Tennessee Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary greatly, depending upon the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation such as age; dates of birth, christening, baptism, or death; and marriage information, such as the bride’s maiden name and the names of both sets of parents. Records may include other relatives who were witnesses or members of the congregation. The members of some churches were predominantly of one nationality or ethnic group.

Before 1900 the largest religious groups in Tennessee were the Baptist, Christian (Disciples of Christ), Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. The Family History Library has copies of some original church records, as well as published transcripts and histories. An overview of the role of religion in Tennessee is in:

Norton, Herman A. Religion in Tennessee, 1777–1945. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press, 1981. (FHL book 976.8 K2n.)

The Tennessee State Library and Archives has pre-1900 records from 100 churches. An index to these records is:

Sistler, Byron. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville, Tennessee: Sistler, 1979. (FHL book 976.8 K29s; fiche 6088427 [Volume 1, 4] and 6088428 [Volume 2, 3].) The record is arranged alphabetically by surname. Entries may contain birth, marriage, death, and burial dates. The number following each entry refers to a microfilm number listed on the inside cover of the book.

Some denominations have collected their records in central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located.

Baptist

Baptist minutes, membership lists, and other records were kept by the clerk of each congregation. Many clerks considered their papers their personal property and upon their deaths their papers often became the property of their descendants. As a result, many early Baptist records were lost or remain unaccounted for. A few clerks passed their records to their successors and the records remained with the church. Some Baptist records have been donated to public libraries or historical and genealogical societies.

The Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives is the repository for many Southern Baptist congregations in the South. To request a search of these records, you must have the name and location of the church. The address of the historical library and archive is:

Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives
The Southern Baptist Convention Building
901 Commerce Street #400
Nashville, TN 37203
Telephone: 615-244-0344
Internet: www.sbhla.org

The following contain brief descriptions of Baptist churches in Tennessee at the end of the 1930s and describe the records that were available then:

Inventory of the Church Archives of Tennessee: Tennessee Baptist Convention, Nashville Baptist Association. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Historical Records Survey Project, 1939. (FHL book 976.8 K2hb; film 874326 item 3; fiche 6046958 [set of 2].)

Inventory of the Church Archives of Tennessee: Tennessee Baptist Convention, Ocoee Baptist Association. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Historical Records Survey Project, 1942. (FHL book 976.8 K2hba; film 874326 item 2; fiche 6046991 [set of 4].)

Disciples of Christ

Disciples of Christ Historical Society
1101 Nineteenth Avenue, South
Nashville, TN 37212-2196
Telephone: 866-834-7563 toll free
Fax: 615-327-1445
Internet: http://www.discipleshistory.org/

Jewish

Jewish Federation of Nashville Middle Tennessee Library and Archives
801 Percy Warner Boulevard
Nashville, TN 37205
Telephone: 615-356-3242 x255
Fax: 615-352-0056
Internet: http://www.jewishnashville.org/

A description of Jewish organizations and an inventory of their records as of 1941 is:

Inventory of the Church Archives of Tennessee: Jewish Congregations. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. (FHL
book 976.8 K2hj; film 874326 item 5.)

Lutheran

The repository for Lutheran Church records in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean synods is at:

James R. Crumley, Jr. Archives
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary
4201 North Main Street
Columbia, SC 29203
Telephone: 803-786-5150 x234
E-mail: archives@ltss.edu
Internet: http://www.ltss.edu/

A collection of vital statistics of east Tennessee Lutheran Churches is:

Daughters of the American Revolution, General James Breckinridge Chapter (Roanoke, Virginia). Marriages, Births and Deaths from Virginia and East Tennessee Lutheran Church in America Records. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971. (FHL film 858645 item 2.)

Methodist

Tennessee is served by three Methodist conferences that oversee the missions and business of the church. The conferences have collected records from churches that have closed. Records of existing congregations are generally still in the churches.

The Holston Conference oversees the eastern third of the state, the Tennessee Conference oversees the middle third, and the Memphis Conference oversees the western third.

