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Van Buren County History and Information |
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Van Buren County was formed out of parts of Warren, White, and Bledsoe Counties on January
3, 1840 and named in honor of Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), attorney general and governor of New York, U.S. senator from New York, U.S. secretary of state, eighth U.S. president. Andrew K. Parker gave fifty acres of land for a county seat, and the first county court was held at the home of William Worthington on April 6, 1840. The county seat was named Spencer in honor of Thomas Sharp Spencer, who had died nearby in 1794 on what became Spencer's Hill. The township was officially formed in 1850 and incorporated in 1909.
Newspapers were published in Spencer. Scattered early issues are available from 1912. See Extended History for More information.
Van Buren County is bordered by White County (north), Cumberland County (northeast), Bledsoe County (east), Sequatchie County (south) and Warren County (west). Cities and Towns include Spencer. The Official County Website is located at ?
Tennessee
State Library and Archives has Inventories of Van Buren County Records on Microfilm. Click Here to Order County Microfilm Inventories and Reels. Early Van Buren 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. . Van Buren County, Tennessee History Books at Amazon.com .
- Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.
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See Also Tennessee Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records
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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. |
Van Buren County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1840 and Probate Records from 1840 and is located at Courthouse, P.O.
Box 126,
Spencer, TN 38585-0126; Telephone:
(931) 946-7175 .
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.
Van Buren County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1840 and is located at Courthouse, P.O.
Box 126, Spencer, TN 38585-0126; Telephone: (931) 946-7175.
The Register of Deeds office has land records beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the Van Buren county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
Van Buren County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1840 and is located at Courthouse, P.O.
Box 126, Spencer, TN 38585-0126; Telephone: (931) 946-2153 .
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.
Below is a list of online resources for Van Buren County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Vital Records in Tennessee
Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!
Contact the Van Buren County Clerk For County Marriage Divorce Records (See Van Buren 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:
- 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 Van Buren County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Research In Census Records
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Van Buren County, Tennessee are 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Van Buren 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.
See Also Statewide Records that exist for Tennessee
Below is a list of online resources for Van Buren County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Van Buren County Maps. Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Maps by clicking the link below:
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See Also Military Records in Tennessee
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 Van Buren County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Van Buren 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.
- Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War (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.
- Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files from the State of Tennessee (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Tennessee (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Tennessee units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier.
- Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Tennessee (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
- 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.
- Van Buren County, Tennessee Military Books at Amazon.com
- Tennessee
Society Daughters of the American Revolution
- Tennessee
Society Sons of the Revolution
- Tennessee Civil War Regimental Histories
- Tennessee, Civil War Confederate Pension Applications Index
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See Also Research In Tax Records
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 Van Buren County for the years: 1886-1900 ; 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.
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 Van Buren County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Other Tennessee Genealogical Addresses
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 Van Buren County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
- Van Buren County Archives,
330 Baker Mountain Road,
Spencer , TN 38585;
Phone: (931) 473-2505,
Email: arj@blomand.net
- VAN
BUREN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, P.O.
Box 126,
Spencer 38585
- Local Tennessee Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
- Tennessee State Library and Archives, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243-0312; Phone: (615) 741-2764 , Fax (615) 741-6471
- Tennessee Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3343, 9114 Davies Plantation Rd, Brunswick, TN 38014, (901) 381-1447; [EMAIL]
- Tennessee Historical Society, 300 Capital Boulevard, Nashville 37243
- 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.
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See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Tennessee
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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 Van Buren County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Van Buren 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. .
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.
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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 Van Buren County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Van Buren County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Van Buren County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
- Van Buren County, Tennessee Family Books at Amazon.com
- Search 60 Years Of Everton Data
: For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons. Learn More
- Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
- Sites on USGenweb: [ Van Buren County ] [ Tennessee ] [ Main Page ]
- [GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
- 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.
- Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
- 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.
- Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
- The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
- ?
