Tennessee Genealogy begins in 1540. Hernando de Soto, an explorer from Spain, first came to the area now known as Tennessee. In the 1670s and the 1680s several explorers from England and France also came to the area. They were Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, Sieur de la Salle from France, and Gabriel Arthur and James Needham from England. Those explorations led to the area being claimed for both France and England at various points in time. In 1763, when the French and Indian Wars ended, Great Britain took over the region.
From 1784 to 1787 the “state” of Franklin was formed, but when area settlers were allowed to be North Carolina representatives Franklin was disbanded. The territory to the Ohio River’s south was officially organized by Congress in 1790. Tennessee was established as a the 16th state on June 1, 1796. Tennessee joined the Confederacy in June 8, 1861. Tennessee was readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866. See also Tennessee State History.
Established on June 1, 1796 the State of Tennessee entered the union as the 16th state. Tennessee contains 95 Counties. Tennessee’s capital is Nashville. Tennessee is bordered by Virginia and Kentucky to the north, North Carolina to the east, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia to the south, and Missouri and Arkansas to the west.
Select a Tennessee county to view information & records pertaining to each County
Tennessee Genealogy Record Guides
