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Hickman County was created in Decembar of 1807 from Dickson County. Centerville is the county seat.
The history of Hickman County began before Tennessee achieved statehood in 1796. In April 1791 Edwin Hickman, a native of North Carolina, led a surveying party into what is now Hickman County. Hickman's party included James Robertson, later known as the Father of Middle Tennessee, Robert Weakley, who also played a prominent role in early state history, and others. The party camped at the mouth of a small creek on the north side of Duck River opposite the present site of Centerville.
The next morning, as Hickman and Robertson built a predawn fire, Indians fired on the party, killing Hickman and wounding Robertson in the hand. The party retreated to the Cumberland settlement but returned several days later to bury Hickman's body in a shallow grave at the spot where he was killed. In December 1807, when the Tennessee General Assembly created a new county, then Representative Robert Weakley attached an amendment to the bill specifying that the new county should be named in honor of Edwin Hickman. In 1994 the Hickman County Historical Society placed a monument at Hickman's grave and built a fence around the gravesite.
In 1807 the county extended all the way to the present Alabama state line, and Vernon, on the Piney River, became the first county seat. By 1820 several new
Newspapers were published in Centerville. Scattered early issues are available from 1878, and a complete run begins in 1949. See Extended History for More information. There was a fire at the Hickman County courthouse in 1864, destroying most early records.
Hickman County is bordered by Dickson County (north), Williamson County (east), Maury County (southeast), Lewis County (south), Perry County (west) and Humphreys County (northeast). Cities and Towns include Bucksnort, Centerville. The Official County Website is located at http://www.hickmanco.com/
Tennessee State Library and Archives has Inventories of Hickman County Records on Microfilm. Click Here to Order County Microfilm Inventories and Reels. Early Bradley County Records. Newspaper Microfilms are loaned to Tennessee libraries. Individual reels may also be purchased. An Inventory of Newspapers on Microfilm at TSLA is available on our web site.. Hickman County, Tennessee History Books at Amazon.com.
Click Here to Search Tennessee Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records!
Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.
Hickman County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1868 and Probate Records from 1844 and is located at Courthouse, 8 Public Square, Centerville, TN 37033; Telephone: (931) 729-2522.
The County Clerk maintains Marriage & Divorce records. It also has jurisdiction over probate cases. Wills, administrations, and all other records pertaining to probate are recorded in the respective county clerk's office. If the will or administration was contested, the records of these actions may be filed in the circuit court or chancery court.
Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Hickman County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1808 and is located at Courthouse, 8 Public Square, Centerville, TN 37033; Telephone: (931) 729-2621 .
The Register of Deeds office has land records beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the Hickman county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
Hickman County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1840 and is located at Courthouse, 8 Public Square, Centerville, TN 37033; Telephone: (931) 729-2211 .
Circuit Court Clerks serve an important role in the operation of the court system in Tennessee. Chancery courts have jurisdiction over property disputes, and circuit courts oversee criminal cases, divorces, and adoptions. Early courts included courts of common pleas and quarter sessions.
There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include: Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912, Tennessee Marriage and Bible Records, Tennessee Marriages to 1825; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 and Tennessee Marriages, 1851-1900.
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Tennessee Birth, Marriage & Death Records!
Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Contact the Hickman County Clerk For County Marriage Divorce Records (See Hickman County Court Records for Address and Phone number) in the county where Certificate was granted.
Tennessee State Vital Records, is located at Central Services Building, 1st Floor, 421 5th Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee 37243; Phone (615) 741-1763, FAX (615) 741-9860. The Tennessee Office of Vital Records registers and maintains the original certificates of births, deaths, marriages and divorces that occur in Tennessee. They have the following records:
Make certified checks and money orders should be made payable to "Tennessee Vital Records". Credit Cards may be uses by using VitalChek services Please do not send cash or checks. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to: Tennessee State Vital Records, Central Services Building, 1st Floor, 421 5th Avenue North, Nashville, TN, 37243.
There are a few online marriage databases which include: Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912, Tennessee Marriage and Bible Records, Tennessee Marriages to 1825; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 and Tennessee Marriages, 1851-1900
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Tennessee Voter Lists & Census Records!
Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Hickman County, Tennessee are 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Hickman County, Tennessee are Industry and Agriculture Schedules available for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Tennessee and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Tennessee showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Tennessee showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The Tennessee Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Maps. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Maps by clicking the link below:
Search Tennessee Military Records!
Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Tennessee tax lists can be used to locate families, document historic properties and study community history. Early tax lists generally include all white males over 21 and indicate whether they owned land or slaves. They usually do not provide other personal information.
The tax lists enumerated for Hickman County for the years: 1836, 1837, 1867-1898 ; are available on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. They are generally filed with each county's records, but some early lists are in a separate collection. To order a search of the records by mail, follow this link [EMAIL]
The 1796 Constitution levied taxes on every freeman of the age of twenty-one years and upward possessing a freehold in the county wherein he may vote, and being an inhabitant of this State, and every freeman being an inhabitant of any one county in the State six months immediately preceding the day of the election, shall be entitled to vote....
Many early surviving tax records were published in an effort to replace the missing federal censuses. Original extant tax records are preserved in the respective county courthouse as well as in the Tennessee State Library and Archives, where a card index exists for tax records in its collection pre-dating 1835, arranged by county, date, and district.
Original tax schedules for most Tennessee counties for 1836 through 1839 are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
The 1891 tax lists of male inhabitant voters in each county were recently found. Available on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, these nine reels are arranged alphabetically within each district in each county. Tax records from trustees office in counties are available on microfilm as well.
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Tennessee Obituary Records!
This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
There are many churches and cemeteries in Hickman County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Hickman County Tombstone Transcription Project. The Tennessee Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches and cemeteries free for viewing or download here.
Although few histories for Tennessee churches have been published, there are church records for almost every county in the state. Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist were the principal religions of early settlers in the state, and documents from these groups make up the largest number of records available. Other representative religions include Lutheran, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and Jewish. Most early Tennessee churches only kept minutes and membership records. Church records could, however, include records of baptism, marriage, burial, membership, or removal, but it is rare to find all or several of these categories maintained by one church.
A large collection of transcripts of Tennessee cemetery records has been compiled by members of chapters of the DAR. Records collection available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives and through the FHL. The state library and archives has notebooks containing listings of cemetery records.
County genealogical and historical societies and local citizens have collected, compiled, and published numerous volumes of cemetery records.
Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Hickman County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Tennessee Family Tree Records!
The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Hickman County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Hickman County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Hickman County is now the eighth largest county in the state, containing 610 square miles. There are more springs and scenic waterfalls in Hickman County than in any other county in Middle Tennessee. A number of sulphur water springs were commercially developed as nineteenth-century recreational sites, including Bon Aqua Springs, Primm Springs, and Beaverdam Springs. These health resorts included hotels, individual cottages, and recreation facilities. Bon Aqua Springs was known as the "Queen" of the southern spas. Neither Bon Aqua nor Primm Springs is still active, but Beaverdam Springs is operated as a church camp by the Presbyterian Church as Na-Co-Me.
The county's early industry centered around the iron furnaces. Indeed, Goodspeed's 1886 History of Tennessee rated Hickman County's iron ore as the best in the state. The Lee and Gould Furnace on Sugar Creek opened in 1832. Five years later, Madison Napier built a furnace near Aetna, which was destroyed by Union troops during the Civil War. Furnaces also opened on Mill Creek near Wrigley at an early date. Standard Charcoal Company opened a furnace at Goodrich in 1882; a new furnace was built at Aetna in 1885. All iron works in the county were discontinued before 1940.
In addition to iron manufacturing, Hickman County's economy has centered on agriculture and timbering. Today, local industry includes manufacturers of packaging materials, metal buttons, men's pants, various wood products, structural steel, and pies. The county's 2000 population was 22,295 residents.
Two native Hickman County women gained national fame: Beth Slater Whitson and Sara Ophelia Colley. Whitson wrote several hundred songs including "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland." Colley gained world acclaim as Minnie Pearl on the Grand Ole Opry and the television show Hee Haw. A number of men played important roles in the county's history as well. Jerome Spence published Spence's History of Hickman County in 1900. S. L. Graham built a large cotton mill at Pinewood in the 1850s. Halbert Harvill began his career in education teaching in a one-room schoolhouse. He later taught history and organized and coached the first baseball team and the girls' basketball team at Austin Peay Normal School. Harvill was also dean of the school and president of Austin Peay State University before becoming Tennessee commissioner of education. He served in the Tennessee Senate from 1965 until 1981.