Cumberland County, Tennessee Genealogy

United States

Tennessee

Cumberland County

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

Cumberland County, Tennessee
Map
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	November 16, 1855
County Seat	Crossville
Courthouse
Website: cumberlandcountytn.wordpress.com
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Description

The County was named for the Cumberland Mountains. The County is located in the central area of the state.

Cumberland County, Tennessee Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1914	1905	1914	1897	1854	1904	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1914. General compliance by 1927.

Cumberland County Tennessee Courthouse

Cumberland County Courthouse
2 North Main St.
Crossville, TN 38555
Phone: 1-931-484-6442

Cumberland County Clerk
Marriage and Probate records
2 North Main Street, Suite 206
Crossville, TN 38555
Phone: 1-931-484-6442

Cumberland County Register of Deeds
Land records
2 North Main St., Suite 204
Crossville, TN 38555
Phone: 1-931-484-5559

Cumberland County Circuit Court Clerk
Court records
2 North Main, Suite 302
Crossville, TN 38555
Phone: 1-931-484-6647

Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Cumberland County Tennessee History

Cumberland Mountains, Cross Mountain, Tenn.

The county is named after the Cumberland Mountains.

Sequatchie Valley

Border county between East and Middle Tennessee. Part of the Sequatchie Valley.

Parent County

1855--Cumberland County was created 16 November 1855 from White, Bledsoe, Rhea, Roane, Morgan, Putnam, and Van Buren Counties. 
County seat: Crossville

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

1905 Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

• Marriages recorded between 1855 and 1904 are lost
• Probate records 1855 to 1904 are lost
• All other records, except deeds, destroyed in 1905 fire

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.

Cumberland County Tennessee Places / Localities

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Crab Orchard	Crossville
Towns
Pleasant Hill
Unincorporated communities
Alloway Big Lick Bowling	Daysville Grassy Cove Midway	Ozone Renegade Mountain Westel
Census-designated places
Bowman	Fairfield Glade	Lake Tansi Village

Neighboring Counties

• Bledsoe
• Fentress
• Morgan
• Putnam
• Rhea
• Roane
• Van Buren
• White

Cumberland County Tennessee Genealogy Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Cumberland County biography and land 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: Cumberland 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	BillionGraves
TNGenWeb Archives		Linkpendium
Tombstone Project		Gravestones
TNGenWeb Cemeteries		Epodunk
BillionGraves
See Tennessee Cemeteries for more information.

Census

1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 federal population censuses of Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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

• Kirkeminde, Patricia Barclay. 1860 Census of Cumberland County, Tennessee. n.p.: n.p., 198?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.875 X2ki.

1870

• Kirkeminde, Patricia Barclay. 1870 Census of Cumberland County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1984. FHL US/CAN Book 976.875 X2k.

1880

• Sistler, Byron and Samuel D. Sistler. 1880 Census, Cumberland County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, 1992. FHL US/CAN Book 976.875 X2s.

1890 - Lost, but substitutes are available:

• Reed, Sue S. Enumeration of Male Inhabitants of Twenty-one Years of Age and Upward, Citizens of Tennessee, January 1, 1891, as Provided for by an Act of General Assembly of Tennessee, Passed January 15, 1891, and Approved January 22, 1891. 8 vols. Houston, Texas: S.S. Reed, 1989. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2r v. 5 1891. Cumberland 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.

Male Voters

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

Church

• Hedgecoth, Carolyn Hamby Antioch Church Record Book 1850-1905 C.H. Hedgecoth, 1997 Free lookups available!

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)

General

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Cumberland, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 15,000 entries.

• Compendium of Local Biography, Cumberland, County, Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1997?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.875 D3c.

Bibliography

• Copeland - Halsell, Orpha Ancestors and descendants of Solomon Addison Copeland Oklahoma City, Oklahoma : P.C. Fletcher, 1988 FHL book 929.273 C79h. Digital version available at FamilySearch Digital Library

Land

• In 1969, the TSLA microfilmed the original Cumberland County Deed Books A to H (1854-1884) and Deed Index Books A to C (1854-1939). Copies of their films are also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Film 590305-590308.
• Cumberland County (Tennessee) Entry Taker Entry taker's book, 1856-1904 Nashville, Tennessee : Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1969. FHL US/CAN Film 1012524 Free lookups available!
• Historical Records Project (Tennessee) Journal, 1856-1860, Cumberland County, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1940. FHL US/CAN Film 24626 item 3 Free lookups available!

