Cannon County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Cannon County

Middle Tennessee county. Established 1836.





Quick Dates
Cannon County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
Cannon County Courthouse 200 West Main St. Woodbury, TN 37190-1195 Phone: 1-615-563-4278

County Clerk has marriage records Register of Deeds has land records.

Hours: Mon.-Tues. and Thurs.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (Closed Wed.) Sat. 8 a.m.-noon

History
The county is named after Tennessee Governor Newton Cannon (1781-1841).

Parent County
1836--Cannon County was created 31 January 1836 from Warren, Coffee, Wilson and Rutherford Counties. County seat: Woodbury

County Pronunciation


Did we get the accent right? If not, contact Nathan W. Murphy, [mailto:murphynw@familysearch.org murphynw@familysearch.org].

Record Loss
1934 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.


 * Lost census: 1890
 * Lack of marriage records: 1836 to 1837

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle
 * When the Records are Gone in Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Genealogy Blog

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Coffee
 * DeKalb
 * Rutherford
 * Warren
 * Wilson

Research Guides

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

African American
The following have information concerning African American research. Both should be used:


 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records


 * African American Research for Tennessee is specific for Tennessee

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 Cannon County cemetery records:

Census
1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Cannon 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.

See Cannon County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1810 - Lost, except for those records coming from portions of parent county Rutherford. A substitute exists for lost portions:


 * Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001..

1840


 * Transcription of the 1840 Federal Census for Cannon County Tennessee Located at TNGenWeb.
 * Spradley, Pat. "Cannon County, TN - 1840 Federal Census," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives. [Source: NARA Roll #519, Microcopy #704, Tennessee Vol. 2 (1-191).]

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Middle District, Cannon County on page 155.]

1850


 * Porch, Deane. Cannon County Tennessee, 1850 Census. Franklin, Tennessee: C. Lynch, 1974.
 * S-K Publications. "Cannon County, TN - 1850 Census Index," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.

1860


 * Index and transcription of 1860 Federal Census for Cannon County Tennessee, available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Census Project.

1880


 * Sistler, Byron and Barabara Sistler. 1880 Census, Cannon County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: Byron Sistler and Assoc., 1974.

1890- Lost but a substitute is available:


 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Illinois: Byron Sistler and Assoc., 1978.

Church

 * Grime, John Harvey. History of Middle Tennessee Baptists: With Special Reference to Salem, New Salem, Enon and Wiseman Associations. Nashville, Tennessee: Baptist and Reflector, 1902. Includes names changes for places in Middle Tennessee. Free digital copy.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Cannon County residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.

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


 * Cannon County Historical Society. Cannon County, Tennessee: 1836 History and Families 1995. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Pub. Co., 1995. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8535 D2c; FHL US/CAN Book 976.8535 H2c. Publisher's description.

Bibliography


 * [Alexander] Andrews, Vera B. Alexanders of Cannon Co., TN: A Family History and Genealogy, Covering 1848-1989, Plus Some Earlier. Elkhart, Ind.: V.B. Andrews, 1989. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 AL26av.
 * [Dickson] Smith, Austin Wheeler. The Dickson-McEwen and Allied Families Genealogy. Cookeville, TN: Unknown, 1945. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D561s. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Duggin] Butler, E. Dean. History of the Duggin and Related Families of Cannon County, Tennessee. Memphis, Tenn.: E.D. Butler, 1979. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D879d.
 * [George] See Gray.
 * [Gray] Webb, Thomsa G. The Webb Families of Dekalb County, Tennessee, and 23 Related Families: Including Bethel, Cantrell, Colvert, Fuson, Gribble, Hicks, Jaco, Judkins, Magness, Mangum, Moser, Parker, Potter, Redmon, Snow, Turner, and Weedon Families, Along with the Farmer and Foushee Families of Virginia; the Gray, George, and Sageley Families of Cannon County, Tennessee, the Nathaniel Miller Family of Rutherford County, Tennessee, and Others. Smithville, Tenn.: Bradley Printing Co., 2002. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 W381wt.
 * [McEwen] See Dickson.
 * [Sageley] See Gray.

Land

 * Cannon County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1836 and is located at Courthouse, Public Square, Woodbury, Tennessee 37190; (615) 563-4278. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
 * The Family History Library has microfilm copies of deed books 1836-1892 with indexes 1836-1916; land entries 1836-1897; Surveyors' books 1836-1860; and oil and gas leases 1869-1881.

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 TSLA 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 TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

 * The Goodspeed Histories of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren and White Counties: With Biographical Sketches and Aboriginal Map of Tennessee. McMinnville, TN: B. Lomond Press, 1972. Reprint. Originally published: Nashville, TN: Goodspeed Pub. Co., 1887. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 924077 Item 2. Digital version available at World Vital Records ($). Available for purchase at Quintin Publications.

