Davidson County was created on 1783 from Washington County,
North Carolina; named in honor of William Lee Davidson (ca. 1746-1781), colonial soldier, Revolutionary War officer in the North Carolina Third, Fourth and Fifth Regiments who was killed in action at Valley Forge.
The County seat is located at Nashville .
Newspapers were published in Donelson, Goodlettsville, Madison, Nashville and Old Hickory. Scattered early issues are available from 1808, and a complete run begins in 1880. See Extended History for More information.
PLEASE READ!! 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.
Davidson County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1789 and is located at 700 2nd Ave. S, Nashville, TN 37210; Telephone: 615-862-5710. 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.
Davidson County Register of Deeds hasLand Records from 1784 and is located at 700 2nd Ave. S, Nashville, TN 37210; Telephone: (615) 862-6050. The Register of Deeds office has land records beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the Davidson county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
Below is a list of online resources for Davidson County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Davidson County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Tennessee Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
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.
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:
Birth Certificates: Records are available beginning with January 1914, for Nashville since June 1881, for Knoxville since July
1881, and for Chattanooga since January 1882. Records of some births that occurred in the major cities from 1881-1913 are also available. A certified photocopy of the original record may be obtained at a fee of $12.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. For persons born from 1949 to the present, a certified copy produced by computer is also available at a fee of $7.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. For Earlier Records See Tennessee
State Library and Archives Below.
Death Certificates: Death records are available for the past 50 years (1957). The fee is $7.00 per certified copy. The cause of death is not normally included on a certified copy unless specifically requested and then is available only to certain family members or legal representatives. You can download an application online for Death Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. For Earlier Records See Tennessee State Library and Archives Below.Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage and divorce records are available for the past 50 years at a fee of $12.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. You can download an application online for Marriage Certificates or Divorce Certificate. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. For Earlier Records See Tennessee
State Library and Archives Below.
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.
Tennessee
State Library and Archives have the following records:
Birth Records & "Delayed" Birth Certificates:
Tennessee began keeping birth records statewide in 1908. TSLA has statewide birth records for the years 1908-1912. To find a birth record, we need the following information: name of child, date of birth or approximate date of birth, county of birth (if known) and names of parents (if known).
The larger cities in Tennessee did keep earlier birth records: Nashville (beginning in 1881); Knoxville (beginning in 1881); Chattanooga (beginning in 1879); and Memphis (beginning in 1874). Only the early Nashville birth records are indexed. For birth records after 1912 or for "delayed" birth certificates filed for persons born after 1903, contact the Office of Vital Records above.
TSLA also has "delayed" birth certificates for persons born 1869 - 1903. These delayed certificates were filed at the request of the individual or that person's representative for legal reasons. To locate a delayed birth certificate, we need the following information: name of child, date of birth or approximate date of birth, county of birth (if known) and names of parents (if known). E-mail TSLA and they can check thier index to the "delayed" birth records for a specified name. Please specify that you are requesting a "delayed" birth certificate.
There is a $20 fee to search for a birth record. If the record is found, they will mail a copy to you. If the record is not found, you will be notified by mail. The $20 fee is not refundable. Payment in advance by check, money order or credit card is required. Send your request to Tennessee State Library and Archives, Research Department, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville TN 37243-0312. [GO TO FORMS PAGE]
Death Records:
Tennessee began keeping death records statewide in 1908. TSLA has statewide death records for the years 1908-1912 and 1914-1955. To find a death record, we need the following information: name of individual, date of death (or three year range to search), county of death (if known) and name of spouse (if known). Please keep in mind that some deaths were not recorded, due to poor record-keeping by local officials.
For death records from 1956 to the present, contact theOffice of Vital Records above.
The larger cities in Tennessee did keep earlier death records: Nashville (beginning in 1874); Knoxville (beginning in 1881); Chattanooga (beginning in 1872); and Memphis (beginning in 1848). Only the early Nashville and Memphis death records are indexed. TSLA can search the unindexed records for one year only; you must provide us with the name of individual, date of death, the city, and the name of the spouse (if known).
There is a $20 fee to search for a death record. If the record is found, they will mail a copy to you. If the record is not found, you will be notified by mail. The $20 fee is not refundable. Payment in advance by check, money order or credit card is required. Send your request to Tennessee State Library and Archives, Research Department, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville TN 37243-0312. [GO TO FORMS PAGE]
Below is a list of online resources for Davidson County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Davidson 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 Davidson 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 Davidson County, Tennessee are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible 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 Davidson County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Davidson 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 Davidson County Maps. Email us with websites containing Davidson County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to 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. A list of Wars fought on American.
Below is a list of online resources for Davidson County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Davidson County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Tennessee (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
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 Davidson County for the years: 1789, 1805, 1811, 1829, 1839, 1871-1873, 1881-1900 ; 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.
