Crockett County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Crockett County

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

Crockett County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	1871
County Seat	Alamo
Courthouse
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Crockett County Tennessee Quick Dates

Crockett County's civil records start the following years:

Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1909	1872	1925	1880	1870	1872

Crockett County Tennessee Courthouse

Crockett County Courthouse, Alamo, Tenn. Courtesy: Collection: County Court Houses, Flickr by Jimmy Emerson. Used by permission.

Crockett County Courthouse
 1 S Bells Street
Alamo, TN 38001
Phone: 731.696.5452 

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate, court 
and  land records from 1872, birth and death records
from 1925.

Crockett County Courthouse
1 South Bell St.
Alamo, TN 38001
Phone: 1-731-696-5452

Crockett County Clerk has marriage, probate, court and land records from 1872;
birth and death records from 1925.

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

Crockett County Tennessee History

Davy Crockett (1786-1836)

The county is named after Davy Crockett (1786-1836), frontiersman, Congressman, and Alamo defender.

Parent County

1871--Crockett County was created in 1871 from Haywood, Madison, Gibson, and Dyer Counties.
County seat: Alamo

County Pronunciation

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

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Tennessee county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Crockett County Tennessee Places / Localities

Populated Places

Cities and Towns:

Alamo Bells Brims Corner Broadview Cairo Chestnut Bluff Coxville Crockett Mills Crossroads Cypress Dog Hill Elizabeth Elmore Friendship

Frog Jump Fruitvale Gadsden Gum Flat Johnsons Grove Mason Grove Maury City Maury Junction Midway Nance Quincy Walnut Hill Wilcox

Neighboring Counties

• Dyer 
• Gibson
• Haywood
• Lauderdale
• Madison

Crockett County Tennessee Genealogy Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Crockett County biography 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: Crockett 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

Tombstones from several African American local cemeteries have been transcribed and published online, see Crockett County, TN Cemeteries, courtesy: TNGenWeb.

Biographies

• Family Biographies from The History of Crockett County, Tennessee (1886) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
  

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
TNGenWeb	WorldCat	BillionGraves
TNGenWeb Archives		Linkpendium
Tombstone Project		Gravestones
TNGenWeb Cemeteries		Epodunk
BillionGraves
See Tennessee Cemeteries for more information.

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

Census

1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Crockett 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 Crockett County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project^®

1880

• Sistler, Byron H. and Samuel D. 1880 Census, Crockett County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler and Associates, 1992. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8225 X2

1810 - 1891

• Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

Male Voters

• 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

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.

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

- List of Crockett County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)

- List of Crockett County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)

In 1936, a helpful guide to early Crockett County church records was published by the Works Project Administration. Use this guide to locate which church records exist and where they were housed in 1936. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has filmed some of these records. To locate which records are available at the TSLA, go to the appropriate "county fact sheet" on the TSLA Web site and scroll down to "selected manuscript material". All filmed church records at the TSLA for Crockett county are listed.

Church of Christ

• 1877 - 1900 - Church of Christ, Coxville, Baptism Index 1877-1900 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch C710271.</ref>
• 1877 - 1900 - Church of Christ, Coxville, Marriage Index 1877-1900 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch M710271.</ref>
• 1877 - 1900 - Church of Christ, Coxville, Death Index 1877-1900 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch B392835.

Court

Family Histories

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 Crockett, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 10,000 entries.

• Crockett County, Tennessee Genealogies, 1700's-1900's. Typescript, 1976. FHL US/CAN Films 1008529-1008530. Includes: Families of Koonce, Acor, Acred, Adams, Adcox, Agee, Alpha, Andrews, Antwine, Archer, Archibald, Arnold, Aslin, Austin, Avery, Bacigalupo, Badgett, Baker, Baldridge, Ball, Ballentine, Banks, Ballinger, Barker, Pollard, Farrow, Harpole, Moore -- Cox church records, 1877-1900 -- Business ledgers -- Families of Bell, Best and Cherry; Families of Green, Hamlett, James, Nunn, Mason, Winburn, Wood -- Histories of towns in Crockett Co., Tenn. -- Bells, Belleville, Johnson Grove, Lanefield, Mason Grove -- Board of Commissioners, minutes of meetings, 1871-1876 -- Cox Chapel, Church of Christ, Coxville, membership, 1905-1907 -- Families of Benson, Porter and Harris.

