Greene County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Greene County

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

Greene County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	April 18, 1783
County Seat	Greeneville
Courthouse
Website: www.greenecountytngov.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 Major General Nathanael Greene. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

Greene County, Tennessee Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1881	1780	1881	1783	1785	1802	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1914. General compliance by 1927.

Greene County Tennessee Courthouse

Greene County Courthouse
 101 South Main Street
Greenville, TN 37743
Phone: 423.798.1708 

County Clerk has marriage and probate records;
Register of Deeds has land records.

Greene County Courthouse
101 South Main St.
Greeneville, TN 37743
Phone: 1-423-798-1708

Greene County Clerk
Marriage and Probate records
204 North Cutler St., Suite 200
Greeneville, TN 37745
Phone: 1-423-798-1708

Greene County Register of Deeds
Land records
204 North Cutler St., Suite 215
Greeneville, TN 37745
Phone: 1-423-798-1726

Greene County Clerk and Master
Court records
101 South Main St.
Greeneville, TN 37743
Phone: 1-423-798-1742

Hours:
Mon.- Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Greene County Tennessee History

General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786)

The county is named after Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786).

Greene County was created in 1783 by the North Carolina legislature from Washington County. In 1784 Greene joined two neighboring counties in declaring their independence from North Carolina. In 1785 these counties applied for admission to the United States as the State of Franklin. The request was denied and hope for Franklin statehood faded by 1789. In 1789, when North Carolina was admitted to the United States, she ceded her westernmost counties including Greene County to the United States. The United States turned these counties into the Southwest Territory. In 1792 the Southwest Territory created Jefferson County partly out of Greene County. 1796 all the land in these Southwest Territory counties became part of the new State of Tennessee.

East Tennessee county established in 1783. From 1784 to 1788, this land was claimed by the abortive, short-lived State of Franklin.

Parent County

1783--Greene County was created 18 April 1783 from Washington County.
County seat: Greeneville

County Pronunciation

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

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

• Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820
• Many pre-1800 marriage bonds and licenses are lost; only a fraction of those issued in 1815 survive
• Lost probate records: 1783 to 1800

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.

Greene 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
Tusculum
Towns
Baileyton	Greeneville	Mosheim
Unincorporated communities
Afton Camp Creek Chuckey Cross Anchor DeBusk Grandview Horse Creek	Jearoldstown Liberty Hill Limestone Lost Mountain Midway Mohawk Newmansville	Orebank Ottway Rheatown Romeo South Greene Warrensburg
Census-designated places
Fall Branch

Neighboring Counties

Cocke Hamblen

Hawkins Madison County, North Carolina

Unicoi Washington

Greene County Tennessee Genealogy Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Greene County biography, cemetery, court, marriage, 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: Greene County at 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

In the 1780s, this county's land fell within the bounds of the State of Franklin

• Crockett, David. Col. Crockett's Exploits and Adventures in Texas. (New York : Wm. H. Graham, Tribune Buildings, 1848.  Free digital copy.

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		TN Gravestones
TNGenWeb Cemeteries		Epodunk
BillionGraves
See Tennessee Cemeteries for more information.

Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

• Tennessee Cemeteries Hometown Locator
• Greene County, Tennessee Cemetery Records at Ancestry.com ($/Free)
• Charles A. Reeves Jr. has drawn a detailed map showing the locations of Grainger County cemeteries. It may be purchased for a small fee through his Cemetery Maps Catalog$

Census

1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Greene 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 Greene County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project^®

1790- Lost, only statistics survive, but substitutes are available, see Taxation and:

• Eakle, Arlene. Tennessee Research. 2010. Purchase information at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Genealogy Blog. Includes a reconstructed 1790 census, sources: "Contemporary lists–tax lists, militia rolls, land grants and deeds, claims for pre-emption lands, names recorded in diaries and journals. And numerous histories compiled by local historians from records that we have not seen or read ourselves."
• Jackson, Ronald Vern. Ohio, 1790, Volume Two. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 977.1 X2o 1790. Includes "Territory Southwest of the River Ohio," i.e. East Tennessee.
• McGhee, Lucy Kate. Partial Census of 1787 to 1791 of Tennessee as Taken from the North Carolina Land Grants. 3 Parts. Microfilmed in 1990. FHL US/CAN Films 1728882 Item 4 and 1683130 Item 3.

1800 - Lost

1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available:

• Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810.

1810 - 1891

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

1820 - Lost

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

• Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2p 1830.

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, Eastern District, Greene County on page 152.

