Grundy County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Grundy County







Middle Tennessee county in the Sequatchie Valley. Established 1844.

County Courthouse


Grundy County Courthouse Courthouse Circle, Grundy Street Altamont, Tennessee 37301 Phone: 931-692-3455

Grundy County Clerk Marriage records P.O. Box 215 Altamont, TN 37301 Phone: 931-692-3622

Grundy County Chancery Court Clerk Probate records P.O. Box 274 Altamont, TN 37301 Phone: 931-692-3455

Grundy County Circuit Court Clerk Court records P.O. Box 161 Altamont, TN 37301 931-692-3368

County Register of Deeds Land records P.O. Box 35 Altamont, TN 37301 Phone: 931-692-3621

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

History


The county is named after U.S. Attorney General Felix Grundy (1777-1840).

Parent County
1844--Grundy County was created 29 January 1844 from Coffee and Warren Counties. County seat: 

Record Loss
1853 and 1990 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Coffee
 * Franklin
 * Marion
 * Sequatchie
 * Warren

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Grundy 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.)
 * "Grundy County Genealogical 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

 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone. May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Grundy County linking to the information about the people buried there,


 * Grundy County, TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.


 * Grundy County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project lists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.


 * Grundy County cemetery information with transcriptions on TNGenweb Project


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Grundy county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.
 * Some Grundy County cemetery inscriptions are on Interment.net


 * For a list of known cemeteries in Grundy County go to ePodunk.com

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.

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


 * [Killian] Killian, J. Yates. The History of the Killian Family in North Carolina. Unknown: Unknown, 1955. Available at FHL US/CAN Fiche 6019000; digital versions at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).

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

 * Raulston, J. Leonard and James Weston Livingood. Sequatchie: A Story of the Southern Cumberlands. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1974. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 H2r.

Military
Civil War


 * Blevins, Jerry. Sequatchie Valley Soldiers in the Civil War: Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion and Sequatchie Counties in Tennessee and Jackson County in Alabama. Huntsville, Ala.: J. Blevins, 1990. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 M2b.

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 Grundy County.]
 * Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.

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 Grundy 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 Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Grundy 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.

The Pathfinder

"Grundy County Historical Society was founded February 1988 in Tracy City, Tennessee. The Grundy County Historical Society will collect preserve, research, and interpret documents that connect us to the past." (web site). The Family History Library has volumes beginning in 1996. FHL US/CAN Book 976.878 H25p. To view a digital version of Volume 1, A.1 "Founding of Grundy County" click here To view a digital version of Volume 1, A "Marriages" click here. For further information see their website at: http://gchs.homestead.com/mainpage.html

Prisons
Learn if your Grundy County ancestors went to prison!


 * Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

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


 * [1838-1861] 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.]

Vital Records
Death

For deaths of Methodists in Grundy 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
Grundy County Historical Society P.O. Box 1422 465 Railroad Avenue Tracy City, TN 37387 Hours: Weekdays 10 am - 4 pm Saturdays by appointment

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * Grundy County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Grundy County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Grundy County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)