Bibliography

• Moore - Fritz, Marcine Moore William Moore and his descendants Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1993. Available at the Family History Library. FHL film 1750756 item 12 with a digitized version through FamilySearch Books Online
• Sims - Sims, Almon James. The Paris (Pariss-Parish) Henry Sims Branch of the Sims Family of Scotland, England, Ireland and America. Knoxville, Tenn.?: Unknown, 1948. Digital version available at Heritage Quest Online ($).
• Sims - Sims, Almon James. The Pariss Sims Family and Related Families, 1765-1965. Knoxville, TN: A. J. Sims, 1965. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Si58sa and FHL US/CAN Film 1321309 Item 1.

Land

Crockett County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1872 and is located at the  Courthouse, 1 S. Bells St., Suite 1, Alamo, TN 38001-1796; Telephone: (731) 696-5452 Land and property records usually include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.

The Family History Library has Crockett county deed records 1770-1909.

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

Local Histories

Maps

• Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
• Map of 1888 Crockett County, Tennessee

Military

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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. Includes Crockett County pensioners (p. 41)

Civil War

Online Records

• 1861 - 1865 - Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1865 - Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1891 - 1965 - Tennessee, Confederate Pension Applications, Soldiers and Widows, 1891-1965 at FamilySearch — images
• Civil War Research Database ($)
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Regiments. Civil War service men from Crockett 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 Crockett County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 7th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Duckworth's) - CSA - Company F.
• 14th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Neely's) - CSA - Companies D and E.
• 27th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Crockett County:

• Crockett County,Tennessee Military Records. Includes links to Confederate units formed with men from areas which became Crockett County, Crockett Co. Civil War Veterans who applied for a pension, Crockett Co. Civil War Widows who applied for a pension and Civil War Veteran Questionnaires.
• USGenWeb Archives, Crockett County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Crockett 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.Crockett County, page 328.
• Index to Crockett County, Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaires The following explanation comes from TSLA:

"The effort to record Civil War veterans' experiences, during the conflict and before and after it, started in 1914. Dr. Gus Dyer, Tennessee State Archivist, developed a questionnaire and contacted all known living Tennessee Civil War veterans, asking them to return the questionnaires to Nashville.

In 1920 the project was continued by John Trotwood Moore of the Tennessee Historical Commission and also State Librarian and Archivist. The 1,650 completed forms were returned by 1922 and were made available for historical research. They are on file in the TSLA and have been microfilmed for security and ease of use (Microfilm #484).

The responses are rich in detail about pre- and post-war life, as well as military experiences. They include personal and family information; opinions about class and race distinctions; and details of agricultural, business and educational opportunities for the young in nineteenth century Tennessee."

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 Crockett County click on the following cities or towns:

• Alamo
• Bells
• Bellville
• Friendship

Hays,Tony; Janice S. Jackson, indexer. Gibson - Crockett: A Joint Heritage. [N.p.]: Kitchen Table Press, 1986. This indexed book includes articles from Crockett County newspapers, 1870-1916. (FHL book 976.8 P2h.)

Occupations

• Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Crockett 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

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Crockett County, Tennessee Genealogy records 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 Book 976.8 B2a.

Paper Trails

Family History Library has Volume 1 - 5 (1993 - 1997) FHL US/CAN Book 976.8225 B2p. Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).

Family Findings

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Crockett County, Tennessee records have been published in Family Findings, the quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society (42+ vols.). The Family History Library has most issues of this quarterly FHL US/CAN 976.8 B2f.

Tables of contents for some volumes are available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb Project:

• Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
• Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
• Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
• Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)

Many articles from this publication have been reproduced on the TNGenWeb Project website, try this specialized Google search.

