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Bledsoe County
Bledsoe County, Tennessee genealogy and family history research page. Guide to Bledsoe County (established 1807) 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.
| Bledsoe County, Tennessee | |||||||
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| Founded: | November 6, 1801 | ||||||
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| County Seat | Pikeville | ||||||
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Bledsoe County Tennessee Quick Dates
Bledsoe County's civil records start the following years:[1]
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1908 | 1908 | 1908 | 1830 | 1808 | 1883 |
Bledsoe County Tennessee Courthouse
Bledsoe County Courthouse
PO Box 149
116 Main St
Pikeville, TN 37367-0212
Phone: 423-447-2137
Courthouse burned in 1908.
County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1908.
Register of Deeds has land records.[2]
116 Main St.
Pikeville, TN 37367
Phone: 1-423-447-6855
Bledsoe County Clerk
P.O. Box 212
116 Main St.
Pikeville, TN 37367
Phone: 1-423-447-2137
Marriage and probate records from 1908
Bledsoe County Register of Deeds
P.O. Box 385
116 Main St.
Pikeville, TN 37367
Phone: 1-423-447-2020
Land records
Hours:
Mon.-Fri.: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.(Closed Thurs.)
Sat.: 8 a.m. - noon
Bledsoe County Tennessee History
The county is named after early Sumner County, Tennessee settler and Revolutionary War veteran Anthony Bledsoe.[3]
Parent County
1807--Bledsoe County was created 30 November 1807 from Roane County.
County seat: Pikeville [4]
County Pronunciation
- Hear it spoken[5] (female)
- Hear it spoken[6] (another 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
1882, 1895, December 1909 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.
- 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
- Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
- Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle
- When the Records are Gone in Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Genealogy Blog
Bledsoe County Tennessee Places / Localities
Populated Places
For a list of locations in this county and information about each location online, through some helpful websites, please click on Populated Places Table for Bledsoe County
Neighboring Counties
Bledsoe County Tennessee Genealogy Resources
Getting Started
Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Bledsoe County Bible, biography, census, church, court, genealogy, and military 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
- Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Bledsoe County at TSLA. (Identifies published county histories, published local records, census records, newspapers and local records on microfilm, and select manuscripts.)
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.
The Tennessee Cemeteries page provides explanations of the following Bledsoe County online resources:
| Bibliographies | Online Gravestone Transcriptions | Cemetery Gazetteers |
| FHLC | Find A Grave | national search | county index | ePodunk |
| WorldCat | TNGenWeb Cemetery Database | |
| USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project | ||
| Interment |
Census
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1810 | 3,259 | — |
| 1820 | 4,005 | 22.9% |
| 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% |
| Source: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. | ||
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®]
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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2s 1810.
1820 - Lost[7]
1820 Manufactures
The original manufactures schedules for the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee are kept at the NARA, Washington, D.C. FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 1024517-1024518.
The following book is a useful aid for finding the original records.
- National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2m 1820.
1830
- Douthat, James L. 1830 Sequatchie Valley Census: Marion - Bledsoe Counties. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 X2d 1830.
- Sistler, Byron H. 1830 Census, East Tennessee. Evanston, Ill.: n.p., 1969. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2p 1830.
1840
- Douthat, James L. 1840 Sequatchie Valley Census: Bledsoe - Marion Counties. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: J.L. Douthat, 1982. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 X2d 1840.
1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners
- A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Eastern District, Bledsoe County on page 152.]
1850
- Hutcherson, Willis. Population Schedule of the United States Census of 1850 for Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Knoxville, Tenn.: Clinchdale Press, 1963. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 X2h 1850.
- Ries, Nancy. "Bledsoe County, TN - 1850 U.S. Census," [9 parts] available online through USGenWeb Archives.
1860
- Hobbs, Norma Dennis and Sara Agee Goins. United States Census Bledsoe County, Tennessee, 1860. Dunlap, Tenn.: N. Hobbs and S. Goins, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 X2h 1860.
