Williamson County, Tennessee Genealogical Records Information

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Williamson County History and Information

Williamson County Facts

Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

By 1798 a few white settlers were permanently established in the area. Ewen Cameron built the first house in Franklin, and members of the Goff, McEwen, and Neely families made their way through the canebrake southward from Fort Nashborough. In 1799 Major Anthony Sharp sold 640 acres of his enormous military grant to Abram Maury, who laid out the county seat of Franklin, named for Benjamin Franklin, on 109 acres of this property in 1800. The little village with its huddle of log cabins was half-circled by the Big Harpeth River. Franklin and Williamson County were created by the Tennessee General Assembly on October 26, 1799. Carved from neighboring Davidson, the new county was named in honor of Hugh Williamson (1735-1819), surgeon-general of North Carolina troops in the American Revolution, North Carolina legislator, member of the Continental and U.S. Congresses.

Newspapers were published in Fairview and Franklin. Scattered early issues are available from 1839, and a complete run begins in 1921. See Extended History for More information.

Williamson County is bordered by Davidson County (north), Rutherford County (east), Marshall County (southeast), Maury County (south), Hickman County (southwest), Dickson County (northwest) and Cheatham County (north-northwest). Cities and Towns include Brentwood, Fairview, Franklin, Nolensville, Thompson's Station, Spring Hill. The Official County Website is located at http://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/

Tennessee State Library and Archives has Inventories of Williamson County Records on Microfilm. Click Here to Order County Microfilm Inventories and Reels. Early Williamson 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. . Williamson County, Tennessee History Books at Amazon.com.

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There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Williamson County Court Records

See Also Tennessee Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

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.

Williamson County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1800 and Probate Records from 1800 and is located at Courthouse, 1320 W Main St., P.O. Box 624, Franklin, TN 37065-0624; Telephone: (615) 790-5428.
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.

Williamson County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1799 and is located at Courthouse, 1320 W Main St., P.O. Box 624, Franklin, TN 37065-0624; Telephone: (615) 790-5428.
The Register of Deeds office has land records beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the Williamson county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.

Williamson County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1810 and is located at Courthouse, 1320 W Main St., P.O. Box 624, Franklin, TN 37065-0624; Telephone: (615) 790-5454.
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.

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.

Below is a list of online resources for Williamson County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Williamson County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Williamson County, Tennessee Court Books at Amazon.com
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.
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Williamson County Vital Records

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 Williamson County for the years: 1800-1841, 1844-1856, 1859-1861, 1866, 1871, 1873-1900 ; 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 Williamson County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Williamson County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Williamson County Genealogical Addresses

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 Williamson County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Williamson County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Williamson County Archives, P.O. Box 1006, Franklin , TN 37065; Phone: (615) 790-5462
Williamson County Historical Society, P.O. Box 71, Franklin 37065
Historic Carnton Plantation, 1345 Carnton Lane, Franklin, TN 37069 615-794-0903
Williamson County Public Library, 1314 Columbia Avenue, Franklin, TN 37064 615-595-1243
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.

Williamson County Church & Cemeteries

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 Williamson County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Williamson 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.

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 Williamson County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Williamson County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

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 Williamson County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Williamson County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

Williamson County, Tennessee Family Books at Amazon.com
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Sites on USGenweb: [ Williamson County ] [ Tennessee ] [ Main Page ]
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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.
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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.
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The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
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County History

The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture © Tennessee Historical Society
Centuries before Europeans settled in what was to become Williamson County the area was home to at least five prehistoric cultures. Over many centuries these occupants of the Harpeth Valley progressed from a nomadic existence to a settled lifestyle in fortified villages along the Big Harpeth River and its tributaries. When white scouts and long hunters ventured onto the land, tribes of Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Shawnees were sharing its bounty in a migratory fashion.

From the time white settlers began to attempt to wrest the area from the Indians, they were determined to have the rich, well watered meadows and forests at all costs. They paid dearly for their desire to settle the region before treaties were signed, and several lost their lives to the tomahawks and arrows of those first Williamson Countians defending their hunting grounds.

Many of the early settlers came to take up grants awarded to them for their Revolutionary War service. Others bought land from those who chose not to settle here. Soon representatives of every honorable profession were calling the county home. Possibly its fame could be laid in part to its fine schools dotting the countryside. Franklin and Triune were noted for their male and female academies. These private schools flourished until around 1861. Attendance declined during the years of war and Reconstruction, and they were gradually replaced by the public school system.