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The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture © Tennessee Historical Society
Van Buren County encompasses 274 square miles straddling the Cumberland Plateau and the eastern Highland Rim. The western 30 percent of the county stands 960 feet above sea level; its limestone outcroppings have resulted in numerous caves. The best known, Big Bone Cave, was important in the early settlement period. In 1811 the discovery of bones of a giant sloth in the cave provided its name; remnants of a Pleistocene jaguar were unearthed there as well. The U.S. Department of the Interior designated the 334-acre site a Pleistocene vertebrate fossil site. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places: in both the War of 1812 and the Civil War saltpeter was mined there, and the well-preserved vats, tramways, and ladders remain in place today.
The other 70 percent of Van Buren County, the Plateau region, rises 800-1,000 feet higher than the western section and is generally level except where streams have cut gorges (called gulfs) through the sandstone. The Caney Fork River and its tributaries drain all of Van Buren County except for the southeast corner, which is drained by the headwaters of Brush Creek. The Caney Fork also creates the northern border of the county, and the Rocky River serves as part of its western boundary.
Prior to that time, the settlement had become the home of Burritt College, founded in 1848 as the first coeducational college in the South. Named for Elihu Burritt of Worcester, Massachusetts, a prominent member in the peace movement, the school was situated in Spencer to insulate students from the vice and corruption of city life, though many of its graduates chose moving to cities over staying in rural Tennessee. Burned during the Civil War and rebuilt, Burritt College survived until the economic failures of the depression forced its closure in 1939.
In 1860 Van Buren County's population of 2,337 included at least thirty-five slaveholders who owned 239 slaves. The county supported the Confederacy with four companies--one reason Spencer was burned when Union troops took the area in 1863. Earlier, Confederate General Braxton Bragg had marched the Army of Tennessee through the county on his way to Kentucky and the campaign that ended with Confederate defeat and the deaths of twelve Van Buren Countians at Perryville on October 8, 1862.
An artist who captured the throes of the Civil War in his paintings completed a half-century later was Gilbert Gaul. A native of New Jersey, Gaul inherited from an uncle a 5,000-acre farm located twelve miles south of Spencer and near Fall Creek Falls. He moved to the property in 1881 and did much of his painting there, including one piece from 1913-14 called Caney Fork Cabin (now at Vanderbilt University).
What was Gaul's farm sits now within Fall Creek Falls State Park. The park, covering over 19,000 acres in Van Buren and Bledsoe counties, was proposed by James M. "Peckerwood" Taft of Van Buren County, and in 1936 construction began under the auspices of the National Park Service. The work involved the Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration, and Resettlement Administration. In 1944 the Department of the Interior deeded the park to the state. A state natural area of 10,000 acres lies within its domain, and there are four major falls. The largest, Fall Creek Falls, drops 256 feet--a fall of ninety feet more than Niagra, making it the highest falls in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The park also boasts thirty miles of trails and a public golf course ranked in the top twenty-five in the country, as well as virgin forest in the 300-foot gorge of Cane Creek Gulf.
Van Buren County's population in 2000 was 5,508. The major road through the county, State Route 111, was paved first in 1920. Since its designation in 1973 as an Appalachian Development Highway, it has been improved and is soon to be a major connector between Chattanooga and the Kentucky border. There are two K-12 schools in the county.
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- 1880 census, Van Buren County, Tennessee (Sistler, 1999)
- Our people : The Tombstone Inscriptions of Van Buren County, Tennessee, with Genealogical Notes (Rhinehart, 1983)
- Our people : The Tombstone Inscriptions of Van Buren County, Tennessee, with Genealogical Notes : Tombstones Copied 1973 to 1976 (Rhinehart, 1997)
- Probate Records (Wills, Settlements and Guardianships) of Van Buren County, Tennessee [1840-1860] (Bayless, 1991)
- Seventh Census of the United States, 1850: Van Buren County, Tennessee, Free Population Schedules (Carpenter, 1971)
- United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1850 (Rhinehart, 1982)
- United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1860 (Rhinehart, 1982)
- United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1870 (Rhinehart, 1982)
- United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1880 (Rhinehart, 1982)
- United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1900 (Rhinehart, 1983)
- Van Buren County Marriage Records : Book I Through Book V, May 21, 1840 to September 2, 1935 (Rhinehart, 1983)
- Van Buren County Marriages, September 14, 1935 to July 26, 1961 (Rhinehart, 2003)
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