McMinn County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States Tennessee  McMinn County

McMinn County, Tennessee genealogy and family history research page. Guide to McMinn County (established 1819) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

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

County Courthouse
McMinn County Courthouse 6 E Madison Avenue Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 423.745.1281 County Clerk has marriage, probate and court records from 1820. Register of Deeds has land records.

McMinn County Courthouse 6 West Madison Ave. Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 1-423-745-1281

McMinn County Clerk Marriage, probate and court records 5 South Hill St., Suite A Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 1-423-745-4440

McMinn County Register of Deeds Land records P.O. Box 1074 Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 1-423-745-1232

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 8:30 a.m.-Noon

History
East Tennessee county. Established 1819.

The county is named after Tennessee Governor Joseph McMinn (1758-1824).

Parent County
1819--McMinn County was established 13 November 1819 from Cherokee Indian Lands. County seat: Athens

County Pronunciation

 * 1) Hear it spoken (female)
 * 2) Hear it spoken (male)

Boundary Changes
"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss
1964--Fire damaged records


 * Lost censuses: 1820, 1890
 * Lack of marriage records: 1819 to 1837

Although these are not burned records, applying strategies used for burned counties may aid in compensating for their loss. For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


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

Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published McMinn County biography, census, history, land, and WPA records. To determine which books are being searched, or to search each publication's index individually, click here. You are now equipped with a checklist of books to pull off the shelves at a genealogy library, or a wish list for your personal book collection.

Research Guides

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

African American
United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Bible

 * W.P.A. McMinn Transcripts Book [Bible records and original Cedar Grove cemetery]. Free Lookups Available!

Cemeteries
Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

Various volunteers are willing to search the McMinn County Cemetery Index by Sharon McCormack, which is based on Marvin and Samme Templin's book and cemetery webpages. Free Lookups Available!

Additional McMinn County cemetery resources include:


 * Carlock Cemetery
 * Pleasant Hill Methodist Cemetery
 * Short Creek Baptist Cemetery


 * For a volunteer willing to look up funeral Home records for the names Bayless, Bordwine, Dender, Evans, Jerry Smith, Kyker, Murphy, Quisenberry, Ziegler see the McMinn USGenWeb site.

Census
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of McMinn 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 McMinn County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project®].

1820 - Lost

1830


 * Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969. . Free Lookups Available!

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. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Eastern District, McMinn County on page 153.]

1850


 * Boyer, Reba Bayless. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1850 (Seventh Census) for McMinn County, Tennessee. Athens, Tenn.: McMinn County Chapter, East Tennessee Historical Society, 1961. . Free Lookups Available!

1870


 * Broyles, Bettye J. 1870 McMinn County, Tennessee, Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1983. . Free Lookups Available!

1880


 * Sistler, Barbara and Byron Sistler. 1880 Census, McMinn County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler Associates, 1995. . Free Lookups Available!

Church
Church records include baptisms, marriages and burials, as well as information about family members and clues about family migration. For additional information about church records, religions, and religious archives in Tennessee, see Tennessee Church Records.

In 1936, a helpful guide to McMinn County church records was publised by the Works Project Administration:


 * Douthat, James L. McMinn County, Tennessee, Records : W.P.A. transcript. Signal Mountain, Tennessee : Mountain Press, 1991. Reprint.


 * McMinn County Church Records


 * - Family History Library Catalog -


 * Church histories tell when a church started in the area, who the early members were, give data about church leaders, etc.


 * - Family History Library Catalog -


 * If the records you need are not in the Family History Library collection, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived. Two sites that give information about churches in McMinn County are:


 * - List of McMinn County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)
 * - List of McMinn County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)

Baptist

 * [1832-1967]  Mars Hill Presbyterian Church Records. Athens, 1832-1967. TSLA Reel #466  Item 4
 * [1832-1900] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol.2   Mars Hill Presbyterian Church Records. Athens, 1832-1967.

Methodist Episcopal

 * [1865-1929]  Athens Methodist Episcopal Church Records. McMinn County, 1865-1929. TSLA Reel #369
 * [1827-1900] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. vol.1   Index to original Athens Methodist Episcopal Church Records. McMinn County, 1865-1929.

Presbyterian

 * 1823-1885 - Mars Hill Presbyterian Church Baptism Index 1823-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1823-1885 - Mars Hill Presbyterian Church Marriage Index 1823-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Court

 * Boyer, Reba Bayless Chancery court records of McMinn County, Tennessee [Tennessee] " Reba B. Boyer, 1980 Free lookups available!
 * 1852-1930 McMinn County Chancery Court Records Index Free lookups available!

