Lawrence County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Lawrence County

Lawrence County, Tennessee ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Guide to Lawrence County (established 1817) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

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Lawrence County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	October 21, 1817
County Seat	Lawrenceburg
Courthouse
Website: lawrencecountytn.gov
Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: TNGenWeb Project who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

Description

The County was named for Captain James Lawrence (1781–1813), who while commanding the USS Chesapeake in an 1813 battle with the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon, issued his famous command: "Don't give up the ship! Blow her up." His men did anyway and Lawrence died of wounds. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

Lawrence County, Tennessee Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1908	1818	1908	1818	1819	1829	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1914. General compliance by 1927.

County Courthouse

[[Image:

Old Lawrence County Courthouse

Lawrenceburg, Tenn. Courtesy: Collection: County Court Houses, Flickr by Jimmy Emerson. Used by permission.]] [[Image:

Lawrence County Courthouse, Lawrenceburg, Tenn. Courtesy: Collection: County Court Houses, Flickr by Jimmy Emerson. Used by permission.]]

Lawrence County Courthouse
240 West Gaines St.
Lawrenceburg, TN 38464
Phone: 1-931-762-7700

County Health Department has birth records.
County Clerk has marriage records from 1818 and probate records from 1829.
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce records.
Register of Deeds has land records.

Lawrence County Archives 2588 Highway 43 S
Leoma, TN 38468
Phone: 1-931-852-4091
E-mail: lcarchives@lorettotel.net
The Lawrence County Archives was formed in 1988 under the supervision of the Lawrence County Public Records Commission. The records are now permanently located in the First Farmer's and Merchant's building in Leoma, TN

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. It also may be closed for a few hours or a day. These changes will be posted on the website, but be sure to call if traveling a long distance to visit the archives.

History

[[Image:

U.S. Naval Officer James Lawrence (1781-1813)

]]

Middle Tennessee county. Established 1817. The county is named after U.S. naval officer James Lawrence (1781-1813).

Parent County

1817--Lawrence County was created 21 October 1817 from Hickman and Maury Counties.
County seat: Lawrenceburg

County Pronunciation

1. Hear it spoken (female)
2. Hear it spoken (male)

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Tennessee county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Places/Localities

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Iron City Lawrenceburg	Loretto	Saint Joseph
Towns
Ethridge
Unincorporated communities
Alexander Springs Appleton Bonnertown Five Points	Henryville Leoma Liberty Grove	Oak Hill Spring Creek Westpoint
Census-designated places
Summertown

Neighboring Counties

Giles Lauderdale County, Alabama

Lewis Limestone County, Alabama

Maury Wayne

Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Lawrence County biography and census records. To determine which books are being searched, or to search each publication's index individually, click here. You are now equipped with a checklist of books to pull off the shelves at a genealogy library, or a wish list for your personal book collection.

Research Guides

• Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Lawrence County, courtesy: Tennessee State Library and Archives. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)

African American

United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Census takers found no free African Americans living in Lawrence County, Tennessee in 1820.

Biographies

• Family Biographies from The History of Lawrence County, Tennessee (1886) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
  

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
TNGenWeb	WorldCat	BillionGraves
TNGenWeb Archives		Linkpendium
Tombstone Project		Gravestones
TNGenWeb Cemeteries		Epodunk
BillionGraves
See Tennessee Cemeteries for more information.

Additional Cemetery Resources

• Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census

1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Lawrence County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Tennessee Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than nationwide online indexes.

See Tennessee Population Schedule Indexes: Fiche, Film, or Book for more information about statewide printed indexes.

