Knox County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Knox County

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

Knox County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	June 11, 1792
County Seat	Knoxville
Courthouse
Website: www.knoxcounty.org
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 American Revolutionary War general and first United States Secretary of War Henry Knox. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

Knox County, Tennessee Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1881	1792	1881	1792	1791	1789	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1914. General compliance by 1927.

County Courthouse

Knox(ville) City/County Building, Knoxville, Tenn. Courtesy: Collection: County Court Houses, Flickr by Jimmy Emerson. Used by permission.

Knox County Courthouse
Old Knox County Courthouse;
Knoxville, TN 37902-1805
Phone: 865.215.2390

County Archives has probate records from 1789,
marriage, divorce, and court records from 1792
and tax records from 1806.
Register of Deeds has land records.

Old Knox County Courthouse, Knoxville, Tenn.Knox County Courthouse
300 Main St.
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 1-865-215-2385

"Non-current" County records are housed in the Knox County Archives, which is located in the East Tennessee History Center.

Knox County Clerk
Marriage and probate records
P.O. Box 1566
300 Main St.
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 1-865-215-2385 http://www.knoxcounty.org/directory/details.php?id=9

Knox County Register of Deeds
Land records
City-County Building, Suite 225
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 1-865-215-2330

Knox County Clerk and Master
Court records
City-County Building, Suite 124
400 Main St.
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 1-865-215-2555

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

History

General Henry Knox (1750-1806)

East Tennessee county. Established 1792.

The county is named for General Henry Knox (1750-1806), Revolutionary War hero, and the nation's first Secretary of War.

Parent County

1792--Knox County was created 11 June 1792 from Greene and Hawkins Counties.
County seat: Knoxville

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

• Lost censuses: 1800, 1810, 1820

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.

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
Knoxville
Towns
Farragut
Unincorporated communities
Ball Camp Bluegrass Byington Carter Concord Corryton Gibbs Halls Crossroads	Hardin Valley Heiskell Karns Kimberlin Heights Mt. Olive Pedigo Powell	Ramsey Ritta Riverdale Skaggston Solway Strawberry Plains Thorn Grove
Census-designated places
Mascot

Neighboring Counties

Anderson Blount

Grainger Jefferson

Loudon Roane

Sevier Union

Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Knox County cemetery, court, estate, land, 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: Knox County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)
• Lawson McGhee Library. Calvin Morgan McClung Historical Collection of Books, Pamphlets, Manuscripts, Pictures and Maps Relating to Warly Western Rravel and the History and Genealogy of Tennessee and other Southern States. Knoxville, Tennessee: Knoxville Lithographing Co., 1921. Free digital copy.

African American

• 1878 Examiner Newspaper - one extant issue of this African-American newspaper; part of the McClung Collection

United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Cemeteries

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

Additional Cemetery Resources

• Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator
• Robert McGinnis is recognized as the Knox County Cemetery Historian by several local organizations, such as Knox Heritage. He has published multiple volumes of cemetery transcriptions for Knox County, encompassing more than 500,000 burials. He has done extensive research and included such things as wills and obituaries in the books. In addition, he perused Knox County death certificates on microfilm to identify unmarked burials. Copies of each volume are available from Mr. McGinnis.

Census

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

1800 Lost

1810 Lost

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 Collection 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 National Archives, Washington, D.C. FHL copies: FHL Collection 1024517-1024518

The following book is a useful aid for finding the original records. A free online index, provided by Lineages, which cites the original document numbers, 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 Collection 973 X2m 1820; indexed at Lineages. Covers this county.

These records have also been abstracted:

• 1820 Census of Manufactures: Knox County, East Tennessee Roots, Vol. 9, No. 1 ():50. For availability, see Periodicals.

1830

• Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969. FHL Collection 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 Collection Book 973 X2pc 1840; Film 2321]. 1841 edition digitized by Google Books. See Tennessee, Eastern District, Knox County on page 153.

1850

• United States Census 1850 for Knox County, Tennessee. Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1949. FHL Collection 976.885 X2p 1850

1880

• Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census Knox County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, 1996. FHL Collection 976.885 X2s 1880 Another copy is available in the Census Area.

1890 Lost

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 Collection 976.8 X2r v. 1 1891 Knox County is included in Vol. 1.
• Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1890 Civil War Veterans Census, Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: Byron Sister and Associates, 1978. FHL Collection 976.8 X2s 1890

Male Voters

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

Church

Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville

• 1816 - 1913 - First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Baptism Index 1816-1913. Batches C710781 and C710782 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
• 1816 - 1913 - First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Marriage Index 1816-1913. Batches M710781 and M710782 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
• 1881 - 1913 - First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Burial Index 1881-1913. Batch B395613 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
• The Centennial Anniversary of the First Presbyterian Church of Knoxville, Tennessee, and the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Ministry of Rev. James Park, D.D., Knoxville, Tenn., October 11, 1896. Knoxville, Tenn.: Bean, Warters & Gaut, Printers and Binders, 1897. Digital version at Google Books.