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 Davidson County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Davidson 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 Davidson County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Davidson County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Davidson County Archives,
Metropolitan
Government Archives
of Nashville and Davidson County
3801 Green Hills Village Drive,
Nashville, TN 37215; (615) 862-5880,
Fax: (615) 862-5883, [EMAIL] Metropolitan
Government Archives has
the following records, these are no longer
located in the courthouse: Births records 1881-1913,
Death records 1874-1913,
Marriage records 1789-1991
Deed records 1784-1901,
Probate records 1784-1959,
Court Records 1783-1970
Historical Commission
of Metropolitan Nashville - Davidson
County
701 Broadway, B-20,
Nashville, TN 37203;
Phone: (615) 259-5027
The Public Library
of Nashville and Davidson County- The
Ben West Library
225 Polk Avenue,
Nashville, TN 37203;
Phone: (615) 862-5783
Hours: Mon. -Sat. 8:00-5:00,
Sun. (Oct-May) 2:00 - 5:00
Tennessee Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
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.
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. .
As with cemetery records, the DAR has collected church records
for Tennessee, available at the DAR Library in Washington, D.C.,
and through the FHL.
Many compilations of church records have been compiled and/or
published for the state. The Tennessee
State Library and Archives has records of over one hundred churches that pre-date 1900.
There is a online Tennessee Marriage and Bible Records which contains over 25,000 records for the state of Tennessee for the years approximately 1720-1890. This includes marriages, births, deaths, and wills, etc., has been obtained from family bibles, church, court, and county records.
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 Davidson County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Davidson County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
American Baptist College,
T.L. Holcomb Library,
1800 Baptist World Center Drive, Nashville, TN 37207 615-687-6904
Diocese of Nashville Archives,
The Catholic Center,
2400 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212 615-383-6393 Free Will Baptist Bible College,
Welch Library. Free Will Baptist Historical Collection
3606 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37205 615-383-1340
Gospel Advocate Archives & Library
1006 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, TN 37210 615-254-8781
Lifeway Christian Resources,
E. C. Dargan Research Library
One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234 615-251-2751
Tennessee Conference Commission
on Archives and History,
United Methodist Church
520 Commerce Street #205, Nashville, TN 37203 615-263-0518
Trevecca Nazarene University,
Waggoner Library,
Trevecca Archives
333 Murfreesboro Road, Nashville, TN 37210 615-248-1214 United Methodist Church,
The Upper Room Devotional Library
1908 Grand Avenue, PO Box 340004, Nashville, TN 37203 615-340-7204
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 Davidson County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Davidson County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Tennessee Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Davidson County is the oldest county in Middle Tennessee. It dates to 1783,
when the North Carolina legislature created the county and named it in honor
of William L. Davidson, a North Carolina officer who died in the Revolutionary
War on January 1, 1782. The county seat, Nashville, is also the oldest permanent
white settlement in Middle Tennessee, founded by James Robertson and John Donelson
during the winter of 1779-80. The initial white settlers established the Cumberland
Compact in order to establish a basic rule of law and to protect their land
titles. Through much of the early 1780s the settlers also faced a hostile response
from Native American tribes. As the county's many known archaeological sites
attest, the resources of Davidson County had attracted Native Americans for
centuries. In fact, the first whites to encounter the area were fur traders,
then long hunters, who came to a large salt lick, known as French Lick, in present-day
Nashville to trade with Native Americans and to hunt the abundant game.
Nashville has always been the region's center of commerce, industry, transportation,
and culture, but it did not become the capital of Tennessee until 1827 and did
not gain permanent capital status until 1843. Its story is best told through
its individual entry and the hundreds of other entries in this volume that cover
significant people, events, and institutions associated with Nashville as the
capital city of Tennessee.
But Davidson County is more than the history of Nashville. It is a large, sprawling
landscape that has contained several other significant and distinctive towns
and villages in its history, although that diversity has been often forgotten
since the formation of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson
County in 1963. Railroads and turnpikes crossed the county in the mid-nineteenth
century and these new transportation routes led to the establishment of several
villages including White's Creek, Joelton, Nolensville, Madison, Antioch, Goodlettsville,
and Bellevue. The majestic Union Station in downtown Nashville still conveys
the economic power of the railroads in turn-of-the-century Nashville.
Historic sites in the more rural areas of the county convey a sense of what past
life was like outside the glare of the big city lights. The Hermitage of Andrew
and Rachel Jackson represents the large planter landscape once common in the
antebellum era. The Ellington Agricultural Center in south Davidson County developed
from the Brentwood Hall estate of Rogers Caldwell and contains an excellent museum
of rural and agricultural history. Newsom's Mill near Bellevue is another reminder
of the agrarian economy once dominant in the county. Radnor Lake State Natural
Area and the Warner Parks conserve forests and rolling hills in the west side
of the county. The Natchez Trace Parkway ends in Davidson County.