1880

• Sistler, Byron. 1880 Census Greene County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler & Associates, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 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. 7 1891. Greene County is included in Vol. 7.
• 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.

1891 Male Voters

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

1920

• Godwin, William. 1920 Greene County, Tennessee Census Index: Includes Heads of Households and Persons Whose Surnames Differ from Those of Heads of Household. Greeneville, Tenn.: Greene County Genealogical Society, 2002. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 X22g 1920.

Church

• Greene County Bank. Faith of Our Fathers. Greeneville, Tenn.: n.p., n.d. FHL US/CAN Large Q Book 976.891 K2f. [Includes photographs of 21 Greene County churches with short histories.]

Lutheran

• 1802 - 1870 - Sinking Springs Lutheran Church Baptism Index 1802-1870. Batch C710481 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.</ref>

Quaker

• Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages from Monthly Meeting of Friends, New Hope, Green County, Tennessee: Notes of Mildred S. Grimsley in Possession of the Las Vegas Nevada Family History Center. Las Vegas, Nev.: Las Vegas Nevada Family History Center, 1989. FHL US/CAN Film 1597620 Item 15.

Court

Circuit court https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/402892

Chancery court https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/2485467

Court of Common Pleas https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/149305

Minutes https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/239131

Genealogy

More than 90 genealogies have been published about Greene County, Tennessee families. For more information visit Greene County, Tennessee Compiled Genealogies.

Gordon Aronhime (1911-1983) collected information on hundreds of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee pioneers. His note cards, which reference more than 4,000 early settlers of the Holston-Clinch River area and East Tennessee (1770s-1790s), are held at the Library of Virginia. The cards have been digitized and made available online.

Immigration

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 11 British aliens, many of whom had families, living in Greeneville and Greene County.

Land

Deeds

The TSLA microfilmed the original Greene County Deed Books 1 to 50 (1785-1887) and Indexes (1785-1931). Copies of their films are also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 944411-944439.

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

1. Deed Book 1: 1785-1793
2. Deed Book 2: 1785-1797
3. Deed Book 3: 1787-1797
4. Deed Book 4: 1790-1802

Local Land Entries Issued by North Carolina

The original Greene County land entries issued by North Carolina are kept at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. On their website, users can bring up a list of land entries issued in Greene County, both before and after it became a part of the state of Tennessee. Years covered: 1778-1803.

Instructions:

1. Follow this link to conduct a "Call Number Search" using the MARS Catalog on their site.
2. Using the pull down window, change "Call Numbers starting" to "A MarsID matching."
3. Type 12.14.6 (Windows Vista users may need to include a period after the last digit, for example 12.14.6.) and click Search. This is the specific MarsID for Greene County.
4. Click on the entry that is returned: "Tennessee, Greene County."
5. In the window that pops up, click Show List of Child Records and a list of Greene County land entries will be produced. Browse to find abstracts of the original records.

N.B. You can also search by name through the Basic Search, but it lacks soundex capabilities.

Published abstracts:

• Burgner, Goldene Fillers and Betty Goff Cook Cartwright. North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778-1791. [Greenville, S.C.]: Southern Historical Press, 1981. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R2b.
• Burgner, Goldene Fillers. North Carolina Land Grants Recorded in Greene County, Tennessee. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 R2b.

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

• Brandon, Connie B. Step Back in Time to Laurel Gap / Baileyton: (Late 1700s through Early 1900s) in Greene County, Tennessee. Greenville, Tenn.: C. Brandon, 2005. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891/B2 H2b.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• 1777 - 1985 - Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
• 1783 - Reeves, Charles A. Davidson & Greene Counties, Tennessee - Created in 1783. Published 2000. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.

Military

Indian Wars

• Service against Chickamaugas, 1790 Claims, Tennessee Ancestors, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Dec. 1989).

Revolutionary War

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

• 1835 Pension Roll
• 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
• Select Greene County, Tennessee Revolutionary War Pension Files

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, Eastern District, Greene County on page 152.
• 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. 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. 3 (Jul. 1960):65-68. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. [Includes Greene County pensioners (p. 65)]
• War of 1812 Pensioners and Widows, 1869-79, Greene County Pioneer, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Nov. 1990). For access, see Periodicals.
• Capt. Robert Maloney Company - War of 1812 at 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 Greene 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 Greene County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 12th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Day's) - CSA - Companies B and F.
• 16th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Neal's) - CSA - Company E.
• 29th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies F and H.
• 39th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (W. M. Bradford's) (31st Infantry) - CSA - Company H.
• 61st Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Pitts') (81st Infantry) - CSA - Companies A, C, D, and I.

Union Soldiers

• 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies D, H, I, and M.
• 4th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - Companies A, C, E, and F.
• 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company B.
• 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies C, D, E, F, and G.
• 13th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies E and L.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Greene County:

• Carter, William Randolph. History of the First regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry in the Great war of the Rebellion, with the Armies of the Ohio and Cumberland, Under Generals Morgan, Rosecrans, Thomas, Stanley and Wilson. Knoxville, Tennessee: Gaut-Ogden Co. Printers, 1902. Free digital copy. Union.
• USGenWeb Archives, Greene County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records and Pensions.
• CWSAC, Battle Summaries, BlueSprings. Located in Greene County. Bull's Gap, located in Hamblen and Greene County.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Greene 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. Greene County, page 337-339.
• Greene County Genealogy, 1890 Special Census Survivors and Widows of the War of Rebellion Union soldiers. Transcription.
• Greene County Genealogy, Civil War 4th Tennessee Infantry, US. Organization, timeline and engagements.

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battles were fought in Greene County:

• October 10, 1863 = Blue Springs ]
• November 11 - 13, 1864 = Bull's Gap ]

Map showing Civil War battles in Tennessee.

Greene County Civil War Database gives name, birth, death, burial, Company, Unit, Rank, US or CSA, and where lived. Published in The Greene County Pioneer: A Journal of Greene County History and Genealogy. by Greene County Genealogical Society grv.ggcpl@gmail.com FHL 976.891 B2g Vol. 32 No. 1 (May 2016)

Newspapers

Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 Greene County click on the following town:

• Greeneville

Occupations

• Miller, Alan N. East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2m. Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Greene 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 Greene 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.

The Blount Journal

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Greene County, Tennessee records have been published in The Blount Journal, the publication of the Blount County Genealogical and Historical Society. Began in 1985, still in print. Tables of contents are available online. Purchase back issues through the society. The Family History Library has acquired most volumes FHL US/CAN Book 976.8885 B2b.

East Tennessee Roots

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Greene County, Tennessee records have been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to these articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 D25e.

The Greene County Pioneer

The Greene County Pioneer. 25+ vols. Limestone, Tenn.: Greene County History and Genealogical Society, 1986-present. FHL US/CAN Books 976.891 B2g v. 1-5 ff.

The Pellissippian

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Greene County, Tennessee records were published in the The Pellissippian (25 vols., 1980-2004), the quarterly of the Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society. The society has posted tables of contents for all 25 volumes on their website. They also have back issues available for purchase. The Family History Library has acquired the first 20 volumes FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 D25p.

Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Greene County, Tennessee records have been published in the Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin (39+ vols., 1972-present), the journal of the Watauga Association of Genealogists. The Family History Library has a complete collection FHL US/CAN Books 976.897 B2w, including Margaret W. Hougland and Betty Jane Hylton's Bulletin Subject Index: The First Thirty Years, 1972-2001 (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Association of Genealogists, 2002) FHL US/CAN Book 976.897 B2w index 1972-2001.

Prisons

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

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

Private Papers

• Stephens - Stephens Bible. [Tex.]: Texas DAR, Genealogical Records Committee, 1998. FHL US/CAN Book 976.4253 V2b. "This Bible was owned by A. Stephens, Jr.; S. L. Stephens in 1848; and S. S. Stephens in 1862 of Greene Co., Tennessee."

Probate Records

TSLA microfilmed the original Greene County Will Books 1 to 5 (1828-1931). FHL copies: FHL Films 944409-944410.

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:

• Inventories, Wills, 1802-1810
• Wills, 1828-1931 (6 vols.)
• Insolvent estate records, 1853-1901 (2 vols.)
• Inventories, 1828-1920 (8 vols.)
• Inventories, Sales, 1828-1843

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Greene 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 0: 1780-1828
• Will Book 00: 1780-1828
• Will Books A-F: 1780-1883
• Will Books G-M: 1780-1883
• Will Books N-Z: 1780-1883

The following Greene County probate records have been abstracted and/or indexed:

• 1780 - 1883 - Strictly By Name (see above).
• 1783 - 1890 - Burgner, Goldene Fillers. Greene County, Tennessee, Wills, 1783-1890. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 P28b.
• 1783 - 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 probate records. Free Lookups Available!

Taxation

The original Greene County Tax Books (1809-1892) are held at the County Courthouse. Microfilmed by TSLA; FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 94445-944452.

