Lincoln County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Lincoln County

Lincoln County, Tennessee ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Guide to Lincoln County (established 1809) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Lincoln County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	November 14, 1809
County Seat	Fayetteville
Courthouse
Website: www.lincolncountytngov.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 Benjamin Lincoln, an officer in the American Revolutionary War. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

Lincoln County, Tennessee Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1881	1834	1881	1810	1810	1809	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1914. General compliance by 1927.

County Courthouse

[[Image:

Lincoln County Courthouse, Fayetteville, Tenn.]]

Lincoln County Courthouse
P.O. Box 577
112 Main St. South
Fayetteville, TN 37334
Phone: 1-931-433-2454

County Clerk has marriage and probate records;
Clerk Circuit Court has divorce records; Clerk and
Master has court records; Register of Deeds has
land records

Lincoln County Clerk
Marriage records
112 Main Ave. South, Room 102
Fayetteville, TN 37334
Phone: 1-931-433-2454

Lincoln County Clerk and Master
Probate records
112 Main Ave. South, Room B-109
Fayetteville, TN 37334
Phone: 1-931-433-1482

Lincoln County Circuit Court Clerk
Court records
112 Main Ave. South, Room 203
Fayetteville, TN 37334
Phone: 1-931-433-2334

Lincoln County Register of Deeds
112 Main Ave. South, Room 104
Fayetteville, TN 37334
Phone: 1-931-433-5366

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

History

[[Image:

U.S. Secretary of War Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810)

]]

Middle Tennessee county in the Chestnut Ridge region. Established 1809.

The county is named after U.S. Secretary of War Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810).

Parent County

1809--Lincoln County was created 14 November 1809 from Bedford County.
County seat: Fayetteville

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

• Lack of marriage records: 1809 to 1837

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
Ardmore	Fayetteville
Towns
Petersburg
Unincorporated communities
Belleville Blanche Booneville Boonshill Cash Point Coldwater Dellrose Elora Green Gable	Howell Howell Hill Hughey Kelso Kirkland Liberty Lincoln McBurg Mimosa	Molino Mulberry New Dellrose New Hope Prospect Skinem Taft Vanntown Yukon
Census-designated places
Flintville	Park City

Neighboring Counties

Bedford Franklin Giles

Jackson County, Alabama Limestone County, Alabama Madison County, Alabama

Marshall Moore

Resources

Getting Started

A good place to start is Byron and Samuel Sistler's Every Name Index to 18 Middle Tennessee County Record Books (Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, Inc., 1992) FHL Collection 976.8 P22sb. It indexes multiple books about Lincoln and nearby Bedford and Giles counties.

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Lincoln County biography, census, court, marriage, probate, 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: Lincoln County, courtesy: TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)

African Americans

United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Census takers found no free African Americans living in Lincoln County, Tennessee in 1820.

Bible Records

• Tucker, Mabel Abbott and Waller, Jane Warren. Lincoln County, Tennessee Bible Records. Batavia, Ill.: Lincoln County Tennessee Pioneers, 1972. FHL Collection 976.8624 D29t v. 1-6. Free lookups available!
• Williams - Williams: Family Bible Records, 1793-1920, Together with Transcripts. MSS. Microfilmed 1984. FHL Collection 1206451 Item 6

Biographies

• Family Biographies from The History of Lincoln County, Tennessee (1886) published by Goodspeed are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
  
• Surname Index - Lincoln County Biographies. Courtesy of USGenWeb Archives, Tennessee.

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		Epodunk
TNGenWeb Cemetery Database		Gravestones
BillionGraves
See Tennessee Cemeteries for more information.

Additional Cemetery Resources

• Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

Census

1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project^®

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 US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810.

1810 - 1891

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

1820

• __. 1820 Lincoln County, TennesseeS.l.: s.n., 19-?. FHL 976.8 A1 no. 32
• Bentley, Elizabeth P. Index to the 1820 Census of Tennessee. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981. FHL 976.8 X22b 1820
• Waller, Jane W. 1820 Census, Lincoln County, Tennessee.Fayetteville, Tennessee: Lincoln County Genealogical Society, 1973. FHL 976.8624 X2w 1820

1891 Male Voters

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

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

• __. Tennessee Census, Lincoln Co., 1830.Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974. FHL 954248 Item 3

1840

• Waller, Jane W. Lincoln County, Tennessee, 1840 Census. S.p., 1970. FHL 976.862 X2p 1840

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, Middle District, Lincoln County on page 156.

1850

• Porch, Deane. Lincoln County, Tennessee 1850 census. S.p., 1970.FHL 976.862 X2pa 1850

1880

• Sistler, Byron. 1880 Census Lincoln County, Tennessee.Nashville, Tennessee : Byron Sistler & Associates, 1998. FHL 976.8624 X2s 1880

Church

The organization GSC provides free online indexes to the following Lincoln County church records. They also sell CDs for a reasonable price that contain these W.P.A. abstracts:

• History of Bethesda Methodist Church
• History of Church of Christ, Fayetteville, Tenn.
• History of Methodist Churches, Fayetteville, Tenn., 1831-1890
• Missionary Baptist Church History, Fayetteville, Tenn., 1879
• History of Presbyterian Church, Petersberg, Tenn., 1859-1902
• Prosperity A.R.P. Church History
• Prosperity Church History
• Minutes of William Carey Baptist Association, Missionary Baptist Church, 1919

Congregational

• 1871-1892 - Cane Creek Congregational Church, Howell, Baptism Index 1871-1892. Batch C710901 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Methodist

Providence Methodist Episcopal Church

• 1839-1885 - Providence Methodist Episcopal Church, Baptism Index 1839-1885. Batch C710871 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
• 1839-1895 - Providence Methodist Episcopal Church, Baptism Index 1839-1885. Batch M710871 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Shiloh-Taft Methodist Episcopal Church, Taft

• 1837-1972 - Shiloh-Taft Methodist Episcopal Church, Taft, Baptism Index 1837-1972. Batch C710911 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
• 1837-1971 - Shiloh-Taft Methodist Episcopal Church, Taft, Baptism Index 1837-1971. Batch M710911 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church, Fayetteville

• First Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville 19-? Free lookups available!

Mount Hebron Presbyterian Church, Belleville

• 1874-1950 - Mount Hebron Presbyterian Church, Belleville, Marriage Index 1874-1950. Batch M710891 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Prosperity Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Yokon

• 1828-1885 - Prosperity Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Yokon, Baptism Index 1828-1885. Batch C710921 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.</ref>
• 1828-1895 - Prosperity Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Yokon, Marriage Index 1828-1895. Batch M710921 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Court

Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions

• W.P.A. Lincoln County, Tennessee Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions Minute Book, 1814-1817. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed 1941. FHL US/CAN Film 24744. Free index, available online, thanks to Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products (the pages may load slowly). For a reasonable fee, the company sells Lincoln County CDs, one of which includes a digitized version of this book.

Court Minutes

• W.P.A. Lincoln County, Tennessee, Minute Docket Book, Volume 1, 1811-1812. Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed 1940. FHL US/CAN Film 24743 Item 2. Free index, available online, thanks to Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products (the pages may load slowly). For a reasonable fee, the company sells Lincoln County CDs, one of which includes a digitized version of this book.

DNA

DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Lincoln County residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.

• Brown - Multiple descendants of James S. Brown, b. 1780 Rockingham County, Virginia, resident of Lincoln County, Tennessee mid 1820s, resident of McMinn County, Tennessee 1830, d. 1876 DeKalb County, Alabama. Y-DNA 25 and 67 Marker Tests, FTDNA (Kits 39542, 82328). Genetic signatures available online (labeled Group No. 94), genealogical description available online, courtesy: Brown/Browne/Braun DNA Study.

