Polk County, Tennessee Genealogy

(Redirected from Polk County, Tennessee)


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


County Facts
County seat: Benton
Organized: November 28, 1839
Parent County(s): McMinn, Bradley[1]
Neighboring Counties
BradleyCherokee (NC)Fannin (GA)McMinnMonroeMurray (GA)
See County Maps
Courthouse
Polk County Tennessee courthouse.jpg
Location Map
Location of Polk County, Tennessee.PNG

County Information

Description

Polk County was named for then-governor and future president James K. Polk. The county is located in the southeastern area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Polk County Courthouse
6239 Highway 411
Benton, TN 37307
County Courthouse Phone: 423-338-4522
County Clerk Phone: 423-338-4526
County Register of Deeds Phone: 423-338-3100
County Clerk of Court Phone: 423-338-4524

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

Polk 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
1908 1894 1908 1840 1894 1873 1810
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1908 (1913 missing). General compliance by 1927.

Record Loss

1895 and 1935 Fires damaged courthouse records.[5]

  • Lost deeds: 1839 to 1893
  • Lost marriage records: 1839 to 1893
  • Lost probate records: 1839 to 1872

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
Towns
Unincorporated communities
Ghost towns
  • Alaculsy
  • Apalachia
  • Apalachia Station
  • Bonnie
  • Broad Shoals
  • Caney Creek
  • Hidgon's Store
  • McFarland
  • McHarge
  • Old Dutch Settlement
  • Probst
  • Smith Creek Village
  • Sylco


History Timeline

President James Knox Polk (1795-1849)


Additional Information
East Tennessee county.

The county is named after President James Knox Polk (1795-1849).[8]

Resources

Bible Records

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 Polk County.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Polk 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.

 

Additional Cemetery Resources

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 3,570
1850 6,338 77.5%
1860 8,726 37.7%
1870 7,369 −15.6%
1880 7,269 −1.4%
1890 8,361 15.0%
1900 11,357 35.8%
1910 14,116 24.3%
1920 14,243 0.9%
1930 15,686 10.1%
1940 15,473 −1.4%
1950 14,074 −9.0%
1960 12,160 −13.6%
1970 11,669 −4.0%
1980 13,602 16.6%
1990 13,643 0.3%
2000 16,050 17.6%
2010 16,825 4.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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

1810-1891

1840

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners

1850

1850 Agricultural Census

1860

1870

1880

  • Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Polk County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, 1991. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2s 1880. Free Lookups Available!

1891 Male Voters

1900

1910

1920

1930

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.

  • Polk County Church Records
- FamilySearch Catalog - Polk 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 - Polk 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 Polk County are:
- List of Polk County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)
- List of Polk County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)

Baptist

  • 1879-1943 Old Friendship Baptist Church Records. Polk County, 1879-1943.TSLA Reel #348 FS Catalog 840019
  • 1879-1900 Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. FS Catalog 976.8 K29s vol.1 Index to original Old Friendship Baptist Church Records. Polk County, 1879-1943.

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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

