Bradley County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States   Tennessee    Bradley County





East Tennessee county. Established 1836.

County Courthouse
Bradley County Courthouse 155 Ococee Street Cleveland, Tennessee 37311 Phone:423-728-7226

Bradley County Clerk Marriage and Probate records 155 Ocoee Street Courthouse, Room 101 Cleveland, TN 37311 Phone:423-728-7226

Bradley Register of Deeds Land Records P.O. Box 46 Cleveland, TN 37364 Phone: 423-728-7240 Located at courthouse

Bradley County Clerk of Circuit Court Court Records P.O. Box 46 Cleveland, TN 37364 Phone: 423-728-7214

Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Friday 8:30 am - 5 pm Closed for Lunch 12 pm - 1 pm

History
The county is named after Tennessee state legislator Edward Bradley.

Parent County
1836--Bradley County was created 10 February 1836 from Cherokee Indian Lands. County seat: Cleveland

Record Loss

 * Early will books and some early deeds have been lost
 * Antebellum marriage records are lost

For help with burned counties, see:


 * When the Records are Gone in Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Genealogy Blog

Populated Places
Cities &amp; Towns:

Neighboring Counties

 * Catoosa County, Georgia
 * Hamilton
 * Meigs
 * McMinn
 * Murray County, Georgia
 * Polk
 * Whitfield County, Georgia

Research Guides

 * Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Bradley 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.)

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often include birth, marriage, and death information.


 * 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 Bradley County linking to the information about the people buried there,


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


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


 * Bradley County cemetery transcriptions with additional information on TNGenweb Project


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Bradley county. Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Bradley County cemeteries


 * Ross, Ernest Lafayette Historical Cemetery Records of Bradley County, Tennessee c1973 FHL US/CAN 976.887 V3r Free lookups available!

Census
1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Bradley 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 Bradley County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®]

1850


 * Campbell, Ellen Ann Westerberg. Bradley County, Tennessee: 1850 Federal Census. Cleveland, Tenn.: E.A.W. Campbell, 1973. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 X2c 1850.
 * S-K Publications. "Bradley County, TN - Census - 1850 Census Index," available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.

1860


 * Snell, William R. and Bradley County Historical Society. 1860 Federal Census, Bradley County, Tennessee. [Cleveland, Tenn.?]: W.R. Snell, 1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 X22s 1860.

1870


 * Lee College History students and Cleveland Public Library staff and volunteers. Bradley County, Tennessee, 1870 Census Index. [Cleveland, Tenn.: Lee College], 1987. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 X2b index.

1880


 * Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census - Tennessee: Transcription for Bradley County. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 198-?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 X2s.

1900


 * Cleveland Public Library. Bradley County, Tennessee 1900 Census Index. [Cleveland, Tenn.]: Cleveland Public Library, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 X22c 1900 index.

1920


 * Cross, Nancy, Brenda Davis and Edna Wiefering. 1920 Bradley County, Tennessee, Census Index. Cleveland, Tenn.: [Cleveland Public Library], 1999. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 X28c 1920. [Typo on FHL Catalog reads Cenus Index.]

Court

 * Wallace, Alexander; Herriford, Paul; Sherrill, Charles A. Circuit Court Abstracts 1836 - 1860 Cleveland, Tennessee : Cleveland Public Library (Tennessee), 1988 FHL US/CAN 976.8873 P28 Free lookups available!

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


 * Bradley County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Bradley County, Tennessee, 1836-1998. [Cleveland, Tennessee?] : Bradley County Heritage Book Committee, c1998 ; Waynesville, North Carolina: Don Mills (Salem, West Virginia : Walsowrth Pub. Co.). FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 H2t.
 * Wooten, John Morgan. Brief Sketch of Pioneer Families of Bradley County, Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tenn.: n.p., 1934-1936. FHL US/CAN Film 966946 Item 5. [Includes families of Callaway, Clingen, Craigmiles, Day, Donohoo, Edwards, Gaut, Goodner, Hambright, Hughes, Jones, Julian, Lusk, Lea, McCarty, Parks, Still, Waterhouse, Weatherly, Ramsey, Shugart.]

