Clay County, Tennessee Genealogy

Guide to Clay County, Tennessee ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
Clay County was named for American statesman Henry Clay, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century. The county is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse PO Box 749 139 East Lake Ave. Celina, TN 38551 Clay County Website Phone: 931-243-2557 County Clerk Phone: 931-243-2249 Chancery Clerk and Master Phone: 931-243-3145 Register of Deeds Phone: 931-243-3298 Clerk of Circuit Court Phone: 931-243-2557

County clerk has married records from 1870 Clerk and Master has probate records from 1870 Court records, marriage and divorce from 1870 Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records from 1870 Register of Deeds has land records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
Additional Information

The county is named after U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay (1777-1852).

Middle Tennessee county established in 1870. The western part of Clay County's land belonged to the pioneer Cumberland Settlements.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. 2004. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. . Includes Clay County.

Census Records
1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Clay 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.

1810-1891


 * Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry ($)

1890 Lost substitutes are available:


 * Reed, Sue S. Enumeration of Male Inhabitants of Twenty-one Years of Age and Upward, Citizens of Tennessee, January 1, 1891, as Provided for by an Act of General Assembly of Tennessee, Passed January 15, 1891, and Approved January 22, 1891. 8 vols. Houston, Texas: S.S. Reed, 1989. . Clay County is included in Vol. 6.
 * Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978..
 * 1890 Clay County veterans found on the 1890 Federal Census. Hosted by Rootsweb.

Male Voters 1891


 * 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry ($)

1920


 * Young, Denise, ed. Clay County, Tennessee Census, 1920 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Clay County, Tennessee Census, 1920 at Ancestry ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * Clay County, Tennessee Court Records

Genealogies
Family Histories

General


 * Clay County, Tennessee History and Families. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Publishing Co. Publisher's description.
 * Masters, Jack and Bill Puryear. Founding of the Cumberland Settlements: The First Atlas 1779-1804: Showing Who Came, How They Came, and Where They Put Down Roots. Gallatin, Tenn.: Warioto Press, 2009. . Supplements: ff. Purchase at Cumberland Pioneer Settlers.

Bibliography


 * Donaldson - Waters, Elise Donaldson. Genealogy of Donaldsons of Wilson and Clay County, Tennessee; Colsons, Browns, and Hords of Virginia and Tennessee, and Related Families. Nashville, Tenn.: E.D. Waters, 1981..
 * Fowler - Waters, Elise Donaldson. Genealogy of Sylvanus Fowler of Newburgh, New York, Jackson and Clay County, Tennessee: and Related Families. Nashville, Tenn.: E.D. Waters, 1979..
 * Lincoln - Warren, Louis Austin. Hananiah Lincoln in Revolution and Pioneer History. Bloomington, IN: University Press, 1929. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online.

Land and Property Records

 * Clay County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1871 and is located at Courthouse, POB 430 Celina, Tennessee 38551; 931-243-3298, 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 deeds1871-1904. Land Grants
 * Free index to 1500+ Pioneer Cumberland Settlements Land Grants, available online, courtesy: Cumberland Pioneer Settlers. The Cumberland Settlements region covered what is now this county. To view the land grants platted on maps, purchase the books described on this site, or access those available at the Family History Library.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
War of 1812
 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1960):40-45. ; digital version at journal website. Includes Clay County pensioners (pp. 40-41)

Civil War

Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1891-1965 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * Civil War Research Database
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Confederate Soldiers


 * 8th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company H.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Clay County:


 * USGenWeb Archives, Clay County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Clay County. 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). Online at Internet Archive. Clay County, page 326.
 * 1890 Census for Pickett, Fentress, &amp; Clay Counties. Here is a listing of all Union Civil War veterans and their wives. It lists name, rank, company, town they lived in, any ailments, and county.

Since Clay County was not formed until December 1870, you will need to check the military records of its parent counties, Jackson and Overton for military records of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.

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 Clay County click on the following city:


 * Celina


 * 1847-1851 - 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. 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.

Prisons

 * 1831-1850 - Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850 at Tennessee State Library and Archives
 * 1851-1870 - Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870 at Tennessee State Library and Archives

Periodicals

 * Ansearchin' News: Quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. For a keyword search, go to the county index. Read previous issues on their website;
 * The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History: Quarterly magazine of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society. For surnames, use the volume-by-volume index, or do a keyword search of the Article Index..

Probate Records
The Clay County Court has responsibility for probate records.

Online Records


 * 1779-2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1871-1931 - Clay County portion of at FamilySearch - images only; handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes.- How to Use this Collection

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.


 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

 * 1789 Cumberland Settlements, Tax List, 1789, The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Fall 1990). For access, see Clay.  Includes area that later became Clay County.

Birth

 * 1828-1939 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1869-1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1912 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection

Marriage
Online Indexes and Records


 * 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($)
 * 1780-2002  - Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. ($) Index may not be complete for all counties.
 * 1780-2002 -   at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1790-1962 - - at FamilySearch. index and images. Covers all counties in Tennessee.- How to Use this Collection
 * 1796-1950 - (Indexes only) at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1838-1888 -   at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1851-1900 -  Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1871-1873  - Marriage Records, 1871-1873, Clay County, Tennessee. FHL/CAN Film 7725108. Click on camera icon. +++
 * 1871-1880, 1909-1917 -  Clay County, Tennessee Marriages. (Alphabetical search)  at the USGenWeb Archives
 * 1871-1895 - Clay County Marriage Index 1871-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch
 * 1980-2014 - Marriage Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Book Abstracts and Indexes
 * Early Clay County, Tennessee, Marriages. Lafayette, Tennessee: Ridge Runner, 2001.

Death
For deaths of Methodists in Clay County (or what later became Clay County) between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:


 * 1874-1955 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1933 - Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1908-1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1908-1912 - Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1933 - Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1914-1966 - at FamilySearch- How to Use this Collection
 * 1949-2014 - Death Records Index 1949-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index

Divorce
Online Onlines Online Titles
 * 1796-1850 - Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850 at Tennessee State Library & Archives - index
 * 1800-1965 - Tennessee. Tennessee Divorce and Other Records, 1800-1965. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Available at Ancestry ($)
 * 1980-2014 - Divorce Records Index 1980-2014 at Shelby County Register of Deeds - index
 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FamilySearch Digital Library.

Family History Centers

 * Cookeville Tennessee Family History Center
 * Crossville Tennessee Family History Center
 * Jamestown Tennessee Family History Center
 * Art Circle Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Clay County Public Library  116 Guffey Street Celina, TN 38551-4088 Phone: 931-243-3442 Email: [mailto:claycountylibrary@hotmail.com claycountylibrary@hotmail.com] Website The Clay County Library has a genealogical collection including local and family history.

Museums
Clay County Museum of History P.O. Box 684 805 Brown St. Celina, TN 38551 Phone: 931-243-4220 Email: [mailto:ccmuseum@twlakes.net ccmuseum@twlakes.net] Website Facebook

Societies
Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. P.O. Box 575 Cookeville, TN 38503-0575 Email: [mailto:info@ucga.info info@ucga.info] Website

Websites

 * Clay County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Clay County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * Cumberland Pioneer Settlers Cumberland Compact Signers, Pioneer Land Grant Recipients, Publication Descriptions, Free Book Indexes
 * Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

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