Pleasant Forest Presbyterian Church

• 1833 - 1885 - Pleasant Forest Presbyterian Church Baptism Index 1833-1885.

Roman Catholic

Diocese of Knoxville
805 Northshore Drive Southwest
Knoxville, TN 37919
Telephone: 865-584-3307
Fax: 865-584-7538
Internet:

Immaculate Conception Church, Knoxville

• 1846 - 1870 - Immaculate Conception Church, Knoxville, Baptism Index 1846-1870. Batch C710791 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Court

Directories

• Knoxville City Directories, 1859-present - the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection has a complete set of Knoxville City Directories. Watch this video on their collection
• Knoxville City Directory, 1926: Containing an Alphabetical List of Business Firms, Corporations Followed by Their Officers, Copartnerships Giving Names of Partners, and Private Citizens with Their Occupation, Business Connections and Home Address, a Directory of All Churches, Public and Private Schools, Benevolent, Literary, Religious and Other Societies, Banks and Trust Companies, Officers of the County and City Governments, a Street and Avenue Guide, Numerical Telephone Directory, a Buyers' Guide and a Complete Classified Business Directory. Knoxville, Tenn.: City Directory Co. of Knoxville, c1926. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Education

• Knox County Schools - a flickr album of past and current Knox County schools by Cyndy Cox

Genealogy

More than 50 genealogies have been published about Knox County, Tennessee families. For more information visit Knox 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.

A FamilySearch Community Tree is available for this place.

Immigration

Early migration routes to Knox County for European settlers included:

• Great Valley Road
• Great Indian Warpath
• Catawba Trail
• Unicoi Trail
• Avery's Trace

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 33 British aliens, many of whom had families, living in Knoxville and Knox County.

Additional resources:

• Babelay, David, Charles F. Bryan Jr., Leo Schelbert, and J. Michael Clark. They Trusted and were Delivered: The French-Swiss of Knoxville, Tennessee. 2 vols. Knoxville, Tenn.: Vaud-Tennessee, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.885 F2b.

Land

Deeds

The original Knox County Deed Books are held at the County Courthouse. In 1966, TSLA microfilmed these records for the years 1791 to 1966, resulting in 1564 microfilms. FHL Collection

Local Land Entries Issued by North Carolina

The original Knox 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 Knox County, both before and after it became a part of the state of Tennessee. Years covered: 1779-1803.

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 12.14.11 (Windows Vista users may need to include a period after the last digit, for example 12.14.11.) and click Search. This is the specific MarsID for Knox County.
4. Click on the entry that is returned: "Tennessee, Knox County."
5. In the window that pops up, click Show List of Child Records and a list of Knox 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.

1783 - 1843 - North Carolina and Tennessee Revolutionary War Land Warrants 1783-1843 at Ancestry.com -- index and images $

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

• Rule, William, George Frederick Mellen and John Wooldridge. Standard History of Knoxville, Tennessee: With Full Outline of the Natural Advantages, Early Settlement, Territorial Government, Indian Troubles, and General and Particular History of the City Down to the Present Time. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1900. Digital versions at Ancestry ($) and Google Books.
• Turner, Francis Marion. Life of General John Sevier New York: The Neale Publishing Co., 1910. Free digital copy.
• Wright, Marcus Joseph. Some Account of the Life and Services of William Blount.... Washington,D.C.: E.J.Gray, 1884. Free digital copy.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• 1777 - 1985 - Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)
• 1792 - Reeves, Charles A. Knox & Jefferson Counties (Tennessee) - Created June 11, 1792 from Greene & Hawkins Counties. Published 2000. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1871 - Ruger, A. Bird's Eye View of the City of Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee. Originally published 1871. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1886 - Wellege, Henry. Knoxville, County Seat of Knox County, Tennessee. Originally published 1886. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1888 - Knox County, Tennessee Map with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
  
• 1890 - Sanborn Map. Map of Knoxville, 1890. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1895 - 1895 Knox County, Tennessee Property Owners Map. Includes: property owners, churches, schools, roads, communities, cities, towns, and an index. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1895 - Ogden Brothers Map. Map of Knoxville, 1895. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1917 - Sanborn Map. Map of Knoxville, 1917. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1939 - Viking Press for the WPA. A Map of Knoxville. Originally published 1939. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.
• 1948 - Knoxville, Tennessee. Originally published 1948. Includes streets and a few landmarks. Purchase at ReevesMaps.com; website includes a scaled-down version of the map.