See Lawrence County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project^®

1810 - 1891

• Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

1820

• Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981. FHL 976.8 X22b 1820
• Carter, Marymaud K. and Joan C. Hudgins. 1850 Census, Lawrence County, Tennessee (Including some Other Early Records).S.l.: s.n., 197-?FHL 976.842 X2p
• Lauderdale County Library. Vertical files, census records.Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1978. FHL 1034009Item 2.
• Presley, Mrs. Leister E. Census, Lawrence, Perry, Shelby Counties, Tennessee, 1820.Searcy, Arkansas : Presley, 198-?. FHL 976.8 X2p 1820
• Rice, Shirley H., ed. Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records: 1820, 1840 and 1840 and Miscellaneous Early County Records, of Private Acts, Field Calls for the First Civil Districts, Marriages, Taxable Property and Polls, Old Newspapers, Business Directory, and Officials. FHL 976.842 X2r 1820-1840

1891 Male Voters

• 1891 Tennessee Enumeration of Male Voters 1891 at Ancestry.com — index $

1820 Manufactures

The original manufactures schedules for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee are kept at the NARA, Washington, D.C. FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 1024517-1024518.

The following book is a useful aid for finding the original records. A free online index, provided by Lineages,will help researchers determine if this resource can be of assistance:

• National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2m 1820; digital version at Lineages. Covers this county.

1830

• Rice, Shirley H., ed. Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records : 1820, 1840 and 1840 and Miscellaneous Early County Records, of Private Acts, Field Calls for the First Civil Districts, Marriages, Taxable Property and Polls, Old Newspapers, Business Directory, and Officials. FHL 976.842 X2r 1820-1840

1840

• Carpenter, Viola H. and Marymaud K. Carter. Lawrence County, Tennessee, 1860, 1840 Census: Private Acts, Miscellaneous.Columbia, Tennessee : P-Vine Press, 1977. FHL 976.842 X2pa
• Rice, Shirley H., ed. Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records : 1820, 1840 and 1840 and Miscellaneous Early County Records, of Private Acts, Field Calls for the First Civil Districts, Marriages, Taxable Property and Polls, Old Newspapers, Business Directory, and Officials. FHL 976.842 X2r 1820-1840

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners

• A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. [See Tennessee, Middle District, Lawrence County on page 156.]

1850

• Carter, Marymaud K. and Joan C. Hudgins. 1850 Census, Lawrence County, Tennessee (Including some Other Early Records).S.l.: s.n., 197-?FHL 976.842 X2p

1860

• Carpenter, Viola H. and Marymaud K. Carter. Lawrence County, Tennessee, 1860, 1840 Census: Private Acts, Miscellaneous.Columbia, Tennessee : P-Vine Press, 1977. FHL 976.842 X2pa

1870

• Rice, Shirley H., ed.Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records, 1870.Lawrenceburg, Tennessee : Family Tree Press, 1992. FHL 976.842 X2c 1870

1880

• Carpenter, Viola H. and Marymaud K. Carter. Lawrence County, Tennessee, 1880 Census.Columbia, Tennessee: P-Vine Press, 1983. FHL 976.842 X2L 1880
• Sistler, Byron H. 1880 census Lawrence County, Tennessee.Nashville, Tennessee: Byron Sistler and Assoc., 1999. FHL 976.842 X2s 1880

1890 - Lost, but substitutes are available:

• Reed, Sue S. Enumeration of Male Inhabitants of Twenty-one Years of Age and Upward, Citizens of Tennessee, January 1, 1891, as Provided for by an Act of General Assembly of Tennessee, Passed January 15, 1891, and Approved January 22, 1891. 8 vols. Houston, Texas: S.S. Reed, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 8 1891. Lawrence County is included in Vol. 8.
• Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1890.

1900

• Franks, Mary Nell H. and Shirley H. Rice Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records, 1900. Lawrenceburg, Tennessee: Family Tree Press, 1994. FHL 976.842 X2f 1900

1910

• Franks, Mary Nell H. and Shirley H. Rice Lawrence County, Tennessee, census Records, 1910. Lawrenceburg, Tennessee: Family Tree Press, 1995. Districts 1-11. Supplement with district 12.FHL 976.842 X2f 1910

1920

• Franks, Mary Nell H. and Shirley H. Rice Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records, 1920. Lawrenceburg, Tennessee: Family Tree Press, 1994. FHL 976.842 X2f 1900

Church

Court

Family Histories

It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:

• Locate publications about direct ancestors
• Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
• Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors)

General

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Lawrence, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 35,000 entries.

