Facts on Local Court Records

[ SEARCH ONLINE COURT RECORDS ] [Search Public Records - FREE Preview Search.] [Court Record Searches] [View Criminal Records Instantly!]
    There is no effective substitute for an on-site search of county courthouse records. County level records have not yet been centralized. No single county's records have been significantly abstracted or transcribed, making a courthouse visit essential. County records vary widely from county to county in both quality and quantity.

   Court records for Tennessee can be difficult to use. Indexes are seldom, if ever, complete. Names may be indexed under various letters of the alphabet, but not necessarily by the individual's name. A for adoptions or I for “in regards to” are examples. Mortgaged estates may be indexed under the name of the bank holding the lien or mortgage, such as B for Bank of Commerce. Records may be indexed by other than surname, for example, C for commissioners/commission, J for jury, and W for will. In cases where property is sold by the sheriff, records can be found under S for sheriff, who was ordered by the court to sell the property to settle the estate or for back taxes. S for state may indicate records in which the state was a party, such as state land grants recorded in court records.

Tennessee court records can be complicated to use because there were various courts in which activities could be recorded. Some larger counties have superior courts of law and equity that hear minor civil and equity cases. Probate records normally were under the jurisdiction of the county court, but if the case was contested, then it could be filed in chancery or circuit court. 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.

Original court records, including minute and order books, boxes of loose papers, case files, and folders, are maintained by the county. Each source should be thoroughly examined for pertinent entries. Many of these were microfilmed and are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives and through the FHL. 

Under the WPA, approximately 1,000 typed volumes of county records were transcribed for most counties in Tennessee. These are microfilmed and available on interlibrary loan from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. There is a card index inventory to this compilation arranged by county. Court records included in this collection are wills; county, chancery, and circuit court minutes; and estate settlements. The county court maintains 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. Shelby and Davidson counties have separate probate courts.

Projects to preserve and microfilm probate files, or loose papers, were started in Franklin County in 1979 and in Shelby County in 1981. Microfilm copies are at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Other counties are following this fine example of record preservation.

County courts also hear guardianship and minor civil and criminal cases. Court records date from the organization of the county except in cases where records have been destroyed. "

DUTIES OF COUNTY CLERK

The County Clerk has many important functions within the county government. The County Clerk serves as clerk of the county legislative body, keeps the records of the county legislative body and sends required notices. The minutes of the county legislative body meetings are required to be promptly and fully recorded by the County Clerk and are open to public inspection.

The County Clerk collects business taxes, handles motor vehicle registration and licensing and collects county wheel taxes. Also, the County Clerk issues marriage licenses, collects the state and any county privilege tax on marriage, and may solemnize a marriage. Since notaries public are elected by the county legislative body, the County Clerk keeps a record of the notaries public in the county and has duties involving coordination between the Office of Secretary of State and the notary applicant. County clerks have other miscellaneous licensing duties, including pawnbroker licensing, hunting and fishing licensing and others. In some counties, County Clerks serve as clerks of court, the most common of which are juvenile and probate court. The County Clerk's office receive fees for these services. Tennessee Code Annotated §8-21-701 is the basic County Clerk's fee statute.

OTHER DUTIES - Since office management is an important aspect of the County Clerk's responsibilities, County Clerks should be familiar with both state and federal laws relating to personnel matters. Also, the County Clerk should have a basic understanding of potential liability, including both personal liability and county liability, and of the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act. Every county official should be familiar with the conflict of interest and disclosure laws applicable to their offices.

DUTIES OF CIRCUIT COURT CLERK

Court Clerks serve an important role in the operation of the court system in Tennessee. Clerks must attend each session of court with all the papers in the cases on the docket and must administer the oaths to parties and witnesses who testify in a case. Clerks usually keep minutes of the court in a well-bound book, but may keep this information in electronic format so long as certain rules relating to the safe-keeping of the records are followed. Because Court Clerks deal with voluminous paperwork, the storage and retention of documents are important considerations. When a case is appealed from a court of record, the Clerk compiles the record (papers) needed for the appeal, and it is extremely important that the records of the Clerk's office be well-organized and accurate.