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


 * [Brown] Multiple descendants of James S. Brown, b. 1780 Rockingham County, Virginia, resident of Lincoln County, Tennessee mid 1820s, resident of McMinn County, Tennessee 1830, d. 1876 DeKalb County, Alabama. Y-DNA 25 and 67 Marker Tests, FTDNA (Kits 39542, 82328). Genetic signatures available online (labeled Group No. 94), genealogical description available online, courtesy: Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study.

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

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in McMinn, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 45,000 entries.

Bibliography


 * [Barnes] See Longley.
 * [Bates] Bates, Madison C. Bates, a Brief History and Genealogy of Joseph Harrison Bates. Galesburg, Ill.: Wagoner Printing Co., 1915. FHL/VAULT US/CAN Film 1145782 Item 3; digital version at Google Books.
 * [Beavers] Beavers, Donald Lewis. Beavers Family: Charles Brack Beavers, 1876-1933. n.p.: D.L. Beavers, 1980?. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B386be.
 * [Bigham] Bigham, Esther W. Genealogical Collection of Esther Bigham. MSS., microfilmed in 1993. FHL US/CAN Film 1598133 Item 1. [Andres Bigham of McMinn County, Tennessee.]
 * [Blake] Johnson, Chester R. The Blakes of Bibb County, Alabama, 1819-1988. Cullman, Ala.: Gregath, 1988. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 B581j.
 * [Boone] Hodges, J. E. Jesse Boone: His Ancestors and Descendants. Maiden, NC: Unknown, 1953. FHL US/CAN Film 1402779; digital version at Heritage Quest Online. ($).
 * [Brown] Schofield, Cuma Drury. My Mother's Brown Family. [North Fork, Calif.: C.D. Schofield], 1990. FHL US/CAN Book 929.273 B812s.
 * [Brown] McCornack, John C. The Family of Ollie Brown and Robert Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee and Foss, Oklahoma. [Peoria, Illinois]: J.C. McCornack, 1992. ; digital version at [
 * [Cantrell] See Longley.
 * [Curd] See Longley.
 * [Delzell] Delzell Family Bible Records, 1847-1936. Published before 1948. FHL US/CAN Film 875412 Item 6.
 * [Dixon] Abshire, Wiley D. Dixon Genealogy. MSS., microfilmed in 1978. FHL US/CAN Film 1036379 Item 25.
 * [Dodson] Lynn, Catherine Gaffin. The Dodson Family of Warren County, Tennessee and Allied Families. [Centerville, Tenn.: Lynn], 1974. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D668Lc.
 * [Firestone] Russell, George Ely. "Firestone Family of Frederick Co., Md.," Western Maryland Genealogy, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan. 1993):2-14; Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr. 1993):62-72.
 * [Gentry] Edwards, Helen Watson. Echoes of the Past: A Book for the Descendants of John Alexander Gentry and Minnie Bell Woods. Montgomery, Ala.: H.W. Edwards, 1992. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 G289eh.
 * [Hampton] Mellen, Diana L. Yesterday: The Hampton, McCracken, Longwith, Mabry & Wells Families. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1991. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H189hm.
 * [Hemphill] Hemphill, Patricia Murphy. James M. Hemphill and Frances A. Neill: of North Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri: and Their Descendants (1800-1999). Decorah, Iowa: Anundsen, 1999. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H377hp.
 * [Hunt] Hunt, Edward E. Descendants of Grandison Hunt, 1801-1982. Prepared abt 1982. FHL US/CAN Film 1320815 Item 42.
 * [Kelley] Smith, Paul and Alba Nannie Hickman Smith. Joel Kelley, ca 1775 - ca 1862. Alpharetta, Georgia: P. Smith, 1984. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 K287sm.
 * [Kincheloe] Hendrix, Dorothy Kincheloe. Ancestors and Descendants of Alexander Bowling Kincheloe and Nancy Catherine Stout. Orem, Utah: D.K. Hendrix, 2001. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 K574h.
 * [Langley] See Longley.
 * [Longley] Matthews, Addah Longley. Genealogy, Curd-Longley, Cantrell-Barnes. North Newton, KS: Mennonite Press, 1966. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C922g; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Morris] Morris, James L. Our Morris Family. [Boise, Idaho]: J. Morris, 1993. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M831mjL.
 * [Morton] Morgan, Donna Morton. The Lookout Mountain Mortons and Their Descendants: Plus Ancestors and Relatives from York Co., Pennsylvania; Mechklenburg Co., North Carolina; Blount Co., Tennessee; and Wacker Co., Georgia, 1731-1989. Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, 1989. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M821mL.
 * [Newman] Benson, Gracie Lee Armstrong, Alice Loraine Benson Slayden, Mildred Lindsey Strange and Susan Cantrill Christie. The Cantrell-Newman Genealogy. Bowie, Texas: Mrs. W.E. Benson ; Mrs. J. Slayden, [1964]. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C169b.
 * [Owen] Owen, Cyril Revella Zina and Dorothy Barbara Cross Owen. Owen - Cross Family History. Aptos, Calif.: C.R.Z. ; D.B.C. Owen, 1979. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Ow2ocr.
 * [Pope] Pope, George M. Our Pope Family in America: With Brief Genealogy of the Rutherford, Odell, Morgan and Banks Families. Murfreesboro, Tenn.: G.M. Pope, 2002. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 P81pg.
 * [Rothwell] Fischer, Myra Smith. A Rothwell Book: Comprising the Descendants of Claiborne Rothwell of Albemarle County, Virginia, through Nine Generations and Interesting Sketches About Some of His Descendants. Memphis, Tennessee: M.S. Fischer, 1964. ; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Rutherford] Guthrie, Glenita. Family Cookin' II: With a Dash of Family History. Westville, Oklahoma: G. Guthrie, [1995]. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R159g.
 * [Smart] Goforth, George Tuttle. Smart Genealogy. Annadale, Md.: G.T. Goforth, [198-]. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 A1 no. 6413.
 * [Starr] Garrett, Sandi. Descendants of Thomas Starr, Nannie Wolf ; Nancy Foreman: "Ani-Yun-Wa-Ya" Real People. Spavinaw, Oklahoma: Cherokee Woman Pub., 2000. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 St28gsa.
 * [Thomas] Roy, Claude N. The Roy Family of Virginia and Tennessee: Goddard, Thomas, Lee, McDaniel. n.p.: C.N. Roy, 1994. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 R812rc.
 * [Thompson] Thompson, Mary Ann Morris. Samuel Thompson of McMinn County, Tennessee and Some of His Descendants: Including the Related Families of Cobb, Cooke, Derrick, Lattimore and Rogers. Plano, Texas: M.A.M. Thompson, 1993..
 * [Whitmore] Whitmore, Mary Louisa. A Brief History of Mary Louisa Whitmore. FHL FAM HIST Q Storage 929.273 W598wm.
 * [Wolfe] Moore, Kenneth. Jeremiah Wolfe Family. Typescript, microfilmed in 2003. FHL US/CAN Film 1440545 Item 24.