• Lawrence County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Lawrence County, Tennessee. Waynesville, N.C.: County Heritage, 2008. FHL US/CAN Book 976.842 H2L.

Bibliography

• Allen - Rowles, W.P. and Alfred Osborn Pope Nicholson. The Life and Character of Capt. Wm. B. Allen: of Lawrence County, Tenn., Who Fell at the Storming of Monterey, on the 21st of September, 1846. With an Appendix, Containing a Number of His Essays and Speeches. Columbia, Tenn.: J. J. M'Daniel, "Democratic Herald" Book Office, 1853. Digital version at Google Books.
• Choates - Williams, Irene Choate and Betty Lee Swann. The Choates of Lawrence County, Tennessee. n.p.: I.C. Williams, 1971. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C451wi.
• Clayton - Franks, Mary Nell Hollis and Shirley Ann Hollis. William "Flat River" Clayton and Benjamin Crews: Families of Person County, NC to Lawrence County, TN. Multi-volume. Leoma, Tenn.: Family Tree Press, 2003. FHL US/CAN Book 929.273 C579fm v. 1 pt. 1 ff.
• Crews - Franks, Mary Nell Hollis and Shirley Ann Hollis. William "Flat River" Clayton and Benjamin Crews: Families of Person County, NC to Lawrence County, TN. Multi-volume. Leoma, Tenn.: Family Tree Press, 2003. FHL US/CAN Book 929.273 C579fm v. 1 pt. 1 ff.
• Leeper - Gambill, Nell McNish The kith and kin of Captain James Leeper and Susan Drake, his wife [S.I. : s.n., c1946] FHL US/CAN book 929.273 L518 Free lookups available!
• McDonald - McDonald, William L. The McDonalds, Early Settlers and Descendents, 1834-1994. [Florence, Ala.: W.L. McDonald], 1994 Printing. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M145mw; digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library . Alternative title: History of Clan McDonald in Lauderdale County, Alabama and Lawrence County, Tennessee.
• Pennington - Pennington, Michael Thomas Descendants of David Newton Pennington and Matilda Clingan Littleton, Colorado : M.T. Pennington, c1997 FHL book 929.273 P384pm. Digital version available at FamilySearch Digital Library
• Reading - Redding, Mrs. Jackie and William L. McDonald. William H. Reading of Lawrence County, Tennessee; Soldier of the American Revolution: Progenitor of the Redding Families of Lauderdale County, Alabama and Lawrence County, Tennessee. Typescript, University of North Alabama, Florence, Ala. Microfilmed in 1979. FHL US/CAN Film 1035162 Item 6.
• Scheidt - Carter, Kathryn S. Ancestors and Descendants of John Scheidt and Anna Maria Elizabeth Frenzel. Tecumseh, Okla.: K.S. Carter, 1991. FHL 929.273 Sch25c
• Springer - Coffey, Laura Lou White and Mobley, Lidalee Springer Springers in the south Lawrenceburg, Tennessee : L.W. Coffey, c1977. FHL US/CAN book 929.273 C654cL Free lookups available!

Land

• Lawrence County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1818 and is located at the county Courthouse, 240 W. Gaines, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee 38464; Telephone: (931) 762-7700. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.
• The Family History Library has microfilm copies of a general index to deeds 1819-1871; deeds 1819-1891 with index 1819-1908; land surveys 1820-1929; entry takers books 1820-1849; road books 1853-1863; stock mark books 1882-1913.