Prior to 1861 Williamson County was the third wealthiest county in Tennessee. Its riches were derived from its productive soil, timber, and livestock. Almost wholly loyal to the South, Franklin and its surrounding communities suffered extreme hardships during Union army occupation from 1862-65. Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest led a successful raid against a federal garrison near Brentwood, capturing 785 men and valuable stores in March 1863. The battle of Franklin was a bloody conflict fought on November 30, 1864, between the forces of Confederate General John B. Hood and those of Union General John M. Schofield. During the five hours of desperate fighting the Confederates, who made repeated attacks against strong breastworks, suffered an appalling number of casualties in both officers and men. Confederate Generals John Adams, Patrick Cleburne, States Rights Gist, Hiram Granbury, and Otho French Strahl were killed on the field. A sixth, John C. Carter, died ten days later. In some brigades all officers were killed down to the rank of captain. Union General David S. Stanley was wounded, but no Union generals were killed.

During the war and Reconstruction, two of Williamson County's most important historical cemeteries were established. The McGavock Confederate Cemetery near Carnton contains the bodies of 1,481 Confederates killed at Franklin and is the largest private Confederate cemetery in America. The other notable cemetery in Williamson County is the Toussaint L'Overture County Cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although the cemetery was not incorporated until 1884, the first interments occurred much earlier, around 1869, making it the oldest African American institution in continuous use in Williamson County. The extent of destruction associated with the battle of Franklin, the collapse of slavery, and the political upheaval associated with Reconstruction produced years of uncertainty before recovery began for the citizens of the county.

In years past Williamson County boasted some forty-four communities, quite a few of which still retain their identity. However, only four--Franklin, Brentwood, Fairview, and Thompson's Station--have been incorporated as of April 1996.

Countless notable people have called Williamson County home. These include Thomas Hart Benton, Governor John Buchanan, Governor Newton Cannon, John S. Claybrooke, John H. Eaton, Bailey Hardeman, Judge Thomas Maney, John Marshall, Abram Maury, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Hardy Murfree, Randal McGavock, John McGavock, Nicholas Perkins--and many others. Daniel M. Robison (1893-1970), former state librarian and Archivist and state historian, was born in the village of Arrington. He initiated the useful biographical directories of state legislators in 1956.

Until recently Williamson was a rural county with very little manufacturing. In the 1930s the Dortch Stove Works operated in Franklin and was followed by Magic Chef, which made electric and gas ranges on the same site. Jamison Bedding then bought the property and was in business here for many years. In the late 1990s, developers restored the former factory as a model historic preservation adaptive reuse project. After CPS, APCOM, Pellican, and the Essex Group opened their plants in the 1960s, Franklin became the main manufacturing center in the county. Brentwood tends more to residential areas, office complexes, and service companies. General Smelting and Refining Company is located at College Grove, and Four Star, which makes tobacco harvesting equipment, operates out of Triune.

From 1980 to 2000 businesses became more diversified. During that time Williamson became one of the fastest growing counties in the state, with major development taking place in residential, retail, office, and manufacturing properties. The service industry, which includes the Williamson Medical Center, doctors' office complexes, restaurants, hotels, mortgage companies, law firms, accountancies, and financial institutions, was especially important. Primus, one of the largest financial companies in Middle Tennessee, is located at Cool Springs in Franklin. The largest employment site is Cool Springs Galleria, with some three thousand employees. The largest single industrial employer is CPS Corporation in Franklin, with six hundred employees.

Williamson County's population boomed like no other county in the state between 1990 and 2000. The county grew to 126,638 residents, an increase of 56.3 percent in ten years.

Such rapid growth and the construction of new highways, schools and malls in rural areas, hitherto untouched by progress, have created enormous stress in many places. These developments have resulted in the loss of private homes, historic landmarks, cemeteries, springs, and open spaces. However, in the face of great odds, interested citizens are striving to preserve the best of the past as their communities move toward the future.