Land
In 1970, TSLA microfilmed the original McMinn County Deed Books A to II (1820-1900) as well as a Deed Index (1893-1927). FHL copies:.

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

Military
Revolutionary War

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


 * 1835 Pension Roll
 * 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
 * McQueen, Ed and Bigham, W.L. (Transcribed by) McMinn County, Tennessee Revolutionary War Pensioner's List
 * TnGenWeb Revolutionary War Pensioner's Information of McMinn County, Tennesse

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. . 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Eastern District, McMinn County on page 153.]
 * 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. [Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.]

War of 1812


 * Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan. 1961):20-23. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes McMinn County pensioners (p. 20).]

Civil War


 * Civl War Research Database $
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Civil War service men from McMinn County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from McMinn County.

Confederate Soldiers


 * 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Carter's) - CSA - Company C.
 * 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.
 * 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Lillard's) - CSA - Company G.
 * 5th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (McKenzie's) - CSA
 * 16th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Neal's) - CSA - Company B.
 * 19th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company H.
 * 39th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (W. M. Bradford's) (31st Infantry) - CSA - Company F.
 * 43rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Gillespie's) (5th East Tennesse Volunteers) - CSA - Company H.
 * 59th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Cooke's) (Eakin's 1st Battalion) - CSA - Companies A and H.

Union Soldiers


 * 5th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Companies A and D.
 * 9th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company M.
 * 10th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies C, D and I.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from McMinn County:


 * 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..
 * Worsham, William J. Old Nineteenth Tennessee regiment, C.S.A. June, 1861-April, l865. Knoxville, Tennessee: Press of Paragon Printing Co., 1902. Free digital copy.
 * USGenWeb Archives, McMinn County Tennessee Archives, (accessed 31 Jan 2012). Civil War Records.
 * Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications : McMinn County, (accessed 31 Jan 2012). 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), (accessed 31 Jan 2012). Online at Internet Archive. McMinn County, page 359-360.
 * TNGenWeb, McMinn County Military Units, (accessed 31 Jan 2012). Confederate and Federal.