Military

• Fold3 is one of the greatest databases of military records (Indian Wars, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II) for all states

Indian Wars

• Persons Killed, Wounded & Taken Prisoner, 1791, Montgomery County Genealogical Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Mar. 1980).

Revolutionary War

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

• 1835 Pension Roll
• 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

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 Collection Book 973 X2pc 1840; Film 2321]. 1841 edition digitized by Google Books. See Tennessee, Eastern District, Knox County on page 153.
• 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 Collection 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. Includes Knox County pensioners (pp. 91-92).

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 Knox 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 Knox County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Carter's) - CSA - Company E.
• 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby's) - CSA - Company B, D, and I.
• 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company A.
• 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Lillard's) - CSA - Company A.
• 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - CSA - Companies B and L.
• 4th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Branner's) - CSA - Company C and E.
• 5th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (McClellan's) - CSA - Company C.
• 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Smith's) - CSA
• 11th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - CSA- Company L.
• 12th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Day's) - CSA - Company E.
• 19th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company E.
• 26th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (3rd East Tennessee Volunteers) - CSA - Company F.
• 28th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Hay's) - CSA
• 34th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (4th Confederate Infantry) - CSA - Company C.
• 36th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA
• 59th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Cooke's) (Eakin's 1st Battalion) - CSA - Company D.
• 63rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Fain's) (74th Infantry) - CSA - Company D.
• Tennessee Artillery Corps (McCown's) - CSA - First, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth Companies.

Union Soldiers

• 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies A and C.
• 1st Battalion, Tennessee Light Artillery - organized at Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville.
• 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company A.
• 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - Companies D, F, H, and I.
• 6th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - Companies A and B.
• 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies F and G.
• 9th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Companies B, K, L, and M.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Knox 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.
• Worsham, William J. Old Nineteenth Tennessee regiment, C.S.A. June, 1861-April, l865. Knoxville, Tennessee: Press of Paragon Printing Co., 1902. Free digital copy.
• Knox County in the Civil War. The purpose of this page is to provide links to text, maps, photos, and other helpful resources for those interested in the impact of the Civil War on Knox County, Tennessee.
• Memorial to the Sultana Incident. This photos are from the Mount Olive Cemetery in Knox County, TN.
• CWSAC, Battle Summaries, Campbell's Station and Fort Sanders. Located in Knox County.
• Knoxville Civil War Roundtable.
• American Memory, Selected Photographs of the Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Knox 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. Knox County, page 353-356.
  

Civil War Battles

The following Civil War battles were fought in Knox County:

• November 16, 1863 = Campbell's Station[14]
• November 29, 1863 = Fort Sanders, also known as Fort Loudon[15]

Map showing Civil War battles in Tennessee.

Newspapers

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

1. 1791-1792 Knoxville Gazette
2. 1793 Knoxville Gazette
3. 1794 Knoxville Gazette

Other online papers

• Knxoville Daily Chronicle, 1870-1873 -- available at ChroniclingAmerica.gov
• Knoxville Daily Chronicle, 1885-1886 -- available at Google News Archive
  

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 newspaphttp://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/newspapers-microfilm-tennessee-state-library-and-archivesers 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 Knox County click on the following cities:

• Fountain City
• Knoxville

Published Knox County newspaper abstracts:

• McGinnis, Robert A. Tidbits of the Past: Death Notices, Obituaries & Interesting Articles Taken from Knoxville Newspapers 1868-1885. n.p.: R.A. McGinnis, 2004. Family History Library WorldCat.
• McGinnis, Robert A. Tidbits of the Past: Death Notices, Obituaries & Interesting Articles Taken from Knoxville Newspapers 1886-1891.
  
• McGinnis, Robert A. Tidbits of the Past: Death Notices, Obituaries & Interesting Articles Taken from Knoxville Newspapers 1892-1895.
  

To order a copy of any volume, send a check for $35 (includes shipping) to Robert McGinnis, 1425 Glenoaks Dr, Knoxville, TN 37918.

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 Collection 976.8 U2m; digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. Includes Knox 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 Knox 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.

East Tennessee Roots

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Knox County, Tennessee Genealogy 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 Book 976.8 D25e.

The Pellissippian

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Knox County, Tennessee Genealogy 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 Book 976.8 D25p.