Clerks maintain the rule docket and an execution docket in which all court judgments or decrees are entered in order of rendition by the court and in which all receipts and disbursements in a case are entered. Clerks also maintain indexes for all books and dockets that are kept by the office.

Clerks collect state and county litigation taxes, criminal injuries compensation tax, county expense fees, funds for the impaired driver's trust fund, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation fees, misdemeanant jail per diems, fines, sheriff's fees, clerk's fees, witness fees and other items of court costs. Clerks prepare bills of costs in cases, account for these monies and make collection efforts when these amounts are unpaid. Clerks may elect to use certain "flat fees" in lieu of itemizing the fees according to the clerk's fee statute, Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-21-401. Clerks maintain a cash journal (general ledger) to account for and summarize the cash transactions of the office and issue receipts for all collections.

Clerks invest idle funds pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 18-5-106, and often serve in a fiduciary capacity to invest funds held for third parties. Additionally, many Clerks conduct delinquent tax sales and other sales of property as ordered by the court. Clerks may collect support, including alimony and child support, pursuant to court order and the Tennessee Code Annotated.

Back to top

Facts on Local Probate Records

   The county court maintains 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. Shelby and Davidson counties have separate probate courts.

   Many early court records and lists of wills were transcribed by the WPA. Copies of these are usually in the county clerk's office and in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Most records have been microfilmed and are available through the FHL.

   Projects to preserve and microfilm probate files, or loose papers, were started in Franklin County in 1979 and in Shelby County in 1981. Microfilm copies are at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Other counties are following this fine example of record preservation.

   County courts also hear guardianship and minor civil and criminal cases. Court records date from the organization of the county except in cases where records have been destroyed.

Back to top

Tips for General Court Records

Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"

   Even today, few people escape mention in court records at some time during their lives as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office, or as petition signatories. However, Americans of a few generations ago also expected to attend local court proceedings when they were in session.
Arlene H. Eakle, Ph.D. “Research in Court Records”
In The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy

   American court files mirror U.S. history. Buried away in courthouses and archives everywhere are the dreams and frustrations of millions of citizens. The chances are great that your ancestors have left a detailed record of at least some aspects of their lives in court records.

   Most of us don’t think of court records as the rich source of personal history that they are. But America’s English heritage established a tradition of court processes in which the people have a right to participate actively—and we always have. With relative freedom from royal supervision and with court enforcement of religious as well as civil laws, American courts tried many matters that were not subject to court action in other parts of the British empire and that are now considered too minor to warrant criminal action.

   When a person dies, every state has laws that provide for public supervision over the estate that is left, whether or not there is a will. The term “probate records” broadly covers all the records produced by these laws, although, strictly speaking, “probate” applies only when there is a will.

   Family historians use probate case files far more than any other kind of court record. Probate case files are logical sources because they tend to include so much personal data, and because Americans have depended on the courts to settle their estates since North America was colonized. According to Val Greenwood in his Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, “All records which relate to the disposition of an estate after its owner’s death are referred to as probate records. These are many and varied in both content and value, but basically, they fall into two main classes: testate and intestate” (page 255). Probate case files generally provide names, addresses, and biographical data for the deceased, but frequently provide the same information for other relatives named in the papers. Relationships, maiden names of wives, married names of daughters, past residences, and place of origin in a native country are just a few of the details that can be discovered in probate files. And probate files can be found in courthouses and archives across the United States.

   When requesting probate information from the county clerk, it is important not to limit yourself by asking for a person’s “will.” The clerk will usually take you at your word and not copy other papers in the probate file that may have equally important information if there is no will.

   Even if your ancestor is not mentioned in a probate case, consider all of the other procedures which might have resulted in him or her appearing in court records:

Back to top