Military
Revolutionary War

The following Cannon County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:


 * 1) 1835 Pension Roll
 * 2) 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

Additional resources include:


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Middle District, Cannon County on page 155.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb.

War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan. 1960):13-16. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Cannon County pensioners (pp. 15-16).]

Civil War


 * Hancock, Richard R. Hancock's Diary: or, A History of the Second Tennessee Calvary. Nashville, Tennessee: Brandon Printing Co., 1887. Free digital copy. Regiment organized in Auburn, Cannon county. Their movement with the Second Tennessee Calvary.

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 Cannon County click on the following towns:


 * Auburntown
 * Woodbury

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 Cannon 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


 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Cannon 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 Upper Cumberland Researcher


 * Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Cannon County, Tennessee have been published in The Upper Cumberland Researcher, the journal of the Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. To view a list of the first 17 years of these articles, visit their online Seventeen Year Index to The Upper Cumberland Researcher (Vols. 1-17, 1975-1992). The Index contains a "Counties" section beginning on page 19. The Family History Library has most issues through the present FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2u (1975-1993) and FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2u (1994-present).

Prisons
Learn if your Cannon County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.
 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

Probate
Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. You may find the names of married daughters or other relatives and their residences; or information about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Probate records do not always give an exact date of death, but the death usually occurred within four months of probate. These documents are important to family history researchers, because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept.

The Cannon County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

The following Cannon County probate records have been abstracted or indexed:


 * [1836-1895] Carlson, Gladys. Abstract of Cannon County, Tennessee Will Book. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, [2001?]. Indexed. Contains Vol. A. (FHL book 976.8535 P28c.)
 * [1836-1861] 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.]

Taxation
The following Cannon County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1847] "Cannon County, Tennessee Tax Sale, 1847," Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Aug. 1990): 181-. For access, see Periodicals.
 * [1854] Spradley, Pat. "Cannon County, TN - Census - Insolvent Tax List, 1854," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives. [Source: Cannon County Clerk Minute Book C:400 (Jan Term 1855), TSLA Roll #21.]
 * [1869] "Cannon County Land Sold for Unpaid Taxes in 1869," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Spring 1997):8. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.

Marriage
The original Cannon County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Marriages were not officially recorded in Cannon County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2L.

The following Cannon County marriage records are microfilmed:


 * [1838-1989] Available at the TSLA. Marriages 1838-1898 are available for interlibrary loan. Marriages 1929-1934 are missing.
 * [1838-1867, 1871-1929, 1934-1959] Available at the Family History Library. Indexes are at the front of each volume.

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


 * [1850-1866] Marriage Records, 1850-1866, Cannon County, Tennessee. Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project.  Typescript.  Item 1


 * [1838-1873] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler &amp; Associates, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 2 ff. [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.]


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett and Ella Lee Sheffield. 35,000 Tennessee Marriage Records and Bonds 1783-1870. 3 vols. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2t v. 1 . [Abstracts include names of brides, grooms, bondsmen, marriage bond dates, and officiators for weddings in this county. Marriage data taken from an index card file at the TSLA. Authors do not specify whether or not the card index completely indexes this county's marriages.]


 * RecordSearch at FamilySearch now includes indexed Tennessee marriages. This is a free pilot site and still under construction.  At this time, it is best to search from the home page; indicate a surname, marriage "event", no date, and a county name (i.e. Cannon, Tennessee).  Browse through the results for that surname. You may need to supply any variant spellings of the surname in separate searches.
 * Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. $ Be aware that this index is not complete for all counties.
 * Cannon County is not included in Marriage Records. or in Marriage Records: Early–1850.

Libraries
Adams Memorial Library 212 College St. Woodbury, TN 37190 Phone: 1-615-563-5861 (Main Library) Contacts: cannonlib@dtccom.net Hours: (Central Time): Mon., Wed., Fri., Sat. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues. 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Thurs. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun. CLOSED Special Notes: A great library with a growing genealogy collection. The library has an online catalog.

Cannon County Historical Society Meets quarterly at the Adams Memorial Library where information may be obtained regarding the society.

Auburntown, Tennessee, Historical Society Blog A blogspot dedicated to focusing on the past, present and future of Auburntown, Tennessee.

Societies
Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society PO Box 330948 Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507 The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Cannon County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy &amp; History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Web Sites

 * Cannon County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Cannon County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * The Cannon County, Tennessee Genealogy Project (The American Local History Network) Resources to help you place your ancestors within the context of their local history.
 * Cannon County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free genealogy resources for the region
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-UPPER-CUMBERLAND-L (Upper Cumberland Tennessee Region Genealogy List)