Prisons

Learn if your Knox 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 Family History Library has not acquired microfilm copies of most original Knox County Will Books. When researching in that facility, it is necessary to rely upon published abstracts of the 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, 1792-1803 ("Vol. O")
• Bonds, 1859-1874, 1895-1905 (3 vols.)
• Bonds, letters, 1874-1898 (3 vols.)
• Estate records, 1792-1844, 1858-1863 (7 vols.)
• Insolvent estate records, 1859-1915
• Settlements, 1792-1896 (28 vols.)

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Knox 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:

1. Wills, Guardianships, Accounts, Settlements Book 0: 1792-1821
2. Wills, Guardianships, Accounts, Settlements Book 1: 1792-1811
3. Wills, Guardianships, Accounts, Settlements Book 2: 1812-1817
4. Wills, Guardianships, Accounts, Settlements Book 3: 1818-1824

Knox County's Will Books have been abstracted and/or indexed multiple times:

• 1792 - 1831 - Bell, Annie W.B. Knox County, Tennessee, Wills, 1792-1831: Estate and Guardian Book, "O" Will's, 1792-1803; Guardians, 1792-1821. Original at Court House, Knoxville, Tennessee. 1934. FHL Collection 976.885 P2b
• 1792 - 1803 - Historical Records Project (W.P.A.). Will Books, 1792-1803, Knox County, Tennessee. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed in 1941. FHL Collection 24719 Item 3
• 1792 - 1861 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Tennessee Wills & Administrations 1779-1861. Nashville, Tenn. Byron Sistler & Associates, Inc., 1990. FHL Collection 976.8 P22s Includes an index to this county's probate records. Free Lookups Available!
• 1792 - 1824 - Knox County, Tennessee Estate Book [1792-1824]. 2 vols. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 199-?. FHL Collection 976.885 P28k
• 1792 - 1824 - Strictly By Name (see above).

Taxation

The original Knox County Highway Tax Book, dated 1888, is kept at the County Courthouse. In 1978, GSU microfilmed this book: FHL Collection 1020331 Item 4

The following Knox County tax records have been abstracted:

• 1796 - West, Betsy F. "Delinquent Tax List, Knox County, Tennessee - 1796," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Fall 1977):138. For FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
• 1796, 1799, 1815 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. & B. Sistler, 1977. FHL Collection 976.8 R4s - Includes 1796, 1799, 1815 (Knoxville only) tax lists.
• 1796, 1806, 1815 - Curtis, Mary Barnett. Early East Tennessee Tax Lists. Fort Worth, Texas: Arrow Printing Company, 1964. FHL Collection 976.8 R4c - Includes 1796 list of persons not paying tax, 1815 petitions, and 1806 tax list.
• 1796 - "Delinquent Tax List, 1796," East Tennessee Roots, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Summer 2005).
• 1801 - "Delinquent Taxes, 1801," Jefferson County Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Fall 1993).
• 1804 - Curtis, Mary Bennett. Knox County, Tennessee 1804 Tax List. n.p.: Arrow/Curtis Gen[e]alogical Publishing Co., 1977. FHL Collection 976.885 R4k
• 1806 - Knox County, Tenn. 1806 Tax List. 197-?. FHL Collection 976.885 R4ka
• 1806 - Creekmore, Pollyanna. Early East Tennessee Taxpayers. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1980. FHL Collection 976.8 R4cp and Silas Emmett Lucas's Revised Index: FHL Collection 976.8 R4cp index Includes 1806 tax list.
• 1806 - Knox County 1806 Tax List, East Tennessee Roots, Vol. 3, No. 3; Vol. 3, No. 4; Vol. 4, No. 3. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
• 1812 - "Tax List, 1812," Tennessee Ancestors, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Apr. 1986); Vol. 2, No. 2 (Aug. 1986); Vol. 2, No. 3 (Dec. 1986).
• 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 Knox County.
• 1817 - "U.S. Holds 1817 Public Sale of Federal Tax-Delinquent Properties in Tennessee," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer 1996):63-68. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals. Includes Knox County.
• To 1830 - "Tax Lists, Pre-1830," Tennessee Ancestors, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Aug. 1992).
• 1836 - Douthat, James L. Knox County, Tennessee, 1836 Civil Districts and Tax Lists. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. FHL Collection 976.885 P22d; online: free surname index and purchase details.
• 1844 - 1845 - Historical Records Project. Property Tax List, 1844-1845, Knox County, Tennessee. Typescript, Tennessee State Library, Nashville, Tenn. FHL Collection 24736 Item 3

The Tennessee State Library and Archives has a collection of "Tennessee, Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895" available on Ancestry which includes tax records in Knox County.

