Dyer County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Dyer County

Guide to Dyer County, Tennessee ancestry, family history and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Dyer County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	October 16, 1823
County Seat	Dyersburg
Courthouse
Website: dyercounty.com
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 Robert Henry Dyer (circa 1774—1826). The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

Dyer County, Tennessee Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1908	1850	1881	1927	1820	1853	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1914. General compliance by 1927.

Dyer County Tennessee Courthouse

Dyer County Courthouse, Dyersburg, Tenn

Dyer County Courthouse
P.O. Box 1360
115 Market Street
Dyersburg, Tennessee 38025-1360
Phone: 1-731-286-7814

• County Clerk has marriage, probate, court and funeral records
  Phone: 1-731-286-7818

• Register of Deeds has Land records
  Phone: 1-731-286-7814

Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Last Saturday of the month, 8:30 a.m.-noon

Dyer County Tennessee History

West Tennessee county.

The county is named after "Tennessee state legislator Robert Henry Dyer."

Parent County

1823--Dyer County was created 16 October 1823 from Chickasaw Indian Lands.
County seat: Dyersburg

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.

Record Loss

1864 Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

• Lost marriage records: 1823 to 1859
• Lost probate records: 1823 to 1853

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

• Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill. Online at: Family History Circle.
• When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle. Online at: Tennessee Genealogy Blog.
• Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Dyer County Tennessee 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
Dyersburg
Towns
Newbern	Trimble
Unincorporated communities
Beech Grove Big Boy Junction Bogota Bonicord Boothspoint	Finley Fowlkes Hawkinsville Lenox Midway	Millsfield Nauvoo RoEllen Tatumville Tigrett

Neighboring Counties

• Crockett
• Gibson
• Lake 
• Lauderdale
• Mississippi County, Arkansas
• Obion  
• Pemiscot County, Missouri

Dyer County Tennessee Genealogy Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Dyer County biography and tax 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: Dyer County, courtesy: TSLA. (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

Biographies

• Family Biographies from The History of Dyer County, Tennessee (1887) 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.

Census

1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Dyer 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 Dyer 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 $

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, Western District, Dyer County on page 158.

1850

• Carpenter, Mrs. V.K. Seventh census of the United States, 1850; Dyer County, Tennessee, free population schedules Huntsville, Arkansas : Century Enterprises, Genealogical SErvices, 1969 FHL US/CAN book 976.815 X2

1860

• Felldin, Jeanne Robey and Tucker, Charlotte Magee 1860 United States census, Dyer County, Tennessee, surname index Tomball, Texas : Genealogical Publications, c1976 FHL US/CAN book 976.8 A1

1880

• Sistler, Samuel 1880 census, Dyer County, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee : Byron Sistler and Associates, 2002 FHL US/CAN book 976.815 X2

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. 3 1891. Dyer County is included in Vol. 3.
• 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.

Male Voters

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

Church

• If the records you need are not found in the Family History Library collection, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived.  Two sites that give information about churches in Dyer County are:

- List of Dyer County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)

- List of Dyer County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)

• In 1936, a helpful guide to early Dyer County church records was published by the Works Project Administration. Use this guide to locate which church records exist and where they were housed in 1936. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has filmed some of these records. To locate which records are available at the TSLA, go to the appropriate "county fact sheet" on the TSLA Web site and scroll down to "selected manuscript material". All filmed church records at the TSLA for Dyer County are listed. Many of these filmed records are also available at the Family History Library.

• Tennessee Diaries, Memoirs and Church Records in the Manuscript Division, Tennessee State Library and Archives: Listed by County. Nashville, Tenn.: Manuscript Division, 1965. Digital versions of this guide are available at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($).

Court

Genealogy

Land

Dyer County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1823 and is located at Courthouse Square, P.O. Box 1360, Dyersburg, Tennessee 38025-1360; Telephone: (731) 286-7814. 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 deed books 1824-1882 with indexes 1822-1915, land survey books 1827-1860, and survey entries 1820-1911.

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

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
• Map of 1888 Dyer County, Tennessee with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
  

Military

Revolutionary War

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

• 1835 Pension Roll
• Select Pension applications

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, Western District, Dyer County on page 158.

War of 1812

There were no War of 1812 pensioners or widows of pensioners living in Dyer County on 2 January 1883.

Civil War

Online Records

• 1861 - 1865 - Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1961 - 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 Dyer 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 Dyer County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 4th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Neely's) - CSA - Company K.
• 12th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company A.
• 12th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies D and F.
• 13th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company K.
• 15th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Stewart's) - CSA
• 20th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Russell's) - CSA - Company D.
• 22nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company I and K.
• 22nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Freeman's) - CSA - Companies I and K.
  
• 47th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies B, C, D and E.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Dyer County:

• Dyer County Tennessee Military History. Links available for Confederate and Union forces, Dyer County TN Civil War Veterans Index, etc.
• Genealogy Trails, Men from Dyer County in the Civil War. Includes, name, service, date of death, place or cause of death and rank.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Dyer 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. Dyer County, page 333.
  

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 Dyer County click on the following cities or towns:

• Dyersburg
• Newbern

Occupations

• Miller, Alan N. West Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1821 to 1889. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2man. Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Dyer 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 Dyer County, Tennessee Genealogy records 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 Book 976.8 B2a.

Family Findings

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Dyer County, Tennessee records have been published in Family Findings, the quarterly of the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society (42+ vols.). The Family History Library has most issues of this quarterly FHL US/CAN 976.8 B2f. TGenWeb now has received permission to share back issues of this journal (1969-1979).

