Tennessee Vital Records: Difference between revisions

{{Adoption TNGenWeb}} [[United States Vital Records|Vital Records]] consist of [[United States Birth Records|births]], adoptions, [[United States Marriage Records|marriages]], divorces, and [[United States Death Records|deaths]] recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. [[Locating United States Vital Records|United States Vital Records]] has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/Tennessee.htm Tennessee Vital Records State Department of Health] or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide=TN_BMDT3_Statewide_Indexes.ASP#Step Tennessee Statewide Indexes and Collections] at the Family History Library.  

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=== Vital Records Reference Dates  ===

Tennessee's civil records start the following years:  

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| width="16.6%" align="center" | 1881  

| width="16.6%" align="center" | 1778  

| width="16.6%" align="center" | 1881

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| width="16.6%" align="center" | 1914  

| width="16.6%" align="center" | 1915  

| width="16.6%" align="center" | 1914

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| width="16.6%" align="center" | late 1920's  

| width="16.6%" align="center" | 1838*  

*Order [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/tennessee.htm Tennessee Certificates] - ($)

== Birth Records  ==

Four cities recorded births and as indicated in the chart below.  These records are available from the [http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/vital/vital.htm Tennessee State Library and Archives].  Most of these records are also available at Family History Library.  

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Most counties kept birth records beginning in 1908. During the month of July, the clerk of the Board of School Directors was required to collect and report the births and deaths that had occurred in his district during the previous year. Their reports were sent to the Secretary of the County Board of Health (County Clerk) and from there to the State Board of Health.  

'''1913'''   During 1913, the state legislature failed to pass a statute requiring the gathering of birth and death information. However, Davidson County and Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville cities all collected birth and death infomation during 1913.   

''Click on image to enlarge''  

|+ '''Information in Tennessee Birth Records'''  

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=== Delayed Birth Records  ===

In 1935, Tennessee began issuing delayed birth certificates.  An applicant for a delayed birth certificate was required to supply documents and letters supporting their claim to a delayed birth certificate.  The [http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/mailstat.htm#Births Tennesse State Library and Archives] will search delayed births for the years 1869-1909.  Delayed birth requests are accepted by mail only. Delayed births after 1910 are held by the [http://health.state.tn.us/vr/index.htm Office of Vital Records, Department of Health].  

== Marriage Records  ==

*'''[[Gretna Greens in the United States|Gretna Greens]].''' When a Tennessee couple's marriage is not in their home county, search for it in alternate places like [[Roane County, Tennessee|Fort Southwest Point TN]] for frontier couples, or [[Floyd County, Georgia|Rome GA]], or [[Surry County, North Carolina|Mount Airy NC]], or [[Pike County, Kentucky]].<ref name="Eakle1">Arlene H. Eakle, "Have you searched and searched for a marriage without finding it?" in ''Genealogy Blog'' at http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2007/02/19/have-you-searched-and-searched-for-the-marriage-without-finding-it/ (accessed 8 January 2011).</ref>

== Death Records  ==

Four cities collected death information and&nbsp;maintained these records on the city level.&nbsp; These records are available at the [http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/mailstat.htm#Deaths Tennessee State Library and Archives].&nbsp;The Family History Library collection also includes these records.&nbsp;  

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[[Image:Hatfield death cert.jpg|thumb|right]]  

'''1908 to 1912'''  

You may also want to search {{RecordSearch|1681020|Tennessee Death Records Index 1874-1955}}, which &nbsp;includes abstracted information from death certificates. This is a&nbsp;pilot program which does not allow searches for variant name spellings at this time.&nbsp;&nbsp;Browsing&nbsp;all results for a&nbsp;surname&nbsp;within a specific county often yields&nbsp;the best&nbsp;results. Always search for variant name spellings if you do not find your&nbsp;expected record.&nbsp; Both death indexes at RecordSearch should be consulted when searching for a death record.&nbsp; Some information is shared between the indexes, but not all information is exactly the same.  

|+ '''Information in&nbsp;Tennessee&nbsp;Death Records'''  

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*Meier, Oveda. ''Tennessee Ancestors: The Brave and the Dead, Probate and Death Records of Early Middle Tennessee, 1780–1805''. Salt Lake City, Utah: O. Meier, 1990. (Family History Library {{FHL|594741|titleno}} Book 976.8 P2m; Film 1697372.) This source contains abstracts of probate, Bible, and court records, county histories, and military death records for Davidson and Sumner counties. It includes a surname index.

== Divorce Records  ==

== Adoption Records  ==

For more information call the office of Post Adoption Services at 615-532-5637.  

== Additional Helps  ==

*[[Tennessee History|History]]: &nbsp;Local histories, family&nbsp;histories&nbsp;and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the Family History Library catalog.

=== More Online Tennessee Vital Records Links  ===

<references />{{Tennessee|Tennessee}}  

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[[Category:Tennessee|Vital]] [[Category:Record_Types_of_the_United_States]] [[Category:United_States_Vital_Records]]