General

  • Baily - Baily Family Bible Records, ca. 1838-1958. MSS., FS Library US/CAN Film 1697633 Item 8.
  • Barnes - See Longley.
  • Cantrell - See Longley.
  • Curd
  • Hildebrand - Clemmer, Sudie, J.D. Clemmer, and George F. Mellen. Nancy Ward and the Hildebrand Family of Polk County, Tennessee: Reprinted Newspaper Clippings from the J.D. Clemmer Scrapbooks. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County News, 1962. FS Library US/CAN Film 908921 Item 7.
  • Hood - Hood, Dellmann Osborne. The Tunis Hood Family. Portland, OR: Metropolitan Press, 1960. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • Land - Land, Barbara and Gary Land. The Land's & the Staige's. 2 vols. Ukiah, Calif.: B. & G. Land, 1994. FS Library FAM HIST Book 929.273 L299L ff.
  • Langley - See Longley.
  • Longley - Matthews, Addah Longley. Genealogy, Curd-Longley, Cantrell-Barnes. North Newton, KS: Mennonite Press, 1966. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • Quintrell - Quintrell: Family Bible Records, 1830-1941. MSS., FS Library US/CAN Film 1307616 Item 61.
  • Ward - Bell, Annie W.B. Military and Genealogical Records of the Famous Indian Woman Nancy Ward. Typescript, 1961. FS Library US/CAN Film 875418 Item 2.
  • Ward - Clemmer, Sudie, J.D. Clemmer, and George F. Mellen. Nancy Ward and the Hildebrand Family of Polk County, Tennessee: Reprinted Newspaper Clippings from the J.D. Clemmer Scrapbooks. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County News, 1962. FS Library US/CAN Film 908921 Item 7.
  • Ward - Holland, Hubert G. Nancy Ward A/K/A Cherokee Rose and Beloved Woman. Typescript, FS Library US/CAN Film 1750757 Item 14.
  • Whitson - McDuffee, Ted Ransom. Duff to McDuffee on One Leaf: The Family History James H. Duff-McDuffee and Nancy Ann Whitson with Ancestors and Descendants. Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Pub., 1999. FS Library FAM HIST Book 929.273 D873m.
  • Young - Stein, Carl F. Some Descendents of James Pickens Young 1815: of Polk, Rhea, Hamilton, Blount, & Knox Counties, Tenn., Cherokee, & Gaston Counties, North Carolina. Family Group Sheets. FS Library US/CAN Film 2055385 Item 2.

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Early Polk County Deed Books are lost. In 1970, TSLA microfilmed surviving Deed Books 1 to 10 (1897 to 1911), Trust Deed Books 1 to 4 (1894-1911) and a General Index (1897-1938). FS Library copies: FS Library US/CAN Films 1012141-1012149.

Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

  • History of Polk County 1839-1999. TNGenWeb

Maps and Gazetteers

McMinn CountyMonroe CountyBradley CountyCherokee CountyMurray CountyFannin CountyTN POLK.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

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

Additional resources include:

  • A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FS Library US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FS Library US/CAN Film 2321. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Tennessee, Eastern District, Polk County on page 154.
  • 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. 8, No. 2 (Apr. 1961):49-52. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. Includes Polk County pensioners (p. 50).

Civil War

Online Records

Regiments. Men in Polk 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 Polk County:

Confederate Soldiers

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Polk County:

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

For a list of newspapers available at the archives for Polk County click on the following cities or towns:

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

Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

The original Polk County Tax Books 1893-1902 were microfilmed by TSLA in 1970. Copies of their films are also available at the FamilySearch Library: FS Library US/CAN Films 1012150-1012151.

Vital Records

Birth

Marriage

Online indexes and Records

Book Abstracts and Indexes

  • 1894-1907 - Marriage Records, Polk County, Tennessee, 1894 through 1907: Volumes 1, 2, 3. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8875 V2j. Abstracts names of brides, grooms, and officiators, along with marriage dates.
  • 1894-1907 - Polk County Marriages: Vol. 4 Sept. 1894 - Sept. 1907, v. 1 - 4. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8875 V28b. Abstracts names of brides, grooms, officiators, and bondsmen, dates of marriage, with vol. and pg numbers and "extra" information.
  • 1894-1970 - Polk County, Tennessee Marriages 1894 through 1970. FS Library US/CAN Book 976.8875 V28p. Free Lookups Available! Abstracts names of brides, grooms, officiators, with marriage dates for early marriages; more detail with recent marriages, includes vol. and pg. numbers.

Death

1908-1933 Tennessee Deaths, 1908 - 1933 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Divorce

Online Records

Online Titles

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

Research Facilities

Archives

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

Benton Public Library
126 Polk Street
Benton, TN 37307
Phone: 423-338-4536
Facebook
Website

Museums

Societies

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

Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 636
Benton, TN 37307
Phone: 423-338-4506
Email: presswood@comcast.net
Website
Facebook

Websites

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, "Polk, Tennessee" in Wikipedia accessed 03 Jan 2019
  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.
  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, "Polk County, Tennessee," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polk_County,_Tennessee, accessed 10 December 2019.
  8. "List of counties in Tennessee", Wikipedia.