Marion County, TennesseeEdit This Page

"The Swamp Fox" Brig. Gen. Francