Bledsoe County, Tennessee Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Pikeville
Organized: November 30, 1807
Parent County(s): Roane[1]
Neighboring Counties
CumberlandHamiltonRheaSequatchieVan Buren
See County Maps
Courthouse
Bledsoe County Tennessee courthouse.jpg
Location Map
Location Of Bledsoe County, Tennessee.PNG

County Information

Description

Bledsoe County was named for Anthony Bledsoe (1739-1788), a soldier in the Revolutionary War and an early settler of Sumner County. The county is located in the southeastern area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Bledsoe County Courthouse
3150 Main St Ste 100
Pikeville, TN 37367
Bledsoe County Courthouse Phone: 423-447-2451
County Clerk Phone: 423-447-2137
Register of Deeds Phone: 423-447-2020

County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1908.
Register of Deeds has land records.[3]

Bledsoe County, Tennessee Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1909 1908 1909 1836 1808 1908 1810
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1908 (1913 missing). General compliance by 1927.

Record Loss

1882, 1895, and 1908 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.[5]

  • Deeds and court records escaped the fires
  • The earliest deed books are lost
  • Pre-1884 wills are lost
  • Marriages recorded between 1807 and 1907 are lost

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

Boundary Changes

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:[7]

Cities
Unincorporated communities


Neighboring Counties

History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

  • Family Bibles contain birth, marriage, and death information:
  • Douthat, James L. Sequatchie Valley Bible Records. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1985. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 A1 no. 103.


Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

  • East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. 2000. By Alan N. Miller. Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company. FS Library US/CAN 976.8 U2m. Online at MyHeritage ($). Includes Bledsoe County.
  • Tennessee Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Bledsoe County, Tennessee online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Tennessee Cemeteries for more information.


Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1820 4,005
1830 4,648 16.1%
1840 5,676 22.1%
1850 5,959 5.0%
1860 4,459 −25.2%
1870 4,870 9.2%
1880 5,617 15.3%
1890 6,134 9.2%
1900 6,626 8.0%
1910 6,329 −4.5%
1920 7,218 14.0%
1930 7,128 −1.2%
1940 8,358 17.3%
1950 8,561 2.4%
1960 7,811 −8.8%
1970 7,643 −2.2%
1980 9,478 24.0%
1990 9,669 2.0%
2000 12,367 27.9%
2010 12,876 4.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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

Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 - Ancestry ($)

Voters

Lost

1810 Lost, but a substitute is available:

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

1820 Lost[8]

Census and Census Substitutes Index

1810-1891 Tennessee, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1891 at Ancestry ($)

1820 Manufactures

The original manufactures schedules for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee are kept at the NARA, Washington, D.C. FS Library copies: FS Library US/CAN Films 1024517-1024518.

The following book is a useful aid for finding the original records.

1830

1840

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners

1850

  • Hutcherson, Willis. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1850 for Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Knoxville, Tenn.: Clinchdale Press, 1963. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.876 X2h 1850.
  • Ries, Nancy. "Bledsoe County, TN-1850 U.S. Census," (9 parts) available online through USGenWeb Archives.

1860

1870

The 1870 population schedules of Bledsoe County have been abstracted and/or indexed multiple times:

1880

1910

1920

Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Church records include baptisms, marriages and burials, as well as information about family members and clues about family migration.For additional information about church records, religions, and religious archives in Tennessee, see Tennessee Church Records.

  • Bledsoe County Church Records
- FamilySearch Catalog - Bledsoe County Church Records
  • Church histories tell when a church started in the area, who the early members were, give data about church leaders, etc.
- FamilySearch Catalog - Bledsoe County Church History
  • If the records you need are not through the FamilySearch Library, contact the church(es) in the area where your ancestor lived.Two sites that give information about churches in Bledsoe County are:
- List of Bledsoe County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)
- List of Bledsoe County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)
  • In 1936, a helpful guide to early Bledsoe County church records was published by the Works Project Administration. [9]Use this guide to locate which church records exist and where they were housed in 1936. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has filmed some of these records. To locate which records are available at the TSLA, go to the appropriate "county fact sheet" on the TSLA Web site and scroll down to "selected manuscript material". All filmed church records at the TSLA for Bledsoe county are listed.

Methodist

Court Records

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. Online searchable index at TSLA.

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding 2 British aliens living in Bledsoe County. Ancestry $ [10]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

More than 15 genealogies have been published about Bledsoe County, Tennessee families. For more information visit Bledsoe County, Tennessee Compiled Genealogies.