Holston Conference
Kelly Library
Emory and Henry College
Emory VA 24327
Telephone: 540-944-6874
Fax: 540-944-4592
E-mail: ragarrett@ehc.edu
Internet: http://holstonconference.com/#SlideFrame_1

Tennessee Conference
520 Commerce Street, Suite 205
Nashville, TN 37203-3714
Telephone: 615-952-2481
E-mail: vunruh@bellsouth.net
Internet: http://www.tnumc.org/

Memphis Conference United Methodist Archives
Luther L. Gobbel Library
Lambuth University
705 Lambuth Boulevard
Jackson, TN 38301
Telephone: 901-425-3290
Internet: http://www.lambuth.edu/academics/library/MemphisConferenceArchives.html

Presbyterian

The records of the Presbyterian Churches are kept in the individual congregations. When a congregation wants to have records archived or when a church closes, records are sent to one of the following repositories:

Presbyterian Historical Society
425 Lombard Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516
Telephone: 215-627-1852
Internet: http://www.history.pcusa.org/

Presbyterian Historical Society
318 Georgia Terrace
Montreat, NC 38757
Internet: http://www.history.pcusa.org/

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 849
Montreat, NC 38757
Telephone: 828-669-7061
Fax: 828-669-5369

Records for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church are sent to:

The Historical Foundation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
The Historical Library and Archives
1978 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
Telephone: 901-276-8602
Fax: 901-272-3913
E-mail: skg@cumberland.org
Internet: www.cumberland.org

These archives collect papers of ministers; and session, trustee, and women’s missionary society records. These records may contain baptisms, marriages, and communions of members. The staff at the archives does not do research; however, you can do research in person for a small fee.

The Presbyterian Church in Tennessee is coordinated by the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. The library of the seminary does not collect records of any congregation, but it does have ministerial directories with information on many ministers. The staff of the library can direct you to congregations in the state where records are. Direct your inquiries to:

Louisville Presbyterian Seminary
1044 Alta Vista Road
Louisville, KY 40205-1798
Telephone: 502-895-3411
Fax: 502-895-1096
Internet: http://www.lpts.edu/

For a history of early Tennessee Presbyterians, see:

McDonnold, Benjamin Wilburn. History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Second Edition, Nashville, Tennessee: Board of Publication of Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1888. (FHL book 976 K2m; film 369750.)

A collection of genealogical abstracts of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee is:

Eddlemon, Sherida K. Genealogical Abstracts of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church: 1836 and Beyond. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage, 1995. (FHL book 976 K2es.)

Roman Catholic

Records of existing Catholic parishes are generally kept in the individual churches, though copies of sacramental records are sent to the appropriate diocese. Sacramental records include baptisms and confirmations. They may contain names of godparents or information about marriages or burials.

The diocesan archives also have some school records. Requests for genealogical searches must be submitted in writing. To receive death information, you must include proof of your relationship to the deceased. The state of Tennessee is served by three Catholic dioceses. The Diocese of Knoxville serves the eastern third of the state, the Diocese of Nashville serves the central third, and the Diocese of Memphis serves the western third.

Diocese of Knoxville
P.O. Box 11127
Knoxville, TN 37939
Telephone: 423-584-3307
Internet: http://www.dioceseofknoxville.org/

Diocese of Nashville
The Catholic Center
2400 Twenty-first Avenue
South Nashville, TN 37212-5387
Telephone: 615-383-6393
Fax: 615-292-8411
E-mail: NASHDIO@aol.com
Internet: http://www.dioceseofnashville.com/

Diocese of Memphis
The Catholic Center
5825 Shelby Oaks Drive
Memphis, TN 38134-7389
Telephone: 901-373-1200
Fax: 901-373-1269
E-mail: MHEIGHT@cdom.org
Internet: www.cdom.org

The dioceses of Tennessee are part of region five, with the archdiocese at:

Archdiocese of Louisville
212 East College Street
Louisville, KY 40203
Telephone: 502-585-3291
Internet: www.archlou.org
E-mail: comm@archlou.org

For more information on church records, see the United States Research Outline. The Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog lists more sources under:

TENNESSEE - CHURCH HISTORY

TENNESSEE, [COUNTY] - CHURCH HISTORY

TENNESSEE - CHURCH RECORDS

TENNESSEE, [COUNTY] - CHURCH RECORDS

TENNESSEE, [COUNTY], [TOWN ] - CHURCH RECORDS

Web Sites

http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/

http://www.tennesseegenealogy.org/church.htm

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)