Family Histories

This bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:

• Locate publications about direct ancestors
• Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
• Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors)

General

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Lincoln, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 70,000 entries.

• The Heritage of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Fayetteville, Tenn.: Lincoln County Heritage Book Committee, 2005. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8624 D2h.

Bibliography

• Ashby - Metzger, Noveda Ashby Some descendants of Halifax Ashby, Sr. Washington [District of Columbia]: Library of Congress, Photoduplicatoin Service, 1992?] FHL US/CAN film 1843177 Free lookups available!
• Denton - Hereford, Kenneth M. and Gray, Leland W. The Hiram King Denton family 19??. Free lookups available!
• Dollins - Dollins, John Lewis. Dollins - The Descendants of Hugh A. Dollins (1800-1836), Born Albemarle Co., Virginia, Died Lincoln Co., Tennessee; the Youngest Son of Presley Dollins. Orlando, Fla.: J.L. Dollins, 1983. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D393d.
• Duckworth - Smith, Presley. Family History of the Alexander Paidan Duckworth family and related families. Dallas, Texas : P.E. Smith, 1997 FHL book 929.273 D858. Digital version available at FamilySearch Digital Library .
• Ellis - Angevine, Erma Miller. Ellis, Taylor and Certain Related Families: Ancestors and Descendants of Clyde Taylor Ellis. Chevy Chase, Md.: C.T. Ellis, 1979. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 A1 no. 4874.
• Hines - True, Charles Wesley. Thomas Jefferson Hines and Mary Ross Moores: of Fayetteville, Tennessee then Waxahachie, Texas. Hamilton, Texas: C.W. True, 1995. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H589t.
• Jean - Malone, Royleta Clayton. David Jean Sr. of Stokes County, North Carolina and Lincoln County, Tennessee: and Many of His Descendants. Salt Lake City, Utah: R. Malone, 1991. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 A1 no. 6433.
• King - King, Tom From wagons to spaceships:personal and family history of Thomas Jackson King and his ancestors San Diego, California : T.J.King, c1993. FHL US/CAN book 921.73 K587k Free lookups available!
• Little - The Little Family of Lincoln County, Tennessee. 9Denver, Colo.: T.S. Little, 198-?). FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 L721Li.
• McAlister - Perry, Christine Curlee. McAlister Family of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Typescript, microfilmed in 2000. FHL US/CAN Film 1425264 Item 13.
• McKinney - See Young
• Reeve - See Rives.
• Rives - Rives, Jno. R. T. Green Rives of Dinwiddie County, Virginia and Lincoln County, Tennessee and his Descendants. Birmingham, AL: Printed by A.H. Cather Pub. Co., 1958. Available at Ancestry ($); and Heritage Quest Online ($). Free lookups available!
• Shelton - Taylor, Hugh L. and Taylor, Ida Greenhaw Some Early Sheltons: Lincoln County, Tennessee 1972. Free lookups available!
• Shelton - Shelton, Frank Harvey Shelton-roots Through Tennessee F.H. Shelton, 1979. Free lookups available!
• Smith - Perry, Christine Curlee. Family of John and Mary Clementine Caton Smith of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Typescript, microfilmed in 2000. FHL US/CAN Film 1425264 Item 14.
• Spencer - Spencer, Donald and D. William Neal. Spencer Family of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Cullman, Ala.: Gregath, 1991. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Sp33sd; Supplement: FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 Sp33sd supp.
• Stephens Stephens, Robert W. Stephens Family History: Ancestry and Descendants of Revolutionary Soldier Robert Stephens and His Wife, Sarah Farmer, of Virginia, Through Their Son Josiah Stephens. Dallas, Texas: R.W. Stephens, c1982. FHL Book 929.273 St45sr.
  
