The Tennessee General
Assembly created Fentress County
from parts of Morgan, Overton and White Counties on November 28, 1823. The
county was James Fentress (1763-1843), speaker of the state house, chairman of Montgomery County Court, commissioner to select seats for Haywood, Carroll, Gibson and Weakley counties. Fentress
County is located in northeast Middle
Tennessee on the picturesque Cumberland
Plateau. The county initially formed
the state's border with Kentucky,
but when Pickett County was established
in 1881, that part of Fentress was
included in the new county. The 2000
population of the county was 16,625.
The history of the county is diverse, ranging from farming to mining to German
immigration. Established in 1828, Jamestown, the county seat, also was named
in honor of James Fentress. The settlement was once called Sand Springs because
several fine springs bubbled up from the sandy soil. Today, a city park named
Mark Twain Park in honor of the Clemens family, who once carried water from the
spring, surrounds the only remaining spring. Jamestown was a small agricultural
trade center for most of its history. Important agricultural products included
corn, small grains, livestock, tobacco, poultry, and pumpkins.
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.
Fentress County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1905 and Probate Records from 1905 and is located at Courthouse, Main
St.,
Jamestown, TN 38556;
(931) 879-8615. 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.
Fentress County Register of Deeds hasLand Records from 1823 and is located at Courthouse,
Main St., Jamestown, TN 38556; (931) 879-8615. The Register of Deeds office has land records beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the Fentress county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
Fentress County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1842 and is located at Courthouse,
Main St., Jamestown, TN 38556; (931) 879-7919 . 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.
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Below is a list of online resources for Fentress County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Fentress 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 Fentress County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Fentress 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 Fentress County, Tennessee are 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Fentress 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 Fentress County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Fentress 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 Fentress County Maps. Email us with websites containing Fentress 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 Fentress County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Fentress 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 Fentress County for the years: 1833, 1897-1900 ; 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 Fentress County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Fentress 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 Fentress County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Fentress County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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 Fentress County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Fentress 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 Fentress County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Fentress 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.
In 1928 the York
Institute constructed its modern campus on the outskirts of Jamestown, and during
the 1930s the town's population expanded from 857 to over 1,200 residents. During
these years industry became more important in the county as six manufacturing
firms located in Jamestown by the 1940s. Coal, barite, ore, and natural gas mining
already had opened new economic avenues; indeed, the coal mining towns of Davidson
and Wilder were the second and third largest communities in the county in 1941.
The Fentress Coal and Coke Company and the Davidson Mining Company operated both
communities as virtual company towns; they were the scenes of bitter and violent
strikes in 1932-33. Unemployed miners later worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority
at Norris and for the Civilian Conservation Corps at LaFollette and Cumberland
Homesteads.
Allardt is the other incorporated town in Fentress County. In 1881 Bruno Gernt
established the town on the behalf of land speculators Cyrus and James N. Clarke
of Nebraska. The settlement attracted a steady stream of German immigrants, and
by 1886 the town had three general stores, a hotel, a steam mill, a lumber mill,
and other tradesmen. Allardt hosts a nationally recognized Pumpkin Festival every
October. Other older communities in the county include Clarkrange, Pall Mall,
and Armathwaite.
Tourism is becoming a major part of the local economy as a result of the creation
of the Big South Fork National Recreation Area. Another attraction is Highland
Manor, which is the state's oldest licensed winery.
The Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Area, which includes the York home, mill,
and gravesite, also attracts a number of visitors. Pall Mall native Alvin Cullom
York is known all over the world for his exploits in France, where he became
the most decorated enlisted man of World War I. But Fentress Countians admire
him most for his dedication to his fellow citizens. Because of his experiences
in the war, York realized the importance of education and dedicated his life
to improving education in Fentress County. Under his leadership, the York Institute
was established in Jamestown. In 1989 the institute received the prestigious
National School of Excellence Award. York also was instrumental in getting better
roads and other improvements for the county.
Other important residents of Fentress County include Captain David Beaty, John
M. Clemens, Kate Bradford Stockton, and local historians A. B. Wright and Albert
Ross Hogue. Beaty was born in Fentress County in 1823. Known as "Tinker Dave," he
formed a Civil War company that was known as David Beaty's Independent Scouts,
an outfit that served under Major General George Thomas and General Ambrose Burnside.
Beaty's troops protected the county from Confederate incursions. Beaty was a
leader in Fentress County during Reconstruction until his death in 1883. Clemens
and his wife, Jane Lampton Clemens, moved to Fentress County in the 1830s. Clemens
served as an attorney, circuit court clerk, and county commissioner. He was postmaster
at Pall Mall from April 1832 to May 1835 before moving to Missouri, where his
son, the famous writer Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), was born later in 1835. The
Clemens family owned land in the county for many years, and Samuel Clemens signed
several of the land deeds. Stockton was a reform activist in Fentress County.
She ran for governor on the Socialist ticket in 1936, becoming the first woman
candidate for governor of Tennessee.
Reverend A. B. Wright was a Methodist preacher and local historian who left a
valuable record of the county's early years in his autobiography that was published
in 1876. Another important local historian was Albert Ross Hogue, whose History
of Fentress County (1916) has served as an excellent resource for many
years.
1850 Fentress County Census (Scott County Historical Society, 1985?)
1860 Fentress County census (Scott County Historical Society, 1985?)
1860 Fentress County, Tennessee, Census (Ramsey, 1994)
1872 Tax Records, Fentress County, Tennessee (Hatfield, 1991)
1880 Census, Fentress County, Tennessee (Sistler, 1993)
1880 Federal Census of Fentress County, Tennessee (Hatfield, 1986)
1900 Federal Census of Fentress County, Tennessee (Hatfield, 1991)
1910 Federal Census of Fentress County, Tennessee (Hatfield, 1989)
1920 Census of Fentress County, Tennessee (Ramsey, 1994)
Big Fentress County Census, 1820-1890 [includes 1820 census of Overton & White counties, and 1890 census of TN Civil War veterans of Fentress County] (Norris, 2002)
Cemetery Records, Fentress County, Tenn. (Wheeler, 1988)
Cumberland Co., Tennessee, Fentress Co., Tennessee, Jackson Co., Tennessee, Loudon Co., Tennessee, Morgan Co., Tennessee, Overton Co. [1891 enumeration of male voters] (Reed, 1990)
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