Law and Legislation

• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Acts of Tennessee 1796-1850: Index to Names. January 25, 2005. In addition to creating new laws, legislative acts were often required to obtain a divorce, grant legitimacy to a child, or for appointments to or grant payments for public service. The TSLA has created an index to names that appear in these acts covering the years 1796 to 1850. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

• The Goodspeed histories of Lawrence, Giles and Wayne Counties Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887. Free lookups available
• Pruitt, Wade Bugger Saga : A Civil War story of guerrilla and bushwhacker warfare in Lauderdale County, Alabama Includes information on Lawrence and Wayne counties, Tennessee. s.n. 1977. Free lookups available!

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
• Map of 1888 Lawrence County, Tennessee

Military

Revolutionary War

The following Lawrence County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:

• 1835 Pension Roll
• 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
• Pensioners of Revolutionary War or War of 1812 from Lawrence County
• Niedergeses, Kathy Revolutionary War Soldiers A list of Revolutionary War soldiers who applied for a pension while living in Lawrence county, and was compiled based on tradition, information from descendants, court records, cemeteries and more. Includes names and sources of information.

Additional resources include:

• A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. See Tennessee, Middle District, Lawrence County on page 156.
• Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Digital version at Ancestry ($). Tennessee entries abstracted online at Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War, courtesy: TNGenWeb. Includes veterans from this county; Tennessee section begins on page 381.

War of 1812

• Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct. 1960):90-93. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. Includes Lawrence County pensioners (p. 93).

Mexican War

• Rowles, W.P. and Alfred Osborn Pope Nicholson. The Life and Character of Capt. Wm. B. Allen: of Lawrence County, Tenn., Who Fell at the Storming of Monterey, on the 21st of September, 1846. With an Appendix, Containing a Number of His Essays and Speeches. Columbia, Tenn.: J. J. M'Daniel, "Democratic Herald" Book Office, 1853. Digital version at Google Books.
• Davis, Donna Niedergeses Lawrence County, Tennessee Mexican War 1846-1848 Soldiers Discharge Papers As found in Deed Book 1 including personal information about the soldier. Courtesy : TNGenWeb

Civil War

Online Records

• 1861 - 1865 - Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1865 - Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
• 1891 - 1965 - Tennessee, Confederate Pension Applications, Soldiers and Widows, 1891-1965 at FamilySearch — images
• Civil War Research Database $
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Regiments. Civil War service men from Lawrence County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Lawrence County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Clack's) - CSA - Company D.
• 19th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Biffle's) - CSA - Company D.
• 22nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Nixon's) - CSA
• 23rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Martin's) - CSA - Company B.
• 32nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company C.
• 48th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Nixon's) - CSA - Company K
• 54th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies C, E, G, and I.

Union Soldiers

• 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry - Company I.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Lawrence County:

• USGenWeb Archives, Lawrence County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Lawrence County. Includes soldier's name, county, pension #, unit or widow.
• United States Pension Bureau, List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883: Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for... (Washington Printing Office; 1883). Online at Internet Archive. Lawrence County, page 357.
• TNGenWeb, Lawrence County Genealogy and Lawrence County Military Records. Union Civil War Soldiers Buried In Lawrence County, Tennessee Union and Confederate Records on TNGenWeb, Lawrence County's first recruits of the Civil War, and Union Civil War Soldiers Buried in Lawrence Co., Tennessee Cemeteries

Spanish American War

• Hale, Will T.The First Tennessee Regiment, United States Volunteers. Nashville, 1899. Free digital copy.

Newspapers

Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at the TSLA. Most of these newspapers may be accessed by interlibrary loan to libraries within Tennessee, although there are some newspapers which are not available in or outside of Tennessee. For further information regarding interlibrary loan policies and newspapers not available for interlibrary loan click here. For a list of newspapers available at the archives for Lawrence County click on the following cities and towns:

• Crestview
• Lawrenceburg
• Loretto
• Summertown

Occupations

• Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Lawrence County.