• Turner - Perry, Christine Curlee. Turner Family of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Typescript, microfilmed in 2000. FHL US/CAN Film 1425264 Item 12.
• Wallace - Wallace, Richard E. The Children of William Wallace of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Overland Park, Kansas: R.E. Wallace, 2001. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 W155wre; digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library .
• Warren - Waller, Jane W. Descendants of Daniel Warren (1788-1876) Lincoln County, Tennessee Waller, 1972. Free lookups available!
• Young - Young, Richard Wilson, Two Less Doors to Rattle. s.n., 1993. Free lookups available!

Immigration

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding 2 British aliens, some of whom had families, living in Fayetteville and Lincoln County.

Land

• Lincoln County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1810 and is located at the county Courthouse, P.O. Box 577, 112 Main Street South, Fayetteville, Tennessee 37334; (931) 433-2454. 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 land records 181-1887 with a general index 1810-1912; deeds and land grants about 1816-1889.

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

• Goodspeed firm, publishers, Chicago. History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties.Nashville, Tenn., The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886. Free digital copy.   Free lookups available.
• Edmiston, William C. The fat of the land Record Press, 1958. Free lookups available!

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

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

Military

Revolutionary War

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

• 1835 Pension Roll
• 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
• Select Lincoln County Revolutionary War records

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, Middle District, Lincoln County on page 156.
• 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 US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. Includes Lincoln County pensioners (p. 93).

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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 1st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Turney's) - CSA - Companies G, H, and K.
• 8th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies C, D, E, and K.
• 17th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Captain W. A. Landis Company.
• 23rd Battalion, Tennessee Infantry (Newman's) - CSA - Company A and E.
• 28th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Hay's) - CSA
• 32nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company A and I.
• 41st Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies A, C, D, and E.
• 44th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company E.
• 44th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA
• 55th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (McKoin's) - CSA - Company H.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Lincoln County:

• USGenWeb Archives, Lewis County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Lincoln 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. Lincoln County, page 357-358.
• Peter Turney's 1st Tennessee Regiment. Companies "G," "H," and "K" were made up of men from Lincoln Co., TN.
• Lincoln County Civil War Confederate units. Hosted by rootsweb.

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 Lewis County click on the following city:

• Fayetteville

Occupations

• Miller, Alan N. Middle Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1784 to 1902. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2004. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2ma. [Includes Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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.

Lincoln County, Tennessee Pioneers

Edited by Jane Warren Waller, Lincoln County, Tennessee Pioneers ran for 26 volumes (1970-1997). A few additional issues were published online in 1997 and 1998. FHL has acquired most volumes: FHL US/CAN Book 976.8624 B2L. Tables of contents are available online, courtesy: Lincoln County, Tennessee Archives (USGenWeb Archives). Free lookups available!

The Lincoln Lineage

"The Lincoln County Genealogical Society is a non-profit society, charted under the laws of the State of Tennessee, for the purpose of preserving and recording family histories and all vital records, providing a genealogical library of Lincoln County, the State of Tennessee and surrounding counties for genealogical research."
The Family History Library has Volume 1 (1998) through the present. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8624 D25L
See Lincoln County Genealogical Society website for further information: http://www.lincolncountytn.com/genealogy/index.htm

The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Giles County, Tennessee have been published in The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, the quarterly of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society (23+ Vols.). To view a list of these articles, visit their online Index to Articles (1988-2005). Surname indexes are also available online for Vols. 2-22. The website also offers back issues for sale in paper and on CD. The Family History Library has a complete collection of this quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.85 D25m.

Volunteer

Published by the Lincoln County Historical Society
P.O. Box 435
Fayetteville, TN
Indexed at the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) Spring 1977 - Spring 2006

Prisons

Learn if your Lincoln 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 Lincoln County Court and Chancery Court have responsibility for the probate records. Many records are held by the Lincoln County Archives.

