Tennessee Archives, Societies & Publications

It is a good idea to familiarize personally with just about any repository in Tennessee that you simply might travel to by communicating with to the best suited archive or library in advance.

Most, if not all, Tennessee repositories have written and published content that present its collections as well as research policy.

Tennessee archives and historical organizations usually have On-line sites that provide equivalent details. Several also contain down loadable data for some or parts of their collections.

List of Tennessee Archives

  • Tennessee State Library and Archives, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243-0312; ; Phone: (615) 741-2764 , Fax (615) 741-6471
  • Tennessee Dept of Health; Vital Records Dept [Birth & Death Records from Jan 1914 ; Central Services Building, 1st Fl, 421 5th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37247-0450; (615) 741-1763, ; Fax: (615) 726-2559. Has Birth records from January 1914, Death, Marriage and Divorce for last 50 years. After that time, the records are sent to the Tennessee State Library and Archives for public access and family research.
  • Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
  • Hal Bernard Dixon Jr. Pentecostal Research Center
  • Memphis and Shelby County Room
  • Metropolitan Archives of Nashville and Davidson County
  • Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives
  • Anderson County Archives and Records Department, 100 N. Main Street, 3rd Floor, Clinton , TN 37716; Phone: (865) 457-6242
  • Brady-Hughes-Beasley Photographic Archives, 102 S. Spring Street, McMinnville, TN 37110 931-473-8226
  • Norris City Archives, P.O. Drawer G, Norris , TN 37828; Phone: (865) 494-7478
  • Cocke County Archives, 360 East Main Street, Newport , TN 37821; Phone: (423) 623-8791
  • Coffee County Archives, 1327 McArthur Drive, Suite One, Manchester, Tenn. 37355; Phone: (931) 455-4098
  • Hamblen County Archives, Room 102, Courthouse, 511 W. 2nd Street, Morristown , TN 37814-1530; Phone: (423) 586-1961
  • Hamilton County Records Center, 6233 Dayton Blvd., Chattanooga , TN 37343 ; Phone: (423) 209-8980
  • Hancock County Archives, P.O. Box 277, Sneedville , TN 37869; Phone: (423) 733-4524
  • Hawkins County Archives, 955 East McKinney Avenue, Rogersville , TN 37857; Phone: (423) 921-0904
  • Henry County Archive and Genealogy Library, 55 Jones Bend Ext. Rd., Paris , TN 38242; Phone: (731) 642-8655
  • Hickman County Archives, #8, Courthouse, Centerville, TN 37033; Phone: 931-729-6478
  • Humphreys County Archives, 122 Wilson Ridge Road, Waverly, TN 37185; Phone: (931) 296-5313
  • Jefferson County Archives, Room 203, Jefferson County Courthouse, P.O. Box 1193 Dandridge, TN 37725; 865-397-4904
  • Johnson County Archives, 222 W. Main Street, Mountain City , TN 37683; Phone: (423) 727-9696
  • Kingsport City Archives, 400 Broad Street, Kingsport, TN 37660; Phone: (423) 224-2559
  • Knox County Archives, 500 W. Church Ave., Knoxville , TN 37902, Phone: (865) 215-8804
  • Lauderdale County Archives, 957 Doctor Hall Road, Halls, TN 38040; Phone: (731) 836-7073
  • Lincoln County Archives, 1000-B Washington St. West, Fayetteville , TN 37334; Phone: (931) 732-4214
  • Macon County Archives, 204 Macon County Courthouse , Public Square, Lafayette , TN 37083; Phone: (615) 666-6030; (615) 666-6912
  • Madison County Archives, 1981 Hollywood Drive, Suite 300, Jackson, TN 38305; Phone: (731) 423-2723
  • Maury County Archives,  201 East 6th Street, Columbia , TN 38401; Phone: (931) 375-1500
  • McMinn County Archives, 6 East Madison Ave., Athens , TN 37303; Phone: (423) 745-7634
  • McNairy County Archives, P.O. Box 764, Selmer , TN 38375; Phone: (901) 645-6432
  • Monroe County Archives, 105 College Street, Madisonville , TN 37354; Phone: (615) 442-3981
  • Montgomery County Archives, 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 101-D, P.O. Box 323, Clarksville , TN 37041-0323 ; Phone: (931) 553-5159
  • Overton County Archives, 317 University Street , Suite 1, Livingston , TN 38570; Phone: (931) 823-8864
  • Archives of Byrdstown/Pickett County, 79 Pickett Square Annex, Byrdstown, TN 38549; Phone: (931) 864-8676
  • Putnam County Archives, 121 South Dixie Ave, Cookeville, TN 38501; (931) 520-0042
  • Roane County Archives, P.O. Box 738, Kingston , TN 37763; Phone: (865) 376-9211
  • Robertson County Archives, 504 S. Willow St ., Springfield , TN 37172; Phone: (615) 382-6928
  • Sevier County Preservation of Records Department, 125 Court Avenue, Suite 201E, Sevierville , TN 37862; Phone: (865) 774 3627
  • Center for Southern Folklore, Archives, 119 S. Main Street, Suite 106, PO Box 226, Memphis, TN 38101 901-525-3655
  • Smith County Archives, P.O. Box 112, Carthage , TN 37030; Phone: (615) 735-0200
  • Stewart County Archives, 660 Old Highway 79, Dover , TN 37058; (931) 232-7062
  • Sullivan County Archives, P.O. Box 3179, Blountville , TN 37617; Phone: (423) 323-4660
  • Sumner County Archives, 155 East Main Street, Gallatin , TN 37066; Phone: (615) 452-0037
  • Van Buren County Archives, 330 Baker Mountain Road, Spencer , TN 38585; Phone: (931) 473-2505
  • Wayne County Archives, Room 305 Courthouse, Waynesboro , TN 38485; Phone: (931) 722-5016
  • White County Archives, 1 E. Bockman Way, Rm 304 Courthouse, Sparta, TN 38583; (931)837-4066 – White County Archives office was established 01 Dec 2002 & opened to the public Feb 2003
  • Williamson County Archives, P.O. Box 1006, Franklin , TN 37065; Phone: (615) 790-5462
  • Wilson County Archives, 111 South College Street , Lebanon , TN 37087; Phone: (615) 443-1993