Newspapers
Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 McMinn County click on the following cities or towns:


 * Athens
 * Calhoun
 * Englewood
 * Etowah

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. . Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes McMinn County.]

Probate
In 1970, TSLA microfilmed McMinn County Will Books A to H (1819-1925). FHL copies:.


 * Wills, 1819-1925 (Vols. A-H)
 * Bonds, 1874-1921 (3 vols.)
 * Bonds, Letters, 1897-1932 (2 vols.)
 * Insolvent estate records, 1879-1942
 * Inventories, 1873-1923 (Vols. 1-4)
 * Settlements, 1876-1922 (2 vols.)

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


 * 1) Will Book A: 1819-1830

McMinn County's probate records have been indexed and/or abstracted multiple times:


 * [1819-1830] Strictly By Name (see above).
 * [1820-1870] Boyer, Reba Bayless. Wills and Estate Records of McMinn County, Tennessee 1820-1870. 1966. . Free lookups available!
 * [1820-1861] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills ; Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler ; Associates, Inc., 1990. . [Includes an index to this county's probate records.] Free Lookups Available!
 * [1823-1851] [Dates?] Bell, Annie W.B. Record of Marriages and Wills in McMinn County, Tennessee, 1823-1851. 1935..
 * [1828-1848] Historical Records Project (W.P.A.). Will Books, 1828-1848, McMinn County, Tennessee. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed in 1940..

Taxation
TSLA microfilmed the original McMinn County Tax Books 1829-1832, 1872, 1875-1898 back in 1970. FHL copies:.

The following McMinn County tax records have been abstracted:


 * [1825] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. ; B. Sistler, 1977. [Includes 1825 tax list.]
 * [1829-1832, 1836] Reksten, Harold and Reba Bayless Boyer. Index to McMinn County, Tennessee, Tax Lists 1829-1832, 1836 ; Detail from 1836 Tax. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1996..
 * [1836] "Plat of Districts, McMinn County, Tennessee" and "McMinn County, Tennessee Tax List 1836," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Fall 1989):116-122, 129; Vol. 36, No. 4 (Winter 1989):183-188. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 36 (1989); free digital version at society's website. For further access, see Periodicals.

Marriage
Marriages were not officially recorded in McMinn 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..

The following McMinn County Courthouse marriage records have been indexed:


 * 1820-1895 - McMinn County Marriage Index 1820-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1820-1870 - Boyer, Reba Bayless. Marriage Records of McMinn County, Tennessee, 1820-1870. 1964. . Free Lookups Available!
 * 1820-1870 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early East Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler ; Associates, Inc., 1987. . [Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.] Free Lookups Available!
 * 1838-1934 - Moses, Rex. McMinn Marriage Records 1838-1934. Free Lookups Available!

Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of McMinn County divorce papers in diverse County Courthouse records, see:


 * W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.

Death
For deaths of Methodists in McMinn 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. 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.]


 * For a volunteer to lookup death certificate records go to the McMinn genweb site.

Societies and Libraries
McMinn Historical Society 6 East Madison Ave. Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 1-423-744-3911 E-mail: mcminn [mailto:history06@comcast.net history06@comcast.net]

East Tennessee Historical Society 601 S. Gay St. P.O. Box 1629 Knoxville, TN 37901-1629 Phone: 1-865-215-8824 E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

EG Fisher Library 1289 Ingleside Ave. Athens, TN 37303 Phone: 1-423-745-7782 Hours: Mon., Tues. and Thurs. 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Wed. and Fri. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 a.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. E.G. Fisher Public "Library currently has over 1,000 books for the local history researcher, including county histories, transcribed county records, family histories, military histories, and church records. McMinn County, in particular, is the focus of the collection; however, the collection includes material on other East Tennessee counties, general Tennessee history, and genealogical material of other southern states, particularly Virginia and North Carolina." Heritage Quest available

Carnegie Library 723 Ohio Ave. Etowah, TN 37331 Phone: 1-423-263-9475 Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9:30-5:30 Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Fort Loudoun Regional Library 718 George St. Athens, TN 37303 Phone:1-423-745-5194

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Athens Tennessee

506 Cedar Springs Rd Athens, TN Phone: 1-423-745-0102

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond.

Web Sites

 * (FamilySearch)
 * McMinn County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
 * McMinn County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * McMinn County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
 * McMinn County, TN Heritage and Genealogy Page (American History and Genealogy Project)
 * McMinn County, TN "Our Tennessee Home" (American Local History Network) Resources to help you place your ancestors within the context of their local history.
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: TNMCMINN-L (McMinn 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)