Difference between revisions of "Putnam County, Tennessee Genealogy"

From FamilySearch Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Text replace - "usgwarchives.org" to "usgwarchives.net")
(map)
Line 185: Line 185:
  
 
== Resources  ==
 
== Resources  ==
 
+
[[Image:Tnputnam.png|thumb|right|400px]]
 
==== Getting Started  ====
 
==== Getting Started  ====
  

Revision as of 17:44, 11 February 2013

United States Tennessee Putnam County


Putnam County, Tennessee genealogy and family history research page. Guide to Putnam County (established 1842) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Tennessee
Online Records


Putnam County, Tennessee
Map

Location in the state of Tennessee

Location of Tennessee in the U.S.
Facts
Founded: February 2, 1842
County Seat Cookeville
Courthouse
Adopt-a-wiki page
This page adopted by:
TNGenWeb Project
who welcome you to contribute.
Adopt a page today


Quick Dates

Putnam County's civil records start the following years:[1]

Birth Marriage Death Census Land Probate
1908 1879  1909  1850  1854  1876 

County Courthouse

Putnam County Courthouse
 421 E Spring Street
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: 931.526.6321
 
County Clerk has birth and death 1925-1940, incomplete
birth and death records 1908-1912, marriage records
from 1879 and probate records from 1876.
Clerk Chancery Court has divorce and court records from 1900.
Register of Deeds has land records from 1854.
Clerk Circuit Court court records from 1900.
County Historian; Rt. 2, Box 408; Cookeville,
TN has miscellaneous court records. [2]

Putnam County Courthouse, Cookeville, Tenn. Courtesy: Collection: County Court Houses, Flickr by Jimmy Emerson. Used by permission.

 

Putnam County Clerk
Marriage and probate records
Birth and death 1925-1940
Incomplete birth and death 1908-1912
P.O. Box 220
Cookeville, TN 38503
Phone: 1-931-372-8201

Putnam County Register of Deeds
Land records
P.O. Box 487
Cookeville, TN 38503
Phone: 1-931-526-7101

Putnam County Circuit Court Clerk
Court records
421 E. Spring Street, Room 1C, Suite 49A
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: 1-931-528-1508

Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

History

Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam (1718-1790)

Middle Tennessee county.

The county is named after Revolutionary War Major General Israel Putnam (1718-1790).[3]

Parent County

1842--Putnam County was established 2 February 1842 from White, Overton, Jackson, Smith and DeKalb Counties. Early records may be found under White, Overton, Jackson, Smith and DeKalb Counties.
County seat: Cookeville [4]

County Pronunciation

  1. Hear it spoken[5] (female)

Boundary Changes

"Rotating Formation Tennessee County Boundary Maps" (1777-1985) may be viewed for free at the My Tennessee Genealogy website. They rely on AniMap 3.0 software.

Record Loss

1898--Fire damaged records

  • Lost census: 1890
  • Lost marriage records: 1842 to 1878
  • Lost probate records: 1842 to 1875
For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Algood Ditty Mill Creek Sadler
Avoton (hist.) Double Springs Monterey Sand Springs
Bangham Ensor Nash Selby (hist.)
Baxter Gentry Parragon Shady Grove
Bilbrey Goffton Peekville (hist.) Silver Point
Bloomington Springs Hickey Pinhook Thomas
Boma Holladay Poplar Grove Twin Oak
Brotherton Hudsonburg (hist.) Post Oak
Buffalo Valley Jeremiah Roberts
Cookeville Marchbanks (hist.) Rocky Point

Neighboring Counties

Resources

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Putnam County family Bible, cemetery, court, marriage, private papers, probate, and tax 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

African American

United States African Americans Tennessee African Americans

Cemeteries

Tennessee cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


  • Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried.  Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone.  May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.
  • Putnam Co. TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.
  • Charles A. Reeves Jr. has created a detailed map showing the locations of Putnam County cemeteries. It may be purchased for a small fee through his website.
  • TNGenes.net has 180+ cemeteries photographed.

Census

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

1860

  • McComb, Joyce B. The First Putnam County, Tennessee, United States Census, 1860. Lexington, South Carolina : J.B. McComb, 1989. FHL 976.867 X2m 1860

1870

  • McGee, Norman T. 1870 United States Census of Putnam County, Tennessee. Arrington, Tennessee : Lilac Hill Pub., 1989. FHL 976.867 X2m 1870

1880

  • McGee, Norman T. 1880 United States Census of Putnam County, Tennessee. Arrington, Tennessee : Lilac Hill Pub., 1989. FHL 976.867 X2m 1880
  • Sistler, Byron H. and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Putnam County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: B. Sistler and Associates, 1991. FHL 976.867 X2s 1880


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. [Putnam 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.