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 $

• 1881 - 1894 - Knoxville Birth Index 1881-1894 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.org- free.

• 1881 - 1915 - Tennessee, City Birth Records 1881-1915 at Ancestry.com - index and images $

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

Marriage

The original Knox County marriage records are kept at TSLA. They have been microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah:

• 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1838 - 1922 - Index to Marriages Vols. 1 to 4 (1838-1922). FHL Collection 1020950
• 1793 - 1894 - Marriage Records Vols. 1 to 8 (1793-1894). FHL Collection 1020951-1020952
• 1792 - 1915 - Licenses, Bonds 1792-1915. FHL Collection 1025064-1025100, 1020953-1020968].

Online Records

• 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

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

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

Other Resources

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

• 1793 - 1819 - Marriages 1793-1819

Knox County's marriage records have been abstracted several times. Each editor was selective in the amount of detail he or she abstracted.

• 1792 - 1896 - Knox County Marriage Index 1792-1896 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

• 1792 - 1864 - Historical Records Project (W.P.A.). Marriage Records, 1792-1864, Knox County, Tennessee. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed in 1940. FHL Collection Films 24721 Items 2-4, 24718 Items 4-5

• 1792 - 1900 - d'Armand, Roscoe Carlisle and Virginia Carlisle d'Armand. Knox County, Tennessee Marriage Records, 1792-1900: Compiled from Original Marriage Licenses and Bonds, Marriage Register, W. P. A. Knoxville, Tenn.: D'Armand Family Record Society, 1970. FHL Collection 976.885 V25d

• 1792 - 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 Collection 976.8 V2t v. 1 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.

• 1792 - 1865 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early East Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, Inc., 1987. FHL Collection 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!

• 1793 - 1819 - Strictly By Name (see above).

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Knox 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

• 1872 - 1923 - Tennessee, City Death Records 1872-1923 at Ancestry.com - index and images $

• 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 Knox County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try searching the following records:

• 1847 - 1914 - 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 Collection 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 ff; digitalhttp://www.knoxlib.org/local-family-history/historical-resources/tennessee-deaths versions at David Donahue Memorial: Tennessee Records Repository. Website expands upon the publications and includes deaths from the 1830s, 1840s, 1910s and 1920s.
• Obituary Index at Knox County Library (McClung Historical Collection)

Hickory Public Library in Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina has the following records:

• 1914 - 1920 - Knox County, TN Death Records, 1914-1920

• 1921 - 1925 - Knox County, TN Death Records, 1921-1925

Libraries

East Tennessee Historical Center
601 South Gay Street
Knoxville, TN 37901-1629
Phone: 1-865-215-8801
E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org
Hours: (Eastern Time): Mon. and Tues. 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; Wed., Thurs., and Fri. 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

The East Tennessee History Center houses the Knox County Archives, the Museum of East Tennessee History, and the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.

The McClung Historical Collection’s primary focus is east Tennessee; it holds one of the country’s leading research collections about the region. The collection contains books, newspapers, directories, manuscripts, maps, microfilm records, and photographs. In addition to the east Tennessee material, the collection also contains research guides and census indexes for many states in the United States, especially 11 states in the South. McClung Collection is your gateway to exploring the families and history of the East Tennessee region. The Knox County Public Library offers the free online Calvin M. McClung Digital Collection.

Knox County Public Library
Lawson McGhee Library
500 W. Church Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 865-215-8750
Hours: Mon. and Tues. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Wed. 10 a.m-5 p.m., Thurs. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

The Knox County Public Library offers materials on local history, county indexes, and the free online Calvin M. McClung Digital Collection.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Hoskins Library, Special Collections
1015 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, TN 37996-1000
Phone: 1-865-974-4351
Internet:

The library’s catalog is online and the Tennessee Newspaper Project is available through the catalog.

Societies

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

East Tenneessee Historical Society
601 S. Gay St.
PO Box 1629
Knoxville, TN 37901-1629
Phone: 1-865-215-8824

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

Grove Park Tennessee Family History Center (Knoxville)
6024 Grove Dr NE
Knoxville, TN
Phone: 1-865-688-7411

Knox County Public Library
500 West Church Ave.
Knoxville, TN
Phone: 1-865-215-8808

Knoxville Tennessee Family History Center
400 Kendall Rd NW
Knoxville, TN
Phone: 1-865-693-8252

These are not mailing addresses. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Websites

• 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.
• Knox County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Knox County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: TNKNOX-L (Knox County, Tennessee List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: SE-TN-L (Southeast Tennessee List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: UPPEREASTTN-L (Upper East Tennessee List)
• Knox County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)

References

Family History Library