The original Greene County Tax Records (1828-1832) are held at the County Courthouse. Microfilmed by TSLA in 1960s; FHL copy: FHL US/CAN Film 464112.

The following Greene County tax records have been abstracted:

• 1783 - Tax List, 1783, Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. Washington DC: Apr 1919. Vol. 53 Iss. 4.
• 1783, 1805 - Creekmore, Pollyanna. Early East Tennessee Taxpayers. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1980. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4cp and Silas Emmett Lucas's Revised Index FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4cp index. Includes 1783 and 1805 tax lists.
• 1783 - Tax List, 1783, Greene County Pioneer, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Sep. 1985); Vol. 1, No. 3 (Dec. 1985).
• 1783, 1805, 1812 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. & B. Sistler, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4s. Includes 1783, 1805, 1812 tax lists.
• 1783 - "First Tax List for Greene County, 1783," The Blount Journal, (Nov. 1988). For FHL access, or to purchase back issues, see Periodicals.
• 1783 - Tax List, 1783, A-F, Pellissippian, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct. 1988).
• 1785 - Tax List, 1785, Greene County Pioneer. Greeneville TN: May 1991. Vol. 7 Iss. 2.
• 1785 - 1800 - Tax Lists, 1785, Greene County Pioneer. Vol. 9, No. 2 (Nov. 1993), Vol. 10, No. 1 (May 1994). For FHL access, see Periodicals.
• 1787 - 1792 - Tax Lists, 1787-92, Greene County Pioneer, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Feb. 1989).
• 1788 - Taxable Property in State of Franklin, 1788, Genealogist's Post. Danboro PA: Jan 1965. Vol. 2 Iss. 1.
• 1788, 1789 - Clerk's Taxes, 1788, 1789, North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal. Raleigh NC: Nov 1992. Vol. 18 Iss. 4
• 1796 - Tax List, 1796, Greene County Pioneer. Greeneville TN: Jun 1987. Vol. 3 Iss. 2.
• 1796 - Taxables, 1796, Greene County Pioneer. Greeneville TN: May 1989. Vol. 5 Iss. 2.
• 1797 - Taxables, 1797, Greene County Pioneer. Greeneville TN: Aug 1989. Vol. 5 Iss. 3.
• 1798 - Taxables, 1798, Green County Pioneer, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Nov. 1989); Vol. 6, No. 1 (Feb. 1990).
• 1799 - Tax List, 1799, Greene County Pioneer, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Aug. 1990).
• 1805 - "1805 Enumeration, Greene County, Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Winter 1981):159-163. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. Free digital versions at Sevier County, Tennessee, Genealogy & History website and Jefferson County, Tennessee, Genealogy & History website.
• 1805, 1812 - Curtis, Mary Barnett. Early East Tennessee Tax Lists. Fort Worth, Texas: Arrow Printing Company, 1964. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 R4c. Includes 1805 and 1812 tax lists.
• 1805 - Tax List, 1805, Wagoner Genealogist. Wagoner OK: Mar 1988. Vol. 8 Iss. 1.
• 1809 - Standefer, Jewel B. "Petitioners of Green County, Tennessee, Asking for Reduction in Taxes, Etc., 1809," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 11, No. 3 (July 1964):121-124. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
• 1809 - 1817 - Historical Records Project (Tennessee). Tax Books, 1809-1817, Greene County, Tennessee. Typescript, Nashville, Tenn. FHL US/CAN Film 24667 Item 3.
• 1809 - 1817 - Burgner, Goldene Fillers. Greene County Tax Digests, 1809-1817. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 R4b.
• 1809 - 1817 - Sherrill, Charles A. The Reconstructed 1810 Census of Tennessee: 33,000 Long-lost Records from Tax Lists, Court Minutes, Church Records, Wills, Deeds and Other Sources. Mt. Juliet, Tenn.: C.A. Sherrill, 2001. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810. [Cites Burgner's tax digests as source.]
• 1809 - "Tax List - 1809 Greene Co., Tennessee," available online at TNGenWeb. Source: TSLA Microfilm.
• 1814 - "Direct Federal Tax-Delinquent Property Owners Listed for 1814," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Fall 1996):115-120. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. Includes Green(e) County.
• 1814 - 1816 - Direct Tax, 1814-16, Greene County Pioneer. Greeneville TN: May 1996. Vol. 12 Iss. 1.
• 1825 - "Greene County Property Sold in 1825 for Unpaid Federal Taxes," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Winter 1996):187. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
• 1830 - Houston, Sandra Kelton. Greene County, Tennessee Guardians and Orphans Court Records, 1783-1870 and 1830 Tax List. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1984. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 P2h.
• 1836 - Douthat, James L. Greene County, Tennessee, 1836 Tennessee Civil District and Tax List. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 R4d; online: free surname index and purchase details.
• Tax Reduction Petitioners, Ansearchin' News. Memphis TN: Jul 1964. Vol. 11 Iss. 3.