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Sequatchie Valley

The original Bledsoe Deed Books are held at the Bledsoe. In 1969, the TSLA microfilmed Deed Books A to R (1808 to 1885) and indexes. Copies of their microfilms are also available at the FamilySearch Library: FS Library US/CAN Films 593009-593015. Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

  • Bledsoe County Historical and Genealogical Society. Bledsoe County, Tennessee: A Pictorial History. Humboldt, Tenn.: Rose Pub., 1998. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.876 H2b.
  • Raulston, J. Leonard and James Weston Livingood. Sequatchie: A Story of the Southern Cumberlands. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1974. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.87 H2r.

Maps and Gazetteers

Cumberland CountyRhea CountyHamilton CountySequatchie CountyVan Buren CountyTN BLEDSOE.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

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

Additional resources include:

War of 1812

  • Embry, Hermione D. "War of 1812 - Tennessee Pensioners on List - January 2, 1883," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan. 1960):13-16. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 7 (1960); digital version at journal website. Includes Bledsoe County pensioners (p. 14).
  • Regiments of TN Militia, 1808-15, Searcher, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Mar. 1990).

Civil War

Regiments. Men in Bledsoe County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (part of a large regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Bledsoe County:

Confederate Soldiers

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Bledsoe County:

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

For a list of newspapers available at the archives for Bledsoe County click on the following city:

The following publications, based on early newspapers, may serve as a substitute:

For deaths of Methodists in Bledsoe County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:

Obituaries

Other Records

Prisons

Periodicals

Genealogical periodicals can contain unique sources and can be local, regional, or statewide. The following periodicals cover this county:

Probate Records

Most of the original Bledsoe County Will Books were destroyed. Those that survived are held at the Bledsoe. In 1969, the TSLA microfilmed extant wills and inventories covering the years 1884 to 1931. A copy of their microfilm is also available at the FamilySearch Library: FS Library US/CAN Film 593008.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

TSLA microfilmed Bledsoe County Tax Books 1888-1889 (TSLA Roll 104).

Book Abstracts and Indexes

  • 1815 Curtis, Mary Barnett. Early East Tennessee Tax Lists. Fort Worth, Texas: Arrow Printing Company, 1964. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 R4c. [Includes two 1815 petitions.]
  • 1815 Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Index to Early Tennessee Tax Lists. Evanston, Ill.: B. and B. Sistler, 1977. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 R4s. [Includes 1815 tax list.]
  • 1815 Robnett, Elizabeth Parham. "Bledsoe County, TN 1815 Tax List Alphabetically Arranged," 1989. Available online at USGenWeb Archives.
  • 1836 Douthat, James L. Bledsoe County, Tennessee 1836 Tennessee Civil Districts and Tax Lists. Spring Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.876 R4d 1836; online: surname index and publication details.
  • 1862 Tarriff of Fees, 1862, Tennessee Genealogy and History. Signal Mountain TN: Apr 1999. Vol. 3 Iss. 1.

Vital Records

Birth

Online Records

Marriage

Bledsoe County's early marriage records were lost in courthouse fires.

Online Indexes and Records

Death

Online Records

Divorce

Online Records

Online Titles

  • W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FamilySearch Digital Library.

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Bledsoe County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Tennessee Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Bledsoe County. For state-wide library facilities, see Tennessee Archives and Libraries.

Bledsoe County Public Library
478 Cumberland Ave/
P.O. Box 465
Pikeville, TN 37367
Phone: 423-447-2817
Website
Facebook
Genealogical resources include family histories, the Cherokee and Melungeon books and files, the Soldiers’ Pension Lists of 1792-1795, 1812, 1820 and 1890 as well as research materials for the Sequatchie Valley and adjoining counties.

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Bledsoe County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Tennessee Societies.

Bledsoe County Historical and Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 465
Pikeville, TN 37367
Phone: 423-447-2817
Website

Websites

Research Guides

Research Guides

References

  1. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Tennessee.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. Wikipedia contributors, "Bledsoe County, Tennessee" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bledsoe_County,_Tennessee, accessed 11 Dec 2018
  3. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Tennessee.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Tennessee.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  5. Lost Records: Courthouse Fires and Disasters in Tennessee in Tennessee State Library and Archives in Tennessee Secretary of State (accessed 13 March 2016).
  6. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Tennessee.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  7. Wikipedia contributors, "Bledsoe County, Tennessee," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bledsoe_County,_Tennessee, accessed 7 November 2019.
  8. Mary Barnett Curtis, Early East Tennessee Tax Lists: a compiled list of residents of the area covered in 22 east Tennessee counties for which there is (sic) no census records prior to 1830 (Fort Worth, Texas: Arrow Printing, 1964) [FS Catalog 976.8 R4c].
  9. WPA. Guide to Church Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville: Tennessee State Planning Commission, 1942. FS Catalog 976.8 K23w
  10. Kenneth Scott. British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979, 372-378 (see East Tennessee). FS Library US/CAN 973 W4s; digital version at Ancestry ($).