Franklin County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Franklin County





Middle Tennessee county. Established 1807.

County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse 1 South Jefferson Street Winchester, Tennessee 37398 Phone: 931-967-2541

County Clerk Marriage and Probate records Phone: 931-967-2541

Register of Deeds Land records 931-967-2541

Circuit Court Clerk Court records 931-967-2923

Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm

History


The county was named for Benjamin Franklin.

Parent County
1807--Franklin County was created 3 December 1807 from Warren and Bedford Counties. County seat: Winchester

Populated Places
Cities and Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Coffee
 * Grundy
 * Jackson County, Alabama
 * Lincoln
 * Madison County, Alabama
 * Marion
 * Moore

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Franklin 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.)
 * "Franklin County Research," The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Spring 1992). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.

Cemeteries
For a list of cemeteries in Franklin County, click here.

Census
1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Bedford 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, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than those available online.

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

1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available:


 * 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810.

1820


 * Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981.

1840


 * Phillips, Judy H. Franklin County, Tennessee in the Year 1840 : Featuring the 1840 Census with Abstracts of the 1840 Court Minutes and Deeds. Tullahoma, Tennessee: Phillips &amp; Jackson, 1985.

1850

1860

1870

1880

1890 Lost, but a subtitute is available:


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

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


 * [Bennett] Morris, Lovell Jason. Bennett of Franklin County, Tennessee and Related Families. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: L.J. Morris, 199-?. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B439mL.
 * [Lewis] McBride, Robert Martin. A Footnote to a History of the Lewis Family. Nashville, TN: Unknown, 1954. Available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [McGavock] Aiken, Leona Taylor. The Descendants of James McGavock Sr. and the McGavock Mansions, Fort Chiswell, Va. &amp; Carnton, Franklin, Tenn. [Kingsport, Tenn.]: L.T. Aiken, 1986. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 A1 no. 5141; another copy: FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M172aL.
 * [Simpson] Miner, Ethel Nerim. Descendants of Rice and Rachael Simpson: of Franklin and Moore Counties, Tennessee. Fountain Hills, Arizona: Four Peaks Enterprise, 1986. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Si58me.

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.

Local Histories

 * Fairbanks, George Rainsford.History of the University of the South, at Sewanee, Tennessee. H. and W.B. Drew Co., 1905. Free digital copy.


 * Goodspeed firm, publishers, Chicago. History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties.Nashville, Tenn., The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886. Free digital copy.

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 Franklin 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 records of Franklin 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.

Franklin County Historical Review

The "Review" has been discontinued as of 2005, but back issues are available at their website: www.tngenweb.org/franklin/society.htm The Family History Library has Volume 1 (1970) - volume 30 (2000). FHL US/CAN Book 976.863 B2f. The Review" is indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).

The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Franklin County, Tennessee have been published in The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, the quarterly of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society (23+ Vols.). To view a list of these articles, visit their online Index to Articles (1988-2005). Surname indexes are also available online for Vols. 2-22. The website also offers back issues for sale in paper and on CD. The Family History Library has a complete collection of this quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.85 D25m.

Prisons
Learn if your Franklin 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: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Probate
The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Franklin County probate records. They offer a research service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:


 * 1) Will Book 1: 1808-1826
 * 2) Will Book 2: 1827-1847

The following Franklin County probate records have been abstracted and/or indexed:


 * [1808-1861] 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 wills.]
 * [1808-1847] Strictly by Name (see above).

Taxation
The following Franklin County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1812] Moore, Betty Givens. "Index to the Franklin County, Tennessee Tax and Voter List, 1812," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1971):157-162. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
 * [1812] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. &amp; B. Sistler, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4s. [Includes 1812 tax list.]
 * [1812] Free Taxable Inhabitants, Voters, 1812, Franklin County Historical Review. Winchester TN: 1988. Vol. 19 Iss. 1.
 * [1816] List of Taxes Due in 1816, Franklin County Historical Review. Winchester TN: Jul 1977. Vol. 8 Iss. 2.
 * [1861] Tax Roll, 1861, Historical Tidings. Winchester TN: Jul 2001. Vol. 33 Iss. 3; Oct 2001. Vol. 33 Iss. 4; Feb 2002. Vol. 34 Iss. 1; Apr 2002. Vol. 34 Iss. 2; Jul 2002. Vol. 34 Iss. 3; Oct 2002. Vol. 34 Iss. 4; Feb 2003. Vol. 35 Iss. 1.
 * [1865] Tax List, 1865, Historical Tidings. Winchester TN: Feb 2003. Vol. 35 Iss. 1; Jul 2003. Vol. 35 Iss. 3; Oct 2003. Vol. 35 Iss. 4; Feb 2004. Vol. 36 Iss. 1; Apr 2004. Vol. 36 Iss. 2; Jul 2004. Vol. 36 Iss. 3; Oct 2004. Vol. 36 Iss. 4; Feb 2005. Vol. 37 Iss. 1; Apr 2005. Vol. 37 Iss. 2.

Vital Records
Divorce


 * Tennessee Divorce and Other Records, 1800-1965 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Available at Ancestry ($).

Death

For deaths of Methodists in Franklin 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
Franklin County Historical Society P.O. Box 130 Winchester, TN 37398 Telephone:(931) 962-1476

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Franklin County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Franklin County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Franklin County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)