Periodicals

Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers who are new to their area would not likely discover. This type of material may be found in local, regional, or statewide genealogical society journals. The following periodicals cover this county:

Ansearchin' News

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Lawrence County, Tennessee have been published in Ansearchin' News, the quarterly magazine of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. To view a list of these articles, visit their county index. To read digitized versions of the first 36 years of articles (Vols. 1-36), browse their archive or conduct a surname search. The Family History Library has a complete collection of the Ansearchin' News quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a.

Yesterday and Today in Lawrence County

The Family History Library has Volume 11, no. 2 (1988). FHL US/CAN Book 976.842 B2y

Lawrence County Heritage

Index is found on the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)
See the Lawrence County Genealogical Society website for further information and the Lawrence County Heritage table of contents for Volume 1 (1997) to the present.

Prisons

Learn if your Lawrence County, Tennessee Genealogy ancestors went to prison!

• Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850.
• Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870.

Probate Records

The Lawrence County Court has responsibility for the probate records. Many records are held by the Lawrence County Archives.

Online Records

• 1779 – 2008 Tennessee Wills and Probate Records 1779-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Lawrence County probate records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Available indexes:

• Will Book B: 1829-1847

The following Lawrence County probate records have been abstracted, indexed, or both:

• 1829 - 1861 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills and Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler and Associates, Inc., 1990. FHL US/CAN 976.8 P22s. Includes an index to this county's probate records.
• 1829 - 1847 - Strictly By Name (see above).

Taxation

The following Lawrence County tax records have been abstracted:

• Carter, Marymaud Killen, Joan Coffey Hudgins and Shirley Hollis Rice. Lawrence County, Tennessee, Census Records: 1820, 1840 and 1840 and Miscellaneous Early County Records, of Private Acts, Field Calls for the First Civil Districts, Marriages, Taxable Property and Polls, Old Newspapers, Business Directory, and Officials. FHL US/CAN Book 976.842 X2r 1820-1840.
• 1826 - Tax List, 1826, Lawrence County Heritage, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Summer 2000).
• 1836 - Map of Tax Districts, 1836, Lawrence County Heritage, Vol. 1 (Fall 1997).
• 1842 - Tax Delinquencies, 1842, Searcy County Ancestor Information Exchange, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Oct. 1998).
• 1868 - Tax List, 1868, Lawrence County Heritage, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Winter 2000); Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring 2001); Vol. 4, No. 4 (Summer 2001).
• 1890 - First Civil District Tax List, 1890, Lawrence County Heritage, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Summer 2007).

Vital Records

See also How to order Tennessee Vital Records or order electronically online.

Birth

• 1828 - 1939 - Tennessee Births and Christenings 1828-1939 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1869 - 1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

• 1908 - 1912 - Tennessee, Birth Records (ER Series), 1908-1912 at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

The original Lawrence County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Marriages were not officially recorded in Lawrence County until 1838, when state laws began requiring counties to keep marriage records. However, the county did keep marriage bond records from 1818-1909. These are unbound loose papers and are incomplete until about 1860. The following publication, based on early newspapers, helps to alleviate this genealogical obstacle:

• 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1794 - 1851 - Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978. FHL 976.8 V2L.

The following Lawrence County marriage records are microfilmed:

• 1818 - 1909 - Available at the TSLA. Marriage bonds, loose records: 1818-1859 are available for interlibrary loan.
• 1838 - 1996 - Available at the TSLA.
• 1818 - 1909 - Available at the Family History Library. Bonds and licenses. FHL 976303
• 1838 - 1957 - Available at the Family History Library. Some volumes are indexed. Others are arranges alphabetically by surname.FHL 976259
• 1838 - Record of marriage licenses, Lawrence County, Tennessee: 1838. FHL 976317 Item 6
  

For free Lawrence county marriage record lookups for the years 1818- 1999 click here.