The Greene Co., Tennessee GenWeb site includes abstracts of tax payers by the surnames Brown and Willis.

Vital Records

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

Birth

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

Marriage

The original Greene County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1965, Soderberg provided the following description: "Few bonds exist for the earliest years and almost no licenses were returned or kept until after 1800. Some years show heavy losses. There is but one bond and twenty-six licenses for the year 1815. Bonds for the last part of the year 1818 have been misplaced since this compilation was started. These had been copied, however, and only the final rechecking was lost." Two organizations have microfilmed these records since the time of Soderberg's remarks:

1. Marriages 1780-1960. Microfilmed in 1970s and 1980s by TSLA; FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 944386-944388, 1012445-1012448, 1928865.
2. Marriage Records 1780-1981. Microfilmed between 2005 and 2008 by the Genealogical Society of Utah: FHL US/CAN Films 1148701 ff.

Greene County's marriage records have been abstracted and/or indexed several times. According to editors' introductions, each publication focused specifically on Greene County followed similar abstraction guidelines, while the regional and statewide indexes abstracted fewer details. If the 1818 marriages were lost in 1965 as Soderberg reports, and never found, later publications might omit them. The following is a list of these publications and the years they cover:

• 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1780 - 1895 - Greene County Marriage Index 1780-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.
• 1780 - 1837 - Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). Greene County, Tennessee Marriage License & Bonds, 1780-1837. 1937; reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, (199-?). FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 V28g. Abstracts names of brides, grooms, perhaps bondsmen, and officiators, as well as a date associated with the marriage; W.P.A. workers assigned each document a number; includes W.P.A. index.
• 1783 - 1818 - Soderberg, Gertrude L. and Pollyanna Creekmore. Tennessee Marriage Records, Volume 3, Greene County, Volume 1, 1783-1818: Being Transcriptions from the Original Bonds and Licenses at the County Courthouse, Greeneville. Knoxville, Tenn.: Clinchdale Press, 1965. FHL US/CAN Books 976.891 V2s. Abstracts names of brides, grooms, bondsmen, and officiators, dates of bond, license, and/or marriage, as well as W.P.A. reference numbers and "All information of possible genealogical value," such as distinctions for men of the same name, and signatures by marks. Source: original bonds and licenses at the courthouse.
• 1783 - 1820 - Peterson, Mrs. Z.R. Greene County, Tennessee Early Marriage Bonds 1783-1820. Typescript, Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1968. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 V25g. Abstracts names of brides, grooms, bondsmen, and a date associated with each marriage. Miscataloged as a cemetery record on FamilySearch Catalog (14 July 2010), correction requested same day.
• 1783 - 1868 - Burgner, Goldene Fillers. Greene County, Tennessee Marriages, 1783-1868. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1981. FHL US/CAN Book 976.891 V2b. Abstracts names of brides, grooms, bondsmen, and officiators, as well as dates of bond, license, and/or marriage. Source: original licenses and bonds at the courthouse.
• 1783 - 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.
• 1783 - 1868 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early East Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, Inc., 1987. FHL US/CAN 976.8 V2s v. 1. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years. Free Lookups Available!

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

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

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 Greene County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try 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 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.

Greene County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries 

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

Greene County Genealogical Society
T. Elmer Cox Historical and Genealogical Library
229 N. Main St.
Greeneville, TN 37745

(423) 638-9866

East Tennessee Historical Society
601 S. Gay Street
P.O. Box 1629
Knoxville, TN 37901-1629
Phone: 1-865-215-8824
E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

Greeneville-Greene County Library
210 N. Main St.
Greeneville, TN 37745-3816
Phone: 1-423-638-5034
Hours: Mon. and Thurs. 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tues., Wed. and Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mosheim Public Library
730 Main St.
Mosheim, TN 37818-0611
Phone: 1-423-422-7937
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 12 p.m.-6 p.m.
Fri. 12 p.m.-5 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

Greene County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

• Greene County TNGenWeb
• 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.
• Greene County, TN (American History and Genealogy Project)
• Greene County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: TNGREENE-L (Greene County, Tennessee List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List)
• Mailing List: UPPEREASTTN-L (Upper East Tennessee List)

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Family History Library