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, 1810-1824
• Wills, 1827-1850

The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Lincoln 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 A: 1809-1824
• Will Book 1: 1826-1850
• Will Book 2: 1850-1861

The following Lincoln County probate records have been abstracted, indexed, or both:

• 1809 - 1824 - Ingmire, Frances Terry. Wills, Inventories and Miscellaneous, March 1809 - April 1824. St. Louis, Missouri: F.T. Ingmire, 1984. Indexed. (FHL book 976.8624 P2i.)
  
• 1809 - 1861 - Strictly By Name (see above).
• 1810 - 1850 - W.P.A. Will Books, 1810-1850, Lincoln County, Tennessee. [Includes Inventories 1810-1824] Typescript, TSLA. Microfilmed 1940. FHL US/CAN Film 24743 Items 3-5. Free indexes to Wills and Inventories 1810-1824 and Wills 1827-1850, are available online, thanks to Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products (the pages may load slowly). For a reasonable fee, the company sells Lincoln County CDs, one of which includes a digitized version of this book.
• 1810 - 1895 - Marsh, Helen Crawford and Timothy Richard Marsh. Abstracts of Wills, Lincoln County, Tennessee, 1810-1895. Shelbyville, Tennessee: Marsh Historical Publications, 1977. Indexed. (FHL book 976.8624 P28m.)
• 1810 - 1921 - Marsh, Helen Crawford and Timothy Richard Marsh. Wills and Inventories of Lincoln County, Tennessee, 1810-1921. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1989. Indexed. (FHL book 976.8624 P2m.)
• 1810 - 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.
• 1863 - 1868 - McGee, Velma, transcriber; and Russell O'Neal, indexer. Lincoln County, Tennessee: Administrator Settlement Book 1863-1868. Index only. (FHL nook 976.8624 P22m.)
• 1864 - 1871 - Lincoln County Will Books Vol. 7 1864-1871. Simmons Historical Publications. Digital version available at World Vital Records. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
• 1871 - 1880 - Lincoln County Will Books Vol. 8 1871-1880. Simmons Historical Publications. Digital version available at World Vital Records. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
• 1880 - 1889 - Lincoln County Will Books Vol. 9 1880-1889. Simmons Historical Publications. Digital version available at World Vital Records. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.
• 1889 - 1895 - Lincoln County Will Books Vol. 10 1889-1895. Simmons Historical Publications. Digital version available at World Vital Records. Available for purchase at Simmons Historical Publications.

Taxation

Pre-1900 tax records of Lincoln county are available on microfilm by interlibrary loan from the Tennessee State Library and Archives for years 1829-1833, 1836, 1846-1850, 1865-1867, 1870-1889-1891-1900.

The following Lincoln County tax records have been abstracted:

• 1810 - 1811 - Tax List, 1810-11, Lincoln County Tennessee Pioneers, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Sep. 1977). For access, see Periodicals.
• 1811 - Tax Collectors, 1811, Volunteer (Fall 1998). For access, see Periodicals.
• 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 1812 newspaper tax list (Fayetteville only).
• 1814 - "Direct Federal Tax-Delinquent Property Owners Listed for 1814," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 43, No. 3(Fall 1996):115-120. For access, see Periodicals. Includes Lincoln 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 access, see Periodicals. Includes Lincoln County.
• 1836 - Douthat, James L. Lincoln County, 1836 Tennessee, Civil Districts and Tax Lists. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8624 R4d; online: free surname index and purchase details.
• 1836 - Civil Districts and Tax List, 1836, Tennessee Genealogy and History, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Aug. 1998); Vol. 2, No. 3 (Dec. 1998). For access, see Periodicals.
• 1860 - Tax List, 1860, Volunteer (Spring 2002, Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Fall 2004, Spring 2005). For access, see Periodicals.
• 1868 - Taxpayers, 1868, Lincoln County Tennessee Pioneers, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan. 1981). For access, see Periodicals.
• 1870 - Tax List District 1, 1870, Lincoln County Tennessee Pioneers, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Jun. 1978). For access, see Periodicals.
• 1880 - List of Privileges, 1880, Lincoln County Tennessee Pioneers, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Jun. 1978). For access, see Periodicals.