The following Lawrence County marriage records have been indexed:

• 1818 - 1895 - Lawrence County Marriage Index 1818-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

• 1818 - 1923 - Carter, Mrs. Claude A. Lawrence County, Tennessee, Marriage Records, 1818-1923. Lawrenceburg, Tennessee: Family Tree Press, 1992. FHL 976.842 V2c Includes index of bride's surname.

• 1818 - 1870 - Lucas, Silas Emmett and Ella Lee Sheffield. 35,000 Tennessee Marriage Records and Bonds 1783-1870. 3 vols. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2t v. 1 ff. Abstracts include names of brides, grooms, bondsmen, marriage bond dates, and officiators for weddings in this county for the roughly specified years. Marriage data taken from an index card file at the TSLA. Authors do not specify whether or not the card index completely indexes this county's marriages.

• 1818 - 1870 - Lucas, Silas E. Lawrence County, Tennessee. Marriages, 1818-1870. Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1999. FHL 976.842 V2L

• 1818 - 1870 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler and Associates, 1988. FHL Book 976.8 V2sb v. 2 ff. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.

• 1818 - 1854 - Whitley, Edythe Rucker. Marriages of Lawrence County, Tennessee, 1818-1854. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1982. FHL 976.842 V2w

• 1838 - 1866 - Marriage Records, 1850-1866, Lawrence County, Tennessee. Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project, 1939. Typescript. FHL 24740 Item 3 and Item 6

• 1838 - 1923 - Morrison, John F. Lawrence County, Tennessee Marriages, 1838-1923. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 196-. FHL 976258 First 22 pages are marriages prior to 1838.

• 1926 - 1999 - Crowder, Nancy Lanning. Marriage index Lawrence County, Tennessee. Tennessee: N. L. Crowder, 2000. FHL 976.842 V22c 2 vols.

• 1790 - 1950 -Tennessee County Marriages, 1790-1950 at FamilySearch - covers all counties in Tennessee.

• 1861 - 1866 - Marriage Records.

• 1818 - 1850 - Marriage Records: Early–1850.

• 1780 - 2002 - Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. ($) Be aware that this index is not complete for many counties.

• 1790 – 1950 - Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950 at FamilySearch — index and images

• 1838 - 1888 - Tennessee Civil Marriages, 1838-1888 at FamilySearch — index and images

• 1851 - 1900 - Tennessee Marriages 1851-1900 at Ancestry.com— index and images $

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Lawrence County divorce papers in diverse County Courthouse records, see the following resources:

• W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.

Death

• 1874 - 1955 - Tennessee Deaths and Burials 1874-1955 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1908 - 1958 - Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1958 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

• 1914 - 1966 - Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966 at FamilySearch — index and images

For deaths of Methodists in Lawrence County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try searching the following records:

• Smith, Jonathan K.T. Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths, the Nashville Christian Advocate. (1847-1914) 10 vols. Jackson, Tenn.: J.K.T. Smith, 1997-2003. FHL Books 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 ff; digital versions at David Donahue Memorial: Tennessee Records Repository. Website expands upon the publications and includes deaths from the 1830s, 1840s, 1910s and 1920s.

Societies and Libraries 

See also a List of Tennessee Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Lawrence County, Tennessee Genealogical Society
2258 Highway 43 South
Leoma, TN 38468
Phone: 1-931-852-4091

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society
PO Box 330948
Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507
The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Lawrence County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Lawrence County Library
519 East Gaines St.
Lawrenceburg, TN 38464
Phone: 1-931-762-4627
Fax: 1-931-766-1597
E-mail: librarian@co.lawrence.tn.us
Hours: Mon., Thurs., Fri. 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Tues. and Wed. 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sat. 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map
• Introduction to Family History Centers

Websites

• Lawrence County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Lawrence County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• FamilySearch Catalog (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
• RootsWeb Mailinv List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)
• Lawrence County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)

References

Family History Library