Williamson County Published Records

1850 Census of Williamson County, Tennessee (Williamson County Historical Society, 1970)
1860 Census of Williamson County, Tennessee (Williamson County Archives, 2003?)
1870 Census of Williamson County, Tennessee (Williamson County Archives, 2003?)
1880 Census, Williamson County, Tennessee (Sistler, 1999)
Bible Records, Williamson County, Tennessee (Lynch, 1970)
Birth Records of Williamson County, Tennessee, 1881-1882 and 1909-1912 ( Hollingsworth, 1997)
Cemeteries in the Sixteenth District of Williamson County (Vance, 1967)
Cemetery Records of Williamson County, Tennessee (Lynch & Hays, 1969)
County Court of Williamson County, Tennessee, Lawsuits, 1821-1872 : Books 2 Through 8 (Lynch, 1974)
Death Notices and Other Gleanings from the Western Weekly Review, Franklin, Tennessee, 1831-1840 (Smith, 2004)
Death Records of Williamson County, Tennessee (Lynch, 1983)
Deaths of Williamson County, Tennessee, 1881-1882 and 1909-1912 (Hollingsworth, 1997)
Directory, Williamson County, Tennessee: Burials [3 vols.] (Williamson County Historical Society, 1973)
Early Families of Northeastern Williamson County (Vance, 1996)
Early Obituaries of Williamson County, Tennessee (Lynch, 1977)
Enumeration of Male Inhabitants of Twenty-one Years of Age and Upward, Citizens of Tennessee, January 1, 1891 [Williamson County] (Reed, 1992)
Family Records (Daughters of the American Revolution, 1925)
Guardian Records of Williamson County, Tennessee [vol. 1 1799-1832; vol. 2 1833-1844; vol. 3 1845-1865; vol. 4 1859-1929] (Johnson, 2000)
Historic Nolensville Cemetery (Little, 1998)
Index to Maury and Williamson Counties : Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, 1886 (Lightburne, 1964)
"Marriage Bonds" From County Court Records, Williamson County, Tennessee, 1804-1820 (Daughters of the American Revolution, 1927?)
Marriage Records of Williamson County, Tennessee, 1804-1850 (Hamilton & Cook, 1979)
Marriages of Williamson County, Tennessee, 1804-1850 (Whitley, 1982)
Minute Book, 1800-1817 [Williamson County] [vol. 1 1800-1812 (in 2 parts); vol. 2 1812-1815; vol. 3 1816-1817] (WPA, 1937)
Miscellaneous Records, Williamson County, Tennessee [7 volumes] (Lynch, 1973)
Name Index to History of Tennessee ... : Together with ... Sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall Counties (Marsh, 1971)
Newspaper Excerpts, 1822-1835, Williamson County, Tennessee (Lynch, 1985)
Our Valiant Men : Soldiers and Patriots of the Revolutionary War who Lived in Williamson County, Tennessee (Lynch, 1976)
Record Book, Letters of Administration no. I, 1838-1855 (Lynch, 1971)
Survey and Entry book, Williamson County, Tennessee, 1824-1902 (Lynch, 1985)
Tax Book I, Williamson County, Tennessee, 1800-1813 (Lynch, 1971)
Who's Who in Williamson County [vol. 1 A-E; vol. 2 F-K; vol. 3 L-R; vol. 4 R-Z] (Owen, 2003-)
Will Book [Williamson County] [4 vols. 1800-1830] (WPA, 1936)
Williamson 101 (Little, 1970)
Williamson County Confederates (Cotten, 1996)
Williamson County State Cases, 1800-1899 (Williamson County Archives, 2003?)
Williamson County, Tennessee 1830 US Census (Ehresman, 1994)
Williamson County, Tennessee, 1840 Census (Lynch, 1980)
Williamson County, Tennessee : A Genealogical Abstract of the County Court Minutes, 1800-1804 (Wells, 198?)
Williamson County, Tennessee, Bible, Family, and Tombstone Records (WPA, 1938)
Williamson County, Tennessee, County Court Minutes, May 1806-April 1812 (Wells, 1994)
Williamson County, Tennessee, Deed Abstracts, 1799-1811 : Abstracts of Deed Books, Volume A, no. 1, Volume A-2 and Volume B (Murray, 1991)
Williamson County, Tennessee, Deed Books [Books C, D & E, Vol. II, 1811-1820] Lynch, 1992)
Williamson County, Tennessee County Court Minutes, July 1812-October 1815 (Wells, 1994)
Williamson County, Tennessee Marriage Records, 1800-1850 (Bejach & Gardiner, 1957)
Williamson County, Tennessee Marriage Records, 1851-1879 (Lynch, 1979)
Williamson County, Tennessee Population Schedules of the United States of 1820 (Presley, 1970?)
Williamson County, Tennessee Will Book [vols. 3-5, 1819-Oct. 1834) (Hays & Duke, 1949)
Williamson County, Tennessee, Wills and Administrations, 1800 to 1861 : An Index (Sistler, 1989)
Williamson County, Tennessee, Wills and Inventories [Book I & II, 1800-1818] (Lynch, 1992)
Wills and Inventories of Williamson County, Tennessee [vol.1 1800-1812; vol. 2 1811-1818; vol. 3 1819-1825 (in 3 parts); vol. 4 1825-1830 (in 2 parts)] (Lynch, 1969)

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