Putnam County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Putnam County

Putnam County, Tennessee ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Guide to Putnam County (established 1842) 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.

Putnam County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	February 2, 1842
County Seat	Cookeville
Courthouse
Website: putnamcountytn.gov
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 Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. The County is located in the north central area of the state.

Putnam County, Tennessee Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1908	1879	1908	1900	1854	1876	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1914. General compliance by 1927.

County Courthouse

Putnam County Courthouse, Cookeville, Tenn. Courtesy: Collection: County Court Houses, Flickr by Jimmy Emerson. Used by permission.

Putnam County Courthouse
 421 E Spring Street
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: 931.526.6321
 
County Clerk has birth and death 1925-1940, incomplete
birth and death records 1908-1912, marriage records
from 1879 and probate records from 1876.
Clerk Chancery Court has divorce and court records from 1900.
Register of Deeds has land records from 1854.
Clerk Circuit Court court records from 1900.
County Historian; Rt. 2, Box 408; Cookeville,
TN has miscellaneous court records. '

Putnam County Clerk
Marriage and probate records
Birtindex.php?p=departments&s=countyclerkh and death 1925-1940
Incomplete birth and death 1908-1912
P.O. Box 220
Cookeville, TN 38503
Phone: 1-931-372-8201

Putnam County Register of Deeds
Land records
P.O. Box 487
Cookeville, TN 38503
Phone: 1-931-526-7101

Putnam County Circuit Court Clerk
Court records
421 E. Spring Street, Room 1C, Suite 49A
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: 1-931-528-1508

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

History

Middle Tennessee county.

The county is named after Revolutionary War Major General Israel Putnam (1718-1790).

Parent County

1842--Putnam County was established 2 February 1842 from White, Overton, Jackson, Smith and DeKalb Counties. Early records may be found under White, Overton, Jackson, Smith and DeKalb Counties.
County seat: Cookeville

County Pronunciation

1. 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

1860s Courthouse records were damaged in the American Civil War, 1861-1865.

1898 Fire damaged courthouse records.

• Lost marriage records: 1842 to 1878
• Lost probate records: 1842 to 1875

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

Algood	Ditty	Mill Creek	Sadler
Avoton (hist.)	Double Springs	Monterey	Sand Springs
Bangham	Ensor	Nash	Selby (hist.)
Baxter	Gentry	Parragon	Shady Grove
Bilbrey	Goffton	Peekville (hist.)	Silver Point
Bloomington Springs	Hickey	Pinhook	Thomas
Boma	Holladay	Poplar Grove	Twin Oak
Brotherton	Hudsonburg (hist.)	Post Oak
Buffalo Valley	Jeremiah	Roberts
Cookeville	Marchbanks (hist.)	Rocky Point

Neighboring Counties

Cumberland DeKalb Fentress

Jackson Overton

Smith White

Resources

Getting Started

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

African American

United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Cemeteries

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

Additional Cemetery Resources

• Tennessee Cemeteries - Hometown Locator

• TNGenes.net has 180+ cemeteries photographed.

Census

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

1810 - 1891

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

1860

• McComb, Joyce B. The First Putnam County, Tennessee, United States Census, 1860. Lexington, South Carolina : J.B. McComb, 1989. FHL 976.867 X2m 1860

1870

• McGee, Norman T. 1870 United States Census of Putnam County, Tennessee. Arrington, Tennessee : Lilac Hill Pub., 1989. FHL 976.867 X2m 1870

1880

• McGee, Norman T. 1880 United States Census of Putnam County, Tennessee. Arrington, Tennessee : Lilac Hill Pub., 1989. FHL 976.867 X2m 1880
• Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Putnam County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler and Associates, 1991. FHL 976.867 X2s 1880

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 US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 5 1891. Putnam County is included in Vol. 5.
• 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 $

1900

• Clark, Fred L. The United States Twelfth Census of Putnam County, Tennessee, 1900. Quebeck, Tennessee : F.L. Clark, 1994. FHL 976.867 X28v 1900

1910

• Wilkerson, Azilee, Fred L. Clark, ed. The United States thirteenth Census of Putnam County, Tennessee, 1910. Quebeck, Tennessee : F.L. Clark, 1992. FHL 976.867 X2w 1910

Church

Baptist

• Grime, John Harvey. History of Middle Tennessee Baptists: With Special Reference to Salem, New Salem, Enon and Wiseman Associations. Nashville, Tennessee: Baptist and Reflector, 1902.  Includes names changes for places in Middle Tennessee. Free digital copy.

Presbyterian

• 1873-1886 - First Presbyterian Church, Cookeville, Baptism Index 1873-1886. Batch C711201 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Court

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)

The Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. has uploaded a free "Index to the Charles Leonard Collection" on their website. It contains "a name index to family research files at the Putnam County Library in Cookeville TN."

General

As of August 2010, a query for born in Putnam, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 30,000 entries.

Bibliography

• Dyer - Preator, Richard E. The Descendants of James Dyer and Jane Finn of Jackson Co. Tennessee. Salem, Mass.: Higginson, 1998. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D988p.
• Maxwell - Maxwell, Harry L. Descendants of Samuel Maxwell of Putnam County and Jackson County, TN. Cookeville, Tenn.: H.L. Maxwell, [199-?]. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 M451mh.

Land

Local Histories

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

Military

Revolutionary War

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

• 1835 Pension Roll
• 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

War of 1812

• Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr. 1961):49-52. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Putnam County pensioners (p. 50).