Bibliography


 * [Ball] Brown, Forrest D. and Dorothy Stivers Brown. The Ball--Stivers--McCroskey--Brown Family Lines. 2 vols. Lewisburg, Pa.: F.D. &amp; D.S. Brown, 1976. FHL US/CAN Film 1036293 Items 8-9.
 * [Carson] Stork, Dorla Jane White and Edward Baker Faust. Lincoln Collen and Mary McGovern Carson and Descendants. Bakersfield, Calif.: D.J.W. Stork, 2004. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C239s; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [D'Armond, Deyarmon, DeArmond, d'Armand, DeArment, DeArmon, Dearmont, Deyarmond, DeArman] D'Armand, Roscoe Carlisle. DeArmond families of America. Knoxville, TN: Family Record Society, 1954. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 928601 Item 1. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Day] Day, James Edward. Descendants of Christopher Day of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Los Angeles?: J.E. Day, 1958. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D33d; FHL US/CAN Film 978076; digital versions at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Elmore] Johnston, Leigh. The Paper Trail of the Elmore - Lawson - Pruett and Bolt - Calhoun - Johnston - Willis Families. 2 vols. Overland Park, Kansas: L. Johnston, 2003. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 EL64jL v. 1 ff.
 * [Kelley] Smith, Paul and Alba Nannie Hickman Smith. Joel Kelley, ca 1775 - ca 1862. Alpharetta, Ga.: P. Smith, 1984. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 K287sm.
 * [Lauderdale] Lauderdale, Charles J. The Lauderdales of Scotland and America, 1056-1936. Joplin, MO: Gahagan Print. Co., 1937. Available at FHL US/CAN Film 1307515 Item 5, digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Loyd] Lloyd, Gary G. The Lloyd (Loyd) Families of Putnam County, Missouri. Kirksville, Mo.: G.G. Lloyd, 1996. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 L775Lg.
 * [McAndrew] Skeen, A.T. Clan McAndrew. Winston-Salem, N.C.:A.T. Skeen, 1988. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M118mc.
 * [Richmond] Travis, Vaud Ancil. The Descendants of John Richmond of Virginia: Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma &amp; West. Southern Pines, N.C.: V.A. Travis, 2004. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R414t; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. Supplement: FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R414t supp. 1; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Ross] Ross, Ernest Lafayette. History of the Ross Family in Bradley County, Cleveland, Tennessee. Cleveland, Tenn.: E.L. Ross, 19--?. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R733reL.
 * [Smith] Smith, David Eugene. Pedigree, 1832-1978, of David Eugene Smith, and Smith Family Bible Records, 1832-1940. MSS., Microfilmed in 1989. FHL US/CAN Film 1320835 Item 38.
 * [Smith] Smith, Paul and Alba Nannie Hickman Smith. Wm. B. Smith Descendants. Alpharetta, Ga.: P. Smith, 1990 (Canton, Georgia : Industrial Printing Service, Inc.). FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Sm68sp.
 * [Stivers] Brown, Forrest D. and Dorothy Stivers Brown. The Ball--Stivers--McCroskey--Brown Family Lines. 2 vols. Lewisburg, Pa.: F.D. &amp; D.S. Brown, 1976. FHL US/CAN Film 1036293 Items 8-9.

Land
The original Bradley County Deed Books are held at the County Courthouse. The Tennessee State Library and Archives microfilmed Deed Books A to L (1839 to 1891) and an index and Trust Deed Books A to M (1864 to 1902). Copies of their microfilms are also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 966924-966933.

McClure, Lucille Abstracts of Ocoee District : early land records - entries Signal Mountain, Tennessee : Mountain Press, [1991] FHL US/CAN 976.8 R28m Free lookups available!