West Tennessee Historical Society Papers

Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).
To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Probate Records

The County Court has responsibility for the probate records of Crockett County.

Online Records

• 1779 – 2008 - Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

FamilySearch has placed scans of the following records online in the Tennessee, Probate Court Books, 1795-1927 collection. These are browse-only collections. Handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes:

• Wills, 1872-1951
• Accounts, 1872-1902 (2 vols.)
• Bonds, Letters, 1872-1927 (3 vols.)
• Insolvent estate records, 1873-1952 (2 vols.)
• Inventories, 1872-1915 (3 vols.)
• Letters, 1963-1980
• Settlements, 1875-1915 (2 vols.)

Taxation

The following Crockett County tax records have been abstracted:

• 1872 - Crockett County Tax Book One 1872, Family Findings, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct. 1981); Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr. 1982); Vol. 14, No. 3 (July 1982); Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct. 1983). For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
• 1872 - Crockett County Historical Society. Crockett County Courthouse Centennial, 1874-1974. Digital version, provided by Natalie Huntley, is available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb. Includes 1872 tax list.
• USGenWeb's Crockett County page has links to several transcribed wills.

Vital Records

See also How to order Tennessee Vital Records or order electronically online.

Birth

• 1828 - 1939 - Tennessee Births and Christenings 1828-1939 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1869 - 1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

• 1908 - 1912 - Tennessee, Birth Records (ER Series), 1908-1912 at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

• 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $

Marriages were not officially recorded in Crockett County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:

• 1794 - 1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2L.

The following Crockett County Courthouse marriage records have been indexed:

• 1872 - 1895 - Crockett County Marriage Index 1872-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

• 1872 - 1888 - Historical Records Project Marriage records, 1872-1888, Crockett County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939. FHL US/CAN Film 24625

• 1872 - 1899 - Huntley, Natalie. Crockett County TN Marriage Records July 1872 - Dec 1899. Available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.

• 1872 - 1962 - Crockett County (Tennessee) County Court ClerkNashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1976-1988. FHL US/CAN Films 1007383-388, 2311145-148 and 1928654-657

• 1900 - 1940 - Huntley, Natalie. Crockett County TN Marriage Records Jan 1900 - Dec 1940. Available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.

• 1780 - 2002 - Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 ($).  Be aware that this index is not complete for all counties.

• 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriage Index 1780-2002 at FamilySearch.org— index

• 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry.com — index $

• 1790 - 1950 - Tennessee County Marriages 1790-1950 at FamilySearch.org — index and images

• 1796 - 1950 - Tennessee Marriages 1796-1950 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1838 - 1888 - Tennessee Civil Marriages, 1838-1888 at FamilySearch — index and images

• 1851 - 1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com— index and images $

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Crockett County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, 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 Crockett County (or what later became Crockett County) between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:

• 1847 - 1914 - 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.

• 1874 - 1955 - Tennessee Deaths and Burials 1874-1955 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1908 - 1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

• 1914 - 1955 - Tennessee Death Records 1914-1955 at FamilySearch.org — index and images

Crockett County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries

See also a List of Tennessee Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Crockett County Library 285 E Church St Alamo, TN 38001 Phone; 1-731-696-4220 E-mail: crolib@crockettnet.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
West Tennessee Heritage Study Center Paul Meek Library University of Tennessee at Martin Phone: 1-731-881-7060 Hours vary by semester	The Heritage Study Center holds a variety of genealogical resources including materials relating to the following counties in Tennessee: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Stewart, Tipton, Wayne, Weakley and Carlisle, Fulton, and Hickman counties in Kentucky.
West Tennessee Historical Society P.O. Box 111046 Memphis, TN 38111 Phone: 1-901-475-6608 E-mail: efrank@memphis.edu

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Crockett County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

• Crockett County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Crockett County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Crockett County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• FamilySearch Catalog (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications). This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
• Mailing List: TNCROCKE-L (Crockett County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)

Crockett County Tennessee Genealogy References