1870
The 1870 population schedules of Bledsoe County have been abstracted and/or indexed multiple times:
- Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Jean Dennis Hobbs. 1870 Census, Bledsoe County, Tennessee. [Dunlap, Tenn.]: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 X2g 1870.
- Kirkeminde, Patricia Barclay. 1870 Census of Bledsoe County, Tennessee. Crossville, Tenn.: P.B. Kirkeminde, 1980. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 X2c 1870; FHL US/CAN Fiche 6048710.
1880
- Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census - Tennessee: Transcription for Bledsoe County. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 198-?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 X2s 1880.
1910
- Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Dennis Hobbs. Bledsoe County, Tennessee, 1910 Census. 198-?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 X2g 1910.
1920
- Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Dennis Hobbs. United States Census, Bledsoe County, Tennessee, 1920. Dunlap, Tenn.: Goins and Hobbs Geneal. Service, 1994. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 X2g 1920.
Church
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
- - Family History Library 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.
- - Family History Library Catalog - Bledsoe County Church History
- If the records you need are not through the Family History 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. [8]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
- Stephens, Miriam R. Methodism in Bledsoe County, 1833-1976. 1976. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 K2m.
Court
Genealogy
More than 15 genealogies have been published about Bledsoe County, Tennessee families. To view a list, visit Bledsoe County, Tennessee Genealogy.
Immigration
During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding 2 British aliens living in Bledsoe County.[9]
Land
The original Bledsoe Deed Books are held at the County Courthouse. In 1969, the TSLA microfilmed Deed Books A to R (1808 to 1885) and indexes. Copies of their microfilms are also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 593009-593015.
The organization Strictly By Name provides free online indexes to early Bledsoe County land records. They offer a record retrieval service to photocopy and transcribe microfilm copies of the original documents for a small fee. Here are the indexes:
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. To read more about this valuable resource Click here. The searchable index is available at the TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.
Local Histories
- Bledsoe County Historical and Genealogical Society. Bledsoe County, Tennessee: A Pictorial History. Humboldt, Tenn.: Rose Pub., 1998. FHL 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 H2r.
Maps
Military
Revolutionary War
The following Bledsoe 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 Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2pc 1840; FHL US/CAN Film 2321. 1841 edition digitized by the U.S. Census Bureau and Google books et. al. [See Tennessee, Eastern District, Bledsoe County on page 152.]
- 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 (TNGenWeb).
- Bledsoe Countians and the Revolutionary War Revolutionary War Veterans who lived in Bledsoe County (TNGenWeb).
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. FHL 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
Civil War service men from Bledsoe 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 Bledsoe County.
Confederate Soldiers
- 1st Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Carter's) - CSA - Company D.
- 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby's) - CSA - Company F.
- 4th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (Branner's) - CSA - Company F.
- 22nd Battalion, Tennessee Infantry (Murray's) - CSA - Companies C, F and G.
- 35th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (5th Infantry) (1st Mountain Rifle Regiment) - CSA - Company I.
- 43rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Gillespie's) (5th East Tennesse Volunteers) - CSA - Company C.
Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Bledsoe County:
- Blevins, Jerry. Sequatchie Valley Soldiers in the Civil War: Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion and Sequatchie Counties in Tennessee and Jackson County in Alabama. Huntsville, Ala.: J. Blevins, 1990. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 M2b.
- TNGenWeb, Bledsoe in the Civil War, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Includes links to The United States 1890 Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Bledsoe County, Tennessee and a partial list of Civil War Soliders.
- USGenWeb Archives, Bledsoe County Tennessee Archives, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Civil War Pensions.
- Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications : Bledsoe County, (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Includes soldier's name, county, pension #, unit or widow.
- United States Pension Bureau, List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883: Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for ... (Washington Printing Office; 1883), (accessed 30 Jan 2012). Online at Internet Archive. Bledsoe County, page 317 and 318.
Newspapers
Many Tennessee newspapers are filmed and available at the 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 Bledsoe County click on the following city:
Occupations
- Miller, Alan N. East Tennessee's Forgotten Children: Apprentices from 1778 to 1911. Baltimore, Md.: Printed for Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. FHL US/CAN 976.8 U2m. Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Purchase at Genealogical.com. [Includes Bledsoe County.]