1900

  • Clark, Fred L. The United States Twelfth Census of Putnam County, Tennessee, 1900. Quebeck, Tennessee : F.L. Clark, 1994. FHL 976.867 X28v 1900

1910

  • Wilkerson, Azilee, Fred L. Clark, ed. The United States thirteenth Census of Putnam County, Tennessee, 1910. Quebeck, Tennessee : F.L. Clark, 1992. FHL 976.867 X2w 1910

Church

Court

Family Histories

It is anticipated that 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]

The Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. has uploaded a free "Index to the Charles Leonard Collection" on their website. It contains "a name index to family research files at the Putnam County Library in Cookeville TN."

General

As of August 2010, a query for born in Putnam, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 30,000 entries.

Bibliography

Land

Local Histories

Maps

Military

Revolutionary War

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

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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes Putnam County pensioners (p. 50).]

Civil War

Civil War service men from Putnam 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 Putnam County.

Confederate Soldiers

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Putnam County:

Newspapers

  • Extracts taken from the Putnam County Herald [19--?] FHL book 976.867 B38. Digital version available at FamilySearch Books Online
  • Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at 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 Putnam County click on the following city or town:

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 Putnam County, Tennessee records 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.
The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History
Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Putnam County, Tennessee have been published in The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, the quarterly of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society (23+ Vols.). To view a list of these articles, visit their online Index to Articles (1988-2005). Surname indexes are also available online for Vols. 2-22. The website also offers back issues for sale in paper and on CD. The Family History Library has a complete collection of this quarterly FHL US/CAN Book 976.85 D25m.
Overton County Historical Society Newsletter
"This newsletter, although called 'Overton County,' covers all the area in Overton, Fentress, and Pickett County, Tennessee along with Monterey in Putnam County" - Vol. 7, no. 4 p. 2
Family History Library has volume 1 - 8 FHL US/CAN 976.8684 B2n.
Indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)
For further information see Overton County Historical Society website: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tnoverto/OCHS/index.htm
The Upper Cumberland Researcher
Genealogical articles with abstracts of records of Putnam County, Tennessee have been published in The Upper Cumberland Researcher, the journal of the Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc. To view a list of the first 17 years of these articles, visit their online Seventeen Year Index to The Upper Cumberland Researcher (Vols. 1-17, 1975-1992). The Index contains a "Counties" section beginning on page 19. The Family History Library has most issues through the present FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2u (1975-1993) and FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2u (1994-present).

Prisons

Learn if your Putnam County ancestors went to prison!

Probate

The Putnam County Court has responsibility for the probate records.

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, 1876-1933
  • Inventories, 1899-1909
  • Settlements, 1878-1918
  • Bonds, Letters, 1874-1907

The following Putnam County probate records have been abstracted, indexed, or both:

  • Works Progress Administration. Putnam County, Tennessee, Miscellaneous Records. Nashville, Tennessee: Byron Sistler & Assoc., 1936. This indexed book includes diaries, letters, wills, indentures, and other misellaneous records from private collections. (FHL book 976.867 P2p.)

Taxation

The following Putnam County tax records have been abstracted:[6]

  • [1854-1855] "Putnam County, Tennessee - Tax Book Index 1854-1855," The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 1, No. 3 ():10-. For access, see Periodicals.
  • [1854-1855] W.P.A. Putnam County, Tennessee Tax List 1854-1855. 2005 reprint, Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press. Free online surname index; purchase details.
  • [1855] Paessler, Jane Park. "Putnam County, Tennessee 1855 Tax List," Ansearchin' News, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Spring 1995):7-12; Vol. 42, No. 2 (Summer 1995):61-63. For possible FHL and online access, as well as indexes, see Periodicals.
  • [1858] Tax List, 1858, The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter 1999). For access, see Periodicals.
  • [1860s] "Putnam County, Tennessee - Civil War Tax List," The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 3, No. 3 ():3-. For access, see Periodicals.
  • [1870-1872] Civil District No. 16, 1870-72,  The Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Fall 1992).
  • [1883] Freeman, Mitzi P. "Putnam County, TN - Tax Records - 1883," [6 Districts] available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
  • [1913] Road Taxpayers List, 1913, The Upper Cumberland Researcher, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Winter 1998). For access, see Periodicals.
  • Delinquent Railroad Taxes, The Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association Bulletin, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Spring 1986). For access, see Periodicals.

Vital Records

See Tennessee Vital Records

Marriage

The original Putnam County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. Due to fire, the marriage records of Putnam County are lost until 1879.