War has shaped Davidson County in direct and indirect ways. Federal troops occupied
the city early in the Civil War. Fort Negley, a significant post in the history
of African Americans and the Civil War, was one of many marks left behind by
the occupation army. Throughout the county are many markers and monuments that
document the activities of both armies during the battle of Nashville in December
1864. World War I brought the massive industrial development of the DuPont ammunition
factory and company town at Old Hickory, creating a bustling city where nothing
had been before.
The New Deal era also brought lasting change to the county, due to the combined
political power of Congressman Joe Byrns and Nashville mayor Hillary Howse. A
series of modern schools were constructed in the country and the city. The county
even gained a modernistic office landmark in the Davidson County Public Building
and Courthouse (1936-38). Architects Emmons H. Woolwine of Nashville and Frederic
C. Hirons of New York designed this preeminent example of the Public Works Administration-influenced
Modern style in Middle Tennessee; the courthouse combined the offices of city
and county government, thus the unusual name. The Works Progress Administration
built Marrowbone Lake and improved local parks and recreational facilities.
World War II brought additional industrial expansion, such as the Vultee aircraft
factory, now the Aerostructures Corporation, along the Briley Parkway. The modern
industries of Du Pont, along with Old Hickory, and Vultee transformed areas of
the county that were once rural and thinly populated into much larger suburban
additions to the city. After World War II that process of change continued with
the construction of such facilities as the Ford Glass Plant, Genesco, Dell Corporation,
and the Metro Airport. The county's 2000 population was 569,891.
All three Tennessee presidents lived in Davidson County; both Andrew Jackson
and James J. Polk died and were buried there. But they are just three of many
distinguished Tennesseans who called Davidson County home at some time in their
lives and careers. Others come from music (DeFord Bailey), architecture (Adolphus
Heiman), literature (John Crowe Ransom), politics (Anne Dallas Dudley), civil
rights (Avon Williams), and sports (Tracy Caulkins). Davidson County also is
home to many of the state's most famous educational and cultural institutions
including Belmont, Fisk, Lipscomb, Tennessee State, Trevecca, and Vanderbilt
Universities; the Grand Ole Opry; the Tennessee State Museum; the Country Music
Hall of Fame and Museum; and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Davidson County Women in the World War, 1914-1919 (Gilmore, 1923)
Death Notices from The Clarion, 1800-1821 (Armistead, 2005)
*Directory of Historical Markers--Nashville-Davidson County (Beasley, 1977)
Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths, the Nashville Christian Advocate, 1897-1899 (Smith, 2002)
Index, Northwest Davidson County : The Land, Its People (Smith, 19??)
Index [to] Clayton's History of Davidson County, Tennessee, 1780-1880 (Whitfield & Williams, 1973)
J. Percy Priest Reservoir Project : Cemetery Relocation, Davidson, Wilson and Rutherford Counties, Tennessee (U.S. Army Engineer District, Nashville, 1966)
Land Deed Genealogy of Davidson County, Tennessee (Marsh, 1992)
Marriage Record Book I : January 2, 1789-December 13,1837 (Lucas, 1979)
Marriage Record Book I, January 2, 1789- December 13, 1837, Davidson County, Tennessee (Daughters of the American Revolution, 1952)
Marriages of Davidson County, Tennessee, 1789-1847 (Whitley, 1981)
Mill Creek Church Meeting Minutes, April 1797-April 1811, Davidson County, Tennessee (1994?)
Minutes of the County Court of Davidson County [vol. 2, Book B, 1791-1797] (WPA, 1941)
Minutes of the Superior Court Mero District [3 vols., 1803-1809] (WPA, 1941)
Nashville Hardgrave Cemetery (Doggett, 1995)
Old City Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee, Tombstone Inscriptions (Garrett & McClain, 1971)
Selected Cemeteries in Davidson County, Tennessee (Glencliff High School, 1980)
*Tennesseans Before 1800 : Davidson County (Fischer, 1997)
Tennessee, Records of Davidson County, Hugh Gwinn & als. Copy Record : Williamson Rice & als., 1808-1813 (WPA, 1937)
Tennessee, Records of Davidson County, Minutes of the Superior Court of North Carolina Including Mero District, 1788-1803 (WPA, 1938)
Tennessee, Records of Davidson County, Wills & Inventories [vol. 1 1784-1805; vol. 2, pt. 1 1794-1805 / pt. 2. 1794-1805; vol. 3 1805-1811; vols. 4-6, pt. 1. 1805-1816 / pt. 2. 1805-1816; vol. 8, pt. 1. 1821-1826; vol. 10, pt. 1. 1832-1836 / pt. 2. 1832-1836] (WPA, 1937)
Tombstone Inscriptions of Davidson County, Tennessee [4 vols.] (Fulcher, 1986-)
The following companies are currently offering free trials on their subscriptions from 7 to 14 days. You can receive more information by clicking the links below:
Tennessee 