- Tennesse Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics and Mines. Coal Mines and Mining--Tennessee. Nashville, Tennessee: A.B. Travel, 1883. Free digital copy.
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 records of Bledsoe County, Tennessee 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.
Prisons
Learn if your Bledsoe County, Tennessee ancestors went to prison!
- Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1831-1850, free index available online through TSLA.
- Inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary 1851-1870, free index available online through TSLA.
Probate
Most of the original Bledsoe County Will Books were destroyed. Those that survive are held at the County Courthouse. 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 Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Film 593008.
Taxation
TSLA microfilmed Bledsoe County Tax Books 1888-1889 (TSLA Roll 104).
The following Bledsoe County tax records have been indexed:[10]
- [1815] Curtis, Mary Barnett. Early East Tennessee Tax Lists. Fort Worth, Texas: Arrow Printing Company, 1964. FHL 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. & B. Sistler, 1977. FHL 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. FHL US/CAN Book 976.876 R4d 1836; online: free 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
Marriage
Bledsoe County's early marriage records were lost in courthouse fires. The following publication, based on early newspapers that survived such disasters, may serve as a substitute:
- Lucas, Silas Emmett. Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 V2L.
Divorce
In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Bledsoe County divorce papers in diverse manuscript collections, 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
For deaths of Methodists in Bledsoe County between the 1830s and the 1920s, try:
- Smith, Jonathan K.T. Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths, the Nashville Christian Advocate. [1847-1914] 10 vols. [Jackson, Tenn.]: J.K.T. Smith, 1997-2003. FHL US/CAN Books 976.855/N1 V48s 1847-1851 ff; digital versions at David Donahue Memorial: Tennessee Records Repository. [Website expands upon the publications and includes deaths from the 1830s, 1840s, 1910s and 1920s.]
Substitutes
Family Bibles contain birth, marriage, and death information:
- Douthat, James L. Sequatchie Valley Bible Records. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1985. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 A1 no. 103.
Bledsoe County Tennessee Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Bledsoe County Historical & Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 465
Pikeville, TN 37367
Phone: 1-423-447-2817
East Tennessee Historical Society
601 S. Gay St.
P.O. Box 1629
Knoxville, TN 37901-1629
Phone: 1-865-215-8824
E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org
Bledsoe County Public Library
478 Cumberland Ave/
P.O. Box 465
Pikeville, TN 37367
Phone: 1-423-447-2817
Hours:
Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thurs. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
"The Bledsoe County Public Library is recognized by the TSLA as the Bledsoe County Archives and Historical Records Repository." 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.(per website) To see the library collection, see the genealogy page of the Bledsoe County Library website.
Family History Centers
Bledsoe County Tennessee Genealogy Websites
- Bledsoe County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
- Bledsoe County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- Bledsoe County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
- Bledsoe County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
- Bledsoe County, TN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (MyTennesseeGenealogy)
- Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
- Mailing List: TNBLEDSO-L (Bledsoe County, Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
- Mailing List: ETN-L (East Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
- Mailing List: ETN-OZ-L (East Tennessee Migrants to Ozarks Region List) (RootsWeb)
- Mailing List: SE-TN-L (Southeast Tennessee List) (RootsWeb)
Bledsoe County Tennessee Genealogy References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bledsoe County, Tennessee page 638, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ "List of counties in Tennessee," Wikipedia.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 638. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.
- ↑ Voice of Lynnae Weller, Kingsport, Tenn. (2010).
- ↑ Voice of Louise Lynch, Archivist, Williamson County, Tennessee Archives (2010).
- ↑ 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) [FHL 976.8 R4c].
- ↑ WPA. Guide to Church Vital Statistics in Tennessee. Nashville: Tennessee State Planning Commission, 1942. FHL 976.8 K23w
- ↑ Kenneth Scott. British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979, 372-378 (see East Tennessee). FHL US/CAN 973 W4s; digital version at Ancestry ($).
- ↑ The Heritage Quest Online version of PERSI aided in the compilation of this list.
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