The following Putnam County marriage records are microfilmed:

  • [1879-1995] Available at the TSLA.
  • [1878-1952] Available at the Family History Library. Includes index through 1985.FHL 1928809

The following Putnam County marriage records are abstracted and/or indexed:

Putnam County is not included in Sistler's Early Middle Tennessee Marriages.

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Putnam County divorce papers in diverse County Courthouse records, see:

  • W.P.A. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey, 1941. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A3gp.
Death
  • Tennessee Deaths and Burials 1874-1955 at Record Search Pilot at FamilySearch. Name index with extracted death certificate information.  Search by surname then browse through the results. You may need to supply variant spellings of the names.

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

Libraries

Putnam County Library
50 East Broad St.
Cookeville, TN 38501
Phone: 1-931-526-2416
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The "Tennessee Room houses many items of interest to those doing research in genealogy."

Societies

Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association, Inc.
P. O. Box 575
Cookeville, TN 38503-0575
Blog

Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society
PO Box 330948
Nashville, TN, USA 37203-7507
The society serves the 40 counties of middle Tennessee of which Putnam County is one. It publishes The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, a quarterly containing articles of genealogical and historical interest. Little-known Tennessee records are published and indexed, along with family genealogies, Bible records and material submitted by members. There is an alphabetical Index to articles in the Journal 1988-summer 2005

Family History Centers

981 S Walnut
Cookeville, TN
Phone: 1-931-526-3116

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

Web Sites

Wikipedia has more about this subject: Putnam County, Tennessee

References

  1. Guide to Public Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Historical Records Survey (W.P.A.), 1941; "Earliest County Records," Tennessee State Library and Archives.
  2. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Putnam County, Tennessee page 643, At various libr40ries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  3. "List of counties in Tennessee," Wikipedia.
  4. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 643. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.
  5. Voice of Lynnae Weller, Kingsport, Tenn. (2010).
  6. The Heritage Quest Online version of PERSI aided in the compilation of this list.
{"cc_re__cc_re__cc_by_sa_4_0": ["nty,_Tennessee_Genealogy&amp;action=info\" title=\"More information about this page\">Page information</a></li><li id=\"t-cite\"><a href=\"/wiki/en/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&amp;page=Putnam_County%2C_Tennessee_Genealogy&amp;id=1241719\" title=\"Information on how to cite this page\">Cite this page</a></li>\t\t\t\t\t</ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t</div>\n\t\t\t\t</div>\n\t\t</div>\n\t\t<div id=\"footer\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"footer-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-info-copyright\">Content is available under <a class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike</a> unless otherwise noted.</li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"footer-places\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-places-privacy\"><a href=\"/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Wiki:Privacy_policy\" title=\"FamilySearch Wiki:Privacy policy\">Privacy policy</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-places-about\"><a href=\"/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Wiki:About\" title=\"FamilySearch Wiki:About\">About FamilySearch Wiki</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-places-disclaimer\"><a href=\"/wiki/en/FamilySear", "policy\" title=\"FamilySearch Wiki:Privacy policy\">Privacy policy</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-places-about\"><a href=\"/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Wiki:About\" title=\"FamilySearch Wiki:About\">About FamilySearch Wiki</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-places-disclaimer\"><a href=\"/wiki/en/FamilySearch_Wiki:General_disclaimer\" title=\"FamilySearch Wiki:General disclaimer\">Disclaimers</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"footer-icons\" class=\"noprint\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li id=\"footer-copyrightico\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/\"><img src=\"/wiki/en/resources/assets/licenses/cc-by-sa.png\" alt=\"Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike\" width=\"88\" height=\"31\"/></a>\t\t\t\t\t\t</li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t</ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"clear:both\"></div>\n\t\t</div>\n\t\t<script>(window.RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.state({\"user\":\"ready\",\"user.groups\":\"ready\"});mw.loader.load([\"ext.cite.a11y\",\"mediawiki.toc\",\"site\",\"mediawiki.user\",\"mediawiki.hidpi\",\"mediawiki.page.ready\",\"mediawiki.searchSuggest\",\"ext.visualEditor.targetLoader\"]);});</scrip"], "copyright__copyright__copyright": ["", "0th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Putnam County, Tennessee page 643, At various libr40ries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.\n  3. \"List of counties in Tennessee,\" Wikipedia.\n  4. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 643. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.\n  5. Voice of Lynnae Weller, Kingsport, Tenn. (2010).\n  6. The Heritage Quest Online version of PERSI aided in the compilation of this list.", "0th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Putnam County, Tennessee page 643, At various libr40ries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.\n  3. \"List of counties in Tennessee,\" Wikipedia.\n  4. The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 643. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.\n  5. Voice of Lynnae Weller, Kingsport, Tenn. (2010).\n  6. The Heritage Quest Online version of PERSI aided in the compilation of this list."]}