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 Putnam 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 Putnam County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 8th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company G.
• 13th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Gore's) - CSA - Company C.
• 16th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company F.
• 17th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company R.
• 22nd Battalion, Tennessee Infantry (Murray's) - CSA - Company H.
• 25th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies F, I and K.
• 28th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies D and H.
• 28th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (2nd Tennessee Mountain Volunteers) - CSA - Companies E and I.
• 84th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company D.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Putnam County:

• Head, Thomas A. Campaigns and battles of the Sixteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteers, in the war between the states, with incidental sketches of the part performed by other Tennessee troops in the same war.1861-1865. Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House, 1885. Free digital copy.
• USGenWeb Archives, Putnam County Tennessee Archives. Civil War Records.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Putnam 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. Putnam County, page 369.
• Civil War Soldiers From Putnam County. Compiled by Maurine Ensor Patton & Christine Spivey Jones.

Newspapers

• Extracts taken from the Putnam County Herald (19--?). FHL book 976.867 B38. Digital version available at FamilySearch Digital Library
• 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 Putnam County click on the following city or town:

• Cookeville
• Monterey

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 Putnam County, Tennessee 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 US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a.

The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Putnam 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.

Overton County Historical Society Newsletter

"This newsletter, although called 'Overton County,' covers all the area in Overton, Fentress, and Pickett County, Tennessee along with Monterey in Putnam County" - Vol. 7, no. 4 p. 2
Family History Library has volume 1 - 8 FHL US/CAN 976.8684 B2n.
Indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)
For further information see Overton County Historical Society website: Overton County Historical Society website

The Upper Cumberland Researcher

Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Putnam County, Tennessee have been published in The Upper Cumberland Researcher, the journal of the Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. To view a list of the first 17 years of these articles, visit their online Seventeen Year Index to The Upper Cumberland Researcher (Vols. 1-17, 1975-1992). The Index contains a "Counties" section beginning on page 19. The Family History Library has most issues through the present FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2u (1975-1993) and FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2u (1994-present).

Prisons

Learn if your Putnam County ancestors went to prison!

• Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online, courtesy: TSLA.

Probate Records

The Putnam County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

Online Records

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

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

• Wills, 1876-1933
• Inventories, 1899-1909
• Settlements, 1878-1918
• Bonds, Letters, 1874-1907

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

• Works Progress Administration. Putnam County, Tennessee, Miscellaneous Records. Nashville, Tennessee: Byron Sistler & Assoc., 1936. This indexed book includes diaries, letters, wills, indentures, and other misellaneous records from private collections. (FHL book 976.867 P2p.)
  

Taxation

The following Putnam County tax records have been abstracted:

• 1854 - 1855 - "Putnam County, Tennessee - Tax Book Index 1854-1855," The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 1, No. 3 ():10-. For access, see Periodicals.
• 1854 - 1855 - W.P.A. Putnam County, Tennessee Tax List 1854-1855. 2005 reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free online surname index; purchase details.
• 1855 - Paessler, Jane Park. "Putnam County, Tennessee 1855 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Spring 1995):7-12; Vol. 42, No. 2 (Summer 1995):61-63. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
• 1858 - Tax List, 1858, The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter 1999). For access, see Periodicals.
• 1860's - "Putnam County, Tennessee - Civil War Tax List," The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 3, No. 3 ():3-. For access, see Periodicals.
• 1870 - 1872 - Civil District No. 16, 1870-72,  The Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Fall 1992).
• 1883 - Freeman, Mitzi P. "Putnam County, TN - Tax Records - 1883," (6 Districts) available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
• 1913 - Road Taxpayers List, 1913, The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Winter 1998). For access, see Periodicals.
• Delinquent Railroad Taxes, The Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Spring 1986). For access, see Periodicals.

Vital Records

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

See Tennessee Vital Records

Birth

• 1828 - 1939 - Tennessee Births and Christenings 1828-1939 at FamilySearch.org — index

• 1869 - 1909 - Tennessee Delayed Birth Records 1869-1909 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

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

Marriage

The original Putnam County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Due to fire, the marriage records of Putnam County are lost until 1879.

State Marriage Records

• 1625-1966 - Tennessee, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 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 $

The following Putnam County marriage records are microfilmed:

• 1879 - 1995 - Available at the TSLA.

• 1878 - 1952 - Available at the Family History Library. Includes index through 1985.FHL 1928809

The following Putnam County marriage records have been indexed:

• 1878 - 1902 - Putnam County Marriage Index 1878-1902 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch.org - free. Batches M519621 and M519622.

• Bartlett, Bess Beatrice. Extracts Taken from the Putnam County Herald. Manuscript. FHL 976.867 B38b Free digital copy.

• 1878 - 1882 - Smith, Willie D. Marriage Records of Putnam County, Tennessee, 1878-1882. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1996. FHL 976.867 V2s

Putnam County is not included in Sistler's Early Middle Tennessee Marriages.

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Putnam 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 Putnam 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 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 1830's, 1840's, 1910's and 1920's.

Libraries

Putnam County Library
50 East Broad St.
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: 1-931-526-2416
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The "Tennessee Room houses many items of interest to those doing research in genealogy."

Societies

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

Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc.
P. O. Box 575
Cookeville, TN 38503-0575
Blog

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society
PO Box 330948
Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507
The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Putnam 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

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
• Cookeville Tennessee Family History Center

981 S Walnut
Cookeville, TN
Phone: 1-931-526-3116

This is not a mailing address. 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.
• Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: TN-UPPER-CUMBERLAND-L (Upper Cumberland Tennessee Region Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
• Putnam County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Putnam County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Putnam County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region
• Putnam County TN Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)

References

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Family History Library