Vital Records

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

Birth

• 1881 - 1883 - Lincoln County Birth Index 1881-1883. Batch C519463 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

• 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

The original Lincoln County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Marriages were not officially recorded in Lincoln 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.

The following Lincoln County marriage records are microfilmed:

• 1838 - 1987 - Available at the TSLA. Marriages 1838-1890 are available for interlibrary loan.

• 1888 - 1898 - TSLA. Marriage bonds.

• 1834 - 1954 - Available at the Family History Library. Chandery Court licenses and bonds; index in first 2 films.FHL 2138561

• 1838 - 1969 - Marriage Records. Indexes in each volume.First film in group is 1888-1898 marriage bonds. FHL 968562

The following Lincoln County marriage records have been indexed:

• 1838 - 1895 - Lincoln County Marriage Index 1838-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

• 1838 - 1866 - W.P.A. Marriage Records, 1838-1860, Lincoln County, Tennessee. Nashville: TSLA, Historical Records Project, 1940. Typescript. FHL 24743 Item 1. Free index, available online, thanks to Steve Carson, courtesy: GSC Associates Historical Records Products (the pages may load slowly). For a reasonable fee, the company sells Lincoln County CDs, one of which includes a digitized version of this book.

• 1838 - 1880 - Marsh, Helen C. and Timothy R. Marsh. Lincoln County, Tennessee Official Marriage Records, 1838-1880: Compiled from Original Marriage Licenses and Bonds, Family Records and Newspaper Accounts. Shelbyville, Tennessee: Marsh Historical Publications, 1974. FHL 976.8624 V25m

• 1838 - 1871 - Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. 2 vols. Nashville, Tenn.: B. Sistler & Associates, 1988. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2sb v. 2 ff. Indexes names of brides and grooms, and marriage dates for weddings in this county for the specified years.

• 1838 - 1843 - Waller, Jane W. and Polly L. Murphy. Marriage Records of Lincoln Co., Tennessee, 1838-1843. Batavia, Illinois: J. W. Waller, 1986. FHL 976.8624 V2w

• 1911 - 1920 - Casey, Joe M. and Jewel D. Marriage records of Lincoln County, Tennessee 1911-1920. Tullahoma, Tennessee: J & J Pub., 1995-1996. FHL 976.8624 V2c 3 Vols. Free lookups available!

State Marriage Records

• 1780 - 2002 - Many county marriage records are indexed with images at Ancestry.com's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. ($) Be aware that this index is not complete for many counties.

• 1790 - 1950 - Tennessee County Marriages, 1790-1950 at FamilySearch - covers all counties in Tennessee.

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

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

Divorce

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

• 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 Lincoln County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try searching 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.

Societies and Libraries

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

Lincoln County Genealogical Society
1508 West Washington St.
Fayetteville, TN 37334
Hours: Weekends from 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society
PO Box 330948
Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507
The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Lincoln County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Fayetteville-Lincoln County Public Library
400 Rocky Knob Lane
Fayetteville, TN 37334
Phone: 1-931-433-3286

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
• Fayetteville Tennessee Family History Center

40 Hilltop Rd Fayetteville
Lincoln, Tennessee, United States
Phone: 1-931-433-6296

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Websites

• Chestnut Ridge Cousins Genealogy Records, Surname Exchange, Maps, Obituaries, Photos, History
• 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.
• Lincoln County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Lincoln County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-CHESTNUTRIDGECOUSINS-L (Chestnut Ridge Region Genealogy List)
• RootsWeb Mailing List: TN-SOUTHCENTRAL-L (South Central Tennessee List)
• Lincoln County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)

References

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Family History Library