Local Histories

• Krechniak, Helen Bullard and Joseph Marshall Cumberland County's first hundred years Crossville, Tennessee : Cumberland County Centennial Committee, 1956. FHL US/CAN book 976.875 H2 Free lookups available!
• Parsons, Barbara B. Facts, folks and photos of Cumberland County, Tennessee Evansville, Indiana : Wipporwill Pub., c1988 FHL US/CAN book 976.875 H2 Free lookups available
• Raulston, J. Leonard and James Weston Livingood. Sequatchie: A Story of the Southern Cumberlands. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1974. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 H2r.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Tennessee (1777-1985)

Military

War of 1812

• Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1960):40-45. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. Includes Cumberland County pensioners (p. 41)

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 Cumberland 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 Cumberland County:

Confederate Soldiers

• 28th Consolidated Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Companies B and K.
• 28th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (2nd Tennessee Mountain Volunteers) - CSA - Companies A and B.

Union Soldiers

• 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - Company D.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Cumberland County:

• TNGenWeb, Cumberland County and the Civil War. Information for Union and Confederate Soldiers.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Cumberland 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. Cumberland County, page 328.
  

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 Cumberland County click on the following city:

• Crossville

• Boniol, Michael W. Genealogical and Historical Notes from Crossville, TN Newspapers, Vol. I, 1878- 1899 Crossville, Tennessee : M.W. Boniol, c1995 FHL US/CAN book 976.875/C1 B2  Free lookups available!

Occupations

• Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.
• Tennessee Post Office and Postmaster Appointments 1789-1984 Free lookups available!

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 Cumberland 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.

East Tennessee Roots

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

Overton County, Tennessee Kin

"This newsletter, although called “Overton County,” covers all the area in Overton, Fentress, and Pickett County, TN along with Monterey in Putnam County, and Clinton, Wayne and Cumberland County in Kentucky”—Vol. 7, no. 4, p. 2.
The Family History Library has vol. 1, issues 1-4; vol. 2, issues 1-4; vol. 3, issues 1-4; vol. 4, issues 1-4; vol. 5, issues 1-4; vol. 6, issue 1; vol. 7 issue 4, vol. 8, issue 2. FHL US/CAN 976.8684 B2n.
Indexed in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI).

Probate Records

Early Cumberland County Will Books were destroyed. In 1969, the TSLA microfilmed surviving Will Books 1 to 3 (1904-1969). A copy of this film is also available at the Family History Library: FHL Film 1012523.

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, 1904-1969 (3 vols.)
• Bonds, 1905-1969 (3 vols.)
• Bonds, Letters, 1905-1969 (4 vols.)
• Letters, 1905-1967 (3 vols.)
• Settlements, 1906-1969 (7 vols.)

Taxation

The original Cumberland County Tax Books 1904-1968 are kept by the Trustee's Office at the County Courthouse. TSLA microfilmed these records.

The following Cumberland County tax records have been abstracted:

• 1857 - 1858 - Unpaid Property Taxes, 1857 and 1858, Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin. Cookeville TN: Summer 1986. Vol. 11 Iss. 3.
• 1858 - Taxpayers, 1858, Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin. Cookeville TN: Winter 1986. Vol. 11 Iss. 1.
• Delinquent Railroad Taxes, Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin. Cookeville TN: Spring 1986. Vol. 11 Iss. 2.

Vital Records

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

Birth

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

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

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

Marriage

• 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 $
• 1905 - 1962 - Reed, Jan M. and Davis, Loreda W. Marriage records of Cumberland County, Tennessee: vol. 1, 1905-1962 Crossville, Tennessee: Cumberland Geneal. Research, 1991 (Crossville, Tennessee : Cumberland Business Suppliers) FHL US/CAN book 976.875 V2m Free lookups available!

Death

• 1914 - 1925 - Wiefering, Edna and Cleveland Public Library. Cumberland County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1914 through 1925. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library, 199-?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.875 V2w.

For deaths of Methodists in Cumberland County (or what later became Cumberland County) between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:

• 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 1830s, 1840s, 1910s and 1920s.

• 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

Cumberland County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries

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

Cumberland County Historical Society
Main Street
Crossville, TN 38557
Phone: 1-615 456-6532

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

Art Circle Public Library
154 East First Street
Crossville, TN 38555
Phone: 1-931-484-6790
Fax: 1-931-484-2350
Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Wed. and Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Cumberland County Tennessee 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

Crossville Tennessee Family History Center
1550 Genesis Rd
Crossville, TN
Phone: 1-931-484-2507
Hours: Tues., Sat. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

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

Cumberland County Tennessee Genealogy Websites

• Cumberland County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Cumberland County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Cumberland County TN Genealogy
• Cumberland County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• FamilySearch Catalog (FamilySearch) — The catalog is genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) This catalog is different than the indexed Historical Records.
• Mailing List: TNCUMBER-L (Cumberland County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: TN-ROOTWALKER-L (North Central Tennessee Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
• Mailing List: TN-UPPER-CUMBERLAND-L (Upper Cumberland Tennessee Region Genealogy List) (RootsWeb)
• Rootwalker: Genealogy Pages for Northern Middle TN Free Genealogy Resources for the Region

Cumberland County Tennessee Genealogy References

Family History Library