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

 * Hurlburt, J.S. History of the Rebellion in Bradley County, East Tennessee. Indianapolis [Downey and Brouse,printers?], 1866. Free digital copy
 * Bradley County Heritage Book Committee The Heritage of Bradley County, Tennessee, 1836 -1998 Cleveland, Tennessee? : Bradley County Heritage Book Committee,c1998; Waynesville, North Carolina : Don Mills (Salem, West Virginia : Walsowrth Pub. Co.) FHL US/CAN book 976.8873 H2t Free lookups available!
 * Bradley County Historical Society (Cleveland, Tennessee) Reflections past and present : a pictorial history of Bradley County Dallas, Texas : Taylor Pub., c1991 FHL US/CAN 976.8873 H2 To view index click here.

Maps

 * Bradley County, Tennessee: Pre-Civil War Settlement Map. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1992. FHL US/CAN Map Case 976.8873 E7b. [Includes Indian settlements, mills, churches, cemeteries, schools.]

Military
Civil War


 * 1831-1850 Civil War Pension Applications for Bradley County Free lookups available!
 * Carter, William Randolph. History of the First regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry in the Great war of the Rebellion, with the Armies of the Ohio and Cumberland, under Generals Morgan, Rosecrans, Thomas, Stanley and Wilson. Knoxville, Tennessee: Gaut-Ogden Co. Printers, 1902. Free digital copy, courtesy: Internet Archive. Union.
 * Confederate Pension Applications Free lookups available!
 * Hurlburt, J.S. History of the Rebellion in Bradley County, East Tennessee Bethesda, Maryland : Univeristy Publications of America, c1990 FHL US/CAN Fiche 6082656 Free lookups available!
 * Index of Union and Rebels in Bradley County Free lookups available!
 * Tennesseans in the Civil War Published by the Civil War Centennial Commission, Nashville, TN, 1987. [http://www.tngenweb.org/bradley/lookup.html Free lookups available.
 * Wiefering, Edna et al. Tennessee Union Soldiers: of Bradley, McMinn and Polk Counties Serving in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 10th TN Cavalry 5th TN Infantry and 5th TN Mounted Infantry. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library (Tennessee), 1996. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 M28tus. Confederate.

Newspapers

 * Snell, William R.; Taylor, Virginia Faye; Bradley County Historical Society. Death and marriage notices in the Cleveland banner (Tennessee), 1865-1883. Bradley County Historical Society : Cleveland, TN. Free digital copy


 * Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. 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 Bradley County click on the following cities:


 * Charleston


 * Cleveland

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 Bradley 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 Bradley 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.

Bradley Branches

Family History Library has Volume 6, no. 2 (summer 1993). FHL US/CAN 976.8873 B2b Bradley Branches is indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).

Chronicles of Bradley

Prisons
Learn if your Bradley 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
Some of Bradley County's original Will Books have been destroyed. Those that survive are held at the County Courthouse. TSLA microfilmed Will Books 1 to 2 (1859 to 1905). FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 464077 Item 3 and 966923 Items 2-3.

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


 * [1859-1861] 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.] Free Lookups Available!
 * [1864-1883] Fagen, Barbara Bradley County Will Book, 1864-1883, index [S.I. : s.n., 198-?] FHL US/CAN book 976.8873 P2b Free lookups available!

Taxation
The Tennessee State Library and Archives microfilmed the original Bradley County Tax Books 1865-1890. Copies of their microfilms are also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 966935-966937. Free lookups availablefor some early east Tennessee tax records.