List of Tennessee Libraries & Museums

List of Tennessee Historical & Genealogical Societies

For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both.

In addition to their own work, Tennessee groups many times help coordinate the efforts of local societies throughout the Tennessee.

Their unique publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those created through the area societies.

Regional and State Societies

County, Township and City Societies

Religious and Ethnic Societies

Tennessee Newspapers & Publications

Tennessee Genealogical publications (magazines, newsletters, periodicals, books, etc.) contain all types of invaluable information about specific ancestors, whole lineages and families, places in time, and about all sorts of genealogical records and repositories.

The TSLA holds the biggest collections of Tennessee manuscripts. Several guides to those collections have been published. There is also an index of Tennessee century farms available at the state archives. That index lists family histories that have been compiled by those whose families have owned a certain farm for more than a century.

The WPA collected several verbatim record transcripts from counties in Tennessee in the 1930s. Many early county records are part of that collection. The TSLA holds the only full abstract set for those records. They have 93 microfilm reels that cover almost 1,500 volumes.

Newspapers

There are many Tennessee newspapers that have been collected and stored at the TSLA. There is also a Nashville newspaper death and birth index available, but it is incomplete.

Several early newspapers from Tennessee are also part of the Draper Collection, copies of which can be found in many places. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin holds the original Draper Collection.

Periodicals

Genealogical journals provide you with plenty of sources of information and facts, they are generally overlooked by genealogy and family history researchers and genealogist in looking around for family history.

Many regional and county genealogical and/or historical societies produce periodicals which have records relating to the region or vicinity they operate.

Frequently these publications have articles involving records that are not obtainable somewhere else.

  • Ansearchin’ News (1954–present). A publication of the Tennessee Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 12124, Dept. AN, Memphis, Tennessee 38112.
  • Bulletin (1972–present). A publication of the Watauga Association of Genealogists, Johnson City, Tennessee 37605.
  • Chattanews. Published by the Chattanooga Area Historical Association, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402.
  • East Tennessee Roots. Published by Tennessee Valley Publications, Paula Gammell, ed., 1345 Oak Ridge Turnpike #318, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830.
  • Echoes (1955–1984). The East Tennessee Historical Society ceased its publication but replaced it with Tennessee Ancestors (see below).
  • Family Findings (1969–present). A publication of the Midwest Tennessee Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3343, Jackson, Tennessee 38303.
  • Pellissippian (1980–present). A publication of the Pellissippian Genealogical and Historical Society, 118 Hicks, Clinton, Tennessee 38303.
  • The River Counties Quarterly (1972–present). Published by Jill Garrett, 610 Terrace, Columbia, Tennessee 38401.
  • Tennessee Ancestors (1985–present). This publication replaced Echoes for the East Tennessee Historical Society, 500 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-2505.
  • The Tennessee Historical Quarterly (1942–present). Published by the Tennessee Historical Commission, Nashville, Tennessee 37203.
  • Calvin Morgan McClung Historical Collection of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, &c.
  • Calendar of the Tennessee and King’s Mountain papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts

Books