Tables of contents for some volumes are available online, courtesy TNGenWeb Project:

• Volumes 1-10 (1969-1978)
• Volumes 11-20 (1979-1988)
• Volumes 21-24 (1989-1992)
• Volumes 32-35 (2000-2003)

Many articles from this publication have been reproduced on the TNGenWeb Project website, try this specialized Google search.

West Tennessee Historical Society Papers

Family History Library has Volumes 1 - 16 and 30 FHL US/CAN Book 976.81 B5w. The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers are indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).
To view Table of Contents and complete articles from 1947 - 2005 see Shelby County Register of Deeds

Prisons

Learn if your Dyer 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 County Court has responsibility for Dyer County probate records.

Online Records

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

FamilySearch has placed scans of the following records online in the Tennessee, Probate Court Books, 1795-1927 collection. These are browse-only collections. Handwritten indexes may be found at the front or back of some volumes:

• Wills, 1853-1893 (Vol. A)

The following Dyer County probate records have been indexed:

• 1853 - 1893 - Lambert, Agnes and Mary N. Gilmore, transcribers for Works Progress Administration. Dyer County, Tennessee Wills. Nashville, Tennessee: Byron Sistler & Assoc., 1998. (FHL book 976.815 P2L v. 1.)
  
• 1853 - 1861 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills & Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler & Associates, Inc., 1990. FHL US/CAN 976.8 P22s. Includes an index to this county's wills.
• USGenWeb's Dyer County page has links to several transcribed wills.

Taxation

The original Dyer County Tax Books 1862, 1873-1884 were microfilmed by the TSLA in 1970. FHL copy: FHL US/CAN Film 833249.

The following Dyer County tax records have been abstracted:

• 1836 - Tatum, Ausborn C. "Dyer County, Tennessee 1836 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Winter 1982):177-180. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 29-30 (1982-1983); free digital version at society's website. For further access, see Periodicals.
• 1836 - Tax List, 1836, Tennessee Genealogy and History. Signal Mountain TN: Aug 1997. Vol. 1 Iss. 2-3.
• 1836 - Douthat, James L. 1836 Dyer County, Tennessee Civil Districts and Tax Listing. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2003. FHL US/CAN Book 976.815 R4d; online: free surname index and purchase details.
• 1836 - Alsup, Samuel. "1836 Tax Rolls, Dyer Co., TN," available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
• 1859 - Appling, Lynn Pierce. "Dyer County Tax Sales 1859," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Spring 1998):36-38. FHL US/CAN ;Book 976.8 B2a v. 45-46 (1998-1999). For access, see Periodicals

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

Marriages were not officially recorded in Dyer County until 1838, when a law was passed mandating the practice. 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 US/CAN Book 976.8 V2L.

• 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002 at Ancestry.com — index ($)

• 1780 - 2002 - Tennessee State Marriage Index 1780-2002 at FamilySearch.org— index

• 1790 - 1950 - Tennessee County Marriages 1790-1950 at FamilySearch.org — index and images

• 1796 - 1950 - Tennessee Marriages 1796-1950 at FamilySearch.org — index

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

The following Dyer County marriage records have been indexed:

• 1860 - 1895 - Dyer County Marriage Index 1860-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
• 1860 - 1879 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early West Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler & Associates, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 1 ff. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.
• 1860 - 1880 - Historical Records Project Marriage records, 1860-1880, Dyer County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1939. FHL US/CAN 24642 item 3
• 1860 - 1969 - Dyer County (Tennessee) County Court Clerk Marriages, 1860-1969 Dyersburg, Tennessee: State Library and Archives, 1970. FHL US/CAN Film 833217-229 and 1011421-424

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Dyer County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, see:

• 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

• Hays, Tony. West Tennessee Death Records [ca. 1823-1852]. 2 vols. n.p.: Kitchen Table Press, 1987. FHL FAM HIST Book 976.8 V2ht v. 1-2. [Dyer County is included in Vol. 2]

• 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 Dyer County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:

• 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 US/CAN 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.

Dyer County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Dyer County Historical Society 120B McGaughey Street E. Dyersburg, TN 38024 Phone: 1-731-286-7829
Hamilton Parks Public Library 74 Parks Plaza Trimble, TN 38259 Phone: 1-731-297-3601 E-mail: trimblelibrary@hotmail.com Hours: Tues., Thurs. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
McIver's Grant Public Library 204 N Mill Ave Dyerburg, TN 38024 Phone: 731-285-5032 E-mail: library38024@yahoo.com Hours: Mon. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Newbern City Library 220 E Main St Newbern, TN 38059 Phone: 1-731-627-3153 E-mail: newber_c@bellsouth.net Hours: Mon. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
West Tennessee Heritage Study Center Paul Meek Library University of Tennessee at Martin Phone: 1-731-881-7060 Hours vary by semester	The Heritage Study Center holds a variety of genealogical resources including materials relating to the following counties in Tennessee: Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Stewart, Tipton, Wayne, Weakley and Carlisle, Fulton, and Hickman counties in Kentucky.
West Tennessee Historical Society P.O. Box 111046 Memphis, TN 38111 Phone: 901-475-6608 E-mail: efrank@memphis.edu

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

Dyer County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

• Dyer County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Dyer County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Dyer 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.
• Mailing List: TNDYER-L (Dyer County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: WEST-TNCHAT-L (West Tennessee Chat List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: WESTTN-L (West Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)

Dyer County Tennessee Genealogy References

Family History Library