The following Bradley County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1836] Douthat, James L. Bradley County, Tennessee, 1836 Tennessee Civil Districts and Tax Lists. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 R4d 1836. Free lookups available!
 * [1837] Snell, William R. 1837 Tax List, Bradley County, Tennessee. 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 R4t.
 * [1837-1839] Nichols, Elizabeth Riggins. "Bradley County, Tennessee Tax Lists 1837 - 1838 - 1839," Vol. 33, No. 1 (Spring 1986):9-14; Vol. 33, No. 2 (Summer 1986):69-72; Vol. 33, No. 3 (Fall 1986):119-122, 126. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. Free lookups available!
 * [1837] Map from Tax List, 1837, Bradley Branches. Cleveland TN: Summer 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 2.
 * [1837-1839] Tax Lists, Dist. 4 &amp; 5, 1837-39, Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society Quarterly and Newsletter. Benton TN: May 2000. Vol. 6 Iss. 1.
 * [1837] Tax List, 1837, Bradley Branches. Cleveland TN: 2001. Vol. 14 Iss. 3-4.
 * [1838] Snell, William R. 1838 Tax List, Bradley County, Tennessee. 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 R4L.
 * [1839] Jones, Rena and Kent Hawkins. 1839 Tax List, Bradley County, Tennessee. 197-. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 R4b.
 * [1849] Petition for Amendment of Revenue Law, 1849, Bradley Branches. Cleveland TN: Spring 1997. Vol. 10 Iss. 1.
 * [1862] Cleveland Public Library. "1862 Assessment List: Bradley County, Tennessee," available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
 * [1890] Johnson, David S. and Patsy A. Johnson. Tax List 1890, Bradley County, Tennessee. n.p.: D.S. Johnson, 1985. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8873 R4j.
 * [1890] Tax List, 1890, Districts 1-13, Chronicles of Bradley. Cleveland TN: 1985-1987, Vols. 5-8. Free lookups available!
 * [1909] Langheld, Susan. "Delinquent Tax Notices: Bradley County, Tennessee June 1909," available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb. (Source: Journal &amp; Banner, Cleveland, Tenn., May 21, 1909.)

Vital Records
Birth


 * Tennessee Birth Certificates 1908-1912 - all counties. Free lookups available!

Marriage

Early Bradley County marriage records were lost in courthouse fires. The following publication, based on early newspapers that survived such disasters, may serve as a substitute:


 * Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2L.
 * Manley, Elizabeth Cate Bradley County Marriage Book 1 1864-1887 Free lookups available!
 * Sistler, Byron and Barbara Early East Tennessee Marriages (Two volumes, #1 Grooms, #2 Brides.) Nashville, Tennessee, 1987 Free lookups available!

Death

For deaths of Methodists in Bradley 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.]
 * Tennessee Death Certificates 1908-1954 - all counties. Free lookups available!

Societies and Libraries
Bradley County Historical Society P. O. Box 4845 Cleveland, TN 37320-4845

Bradley County Genealogical Society P. O. Box 1384 Cleveland, TN 37364-1384

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

Bradley County Public Library 795 Church Street NE Cleveland, TN 37311 Phone: 423-472-2163 Email: info@clevelandlibrary.org Hours: Monday - Thursday 9 am - 9 pm Friday and Saturday 9 am - 6 pm Sunday 1 - 5 pm

The History Branch and Archives of the Cleveland Bradley County Library 833 Ocoee Street NE Cleveland, TN 37311 Phone: 423-479-8367 Hours: Monday 9 am - 12 pm and 1 pm - 8 pm Tuesday and Wednesday 9 am - 12 pm and 1 pm - 5 pm Thursday 1 pm - 8 pm Friday and Saturday 9 am - 2 pm Sunday 1 pm - 5 pm Genealogy resources: Vital records, family, city and county histories, court records, local newspapers from 1854 - 1970, Civil War sources, special collections including the Mayfield Papers, James F. Corn Papers (Cherokee Indians) and the William R. Snell Papers. (per website) To see what is included in the manuscript collection see: http://www.clevelandlibrary.org/services/manuscript_collection.php

Web Sites

 * Bradley County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * Bradley County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Bradley County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNBRADLE-L (Bradley 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: SE-TN-L (Southeast Tennessee List)