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Film 969637.

The following Hamblen County tax resources have been abstracted:^[11]

• [1860] Morristown Property Tax, 1860, Hamblen Heritage. Morristown TN: Spring 2000. Vol. 15 Iss. 2.
• [1890] 1890 Tax Book - Hamblen County, Tennessee. Purchase through Hamblen County Archives.
• [1896] Delinquent Tax Payers Notice, 1896, Hamblen Heritage. Morristown TN: Summer 2007. Vol. 22 Iss. 3.

Vital Records

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Hamblen County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, see:

• W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.

Death

• Tennessee Death Certificates 1908-1952 Free lookups available
• Williams, Marguerite White and Hamblen County Genealogical Society. Death Records of Hamblen County, Tennessee, 1902-1950. Morristown, Tenn.: Hamblen County Genealogical Society, 1995. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8923 V2h.

For deaths of Methodists in Hamblen County (or what later became Hamblen 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

Hamblen County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 1213
Morristown, TN 37816-1213
Phone: 423-586-1961

East Tennessee Historical Society
601 S. Gay Street
P.O. Box 1629
Knoxville, Tennessee 37901-1629
Phone: 865-215-8824
Email: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

Morristown-Hamblen Public Library
417 West Main Street
Morristown, TN 37814
Phone: 423-586-6410
Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat. 9 am - 5:30 pm
Tuesday and Thursday 9 am - 8 pm

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
• Morristown Tennessee Family History Center
  6301 Hiawatha Rd
  Morristown, Hamblen, Tennessee, United States
  Telephone: 423-586-0901
  Hours: Wed 6pm-8:30pm;
  

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

Wikipedia has more about this subject: Hamblen County, Tennessee

• Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
• Hamblen County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Hamblen County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
• Hamblen County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: TNHAMBLE-L (Hamblen County, Tennessee List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-L (East Tennessee List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: FRANKLIN-STATE-L (State of Franklin 1784-1788 List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: UPPEREASTTN-L (Upper East Tennessee List)

References

1. ↑ Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey (W.P.A.), 1941; "Earliest County Records," Tennessee State Library and Archives.
2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hamblen County, Tennessee page 640, At various libr40ries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
3. ↑ "List of counties in Tennessee," Wikipedia.
4. ↑ “State of Franklin” in The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture at http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=F061 (accessed 27 June 2010).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Robert M. McBride, "Lost Counties of Tennessee," East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 38 (1966): 4-5.
6. ↑ Alice Eichholz, ed. Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 637.
7. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 640. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.
8. ↑ Voice of Lynnae Weller, Kingsport, Tenn. (2010).
9. ↑ Voice of Gene Black, FamilySearch employee, former resident of Bristol, Tenn. (2010).
10. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 17 August 2012)
11. ↑ The Heritage Quest Online version of PERSI aided in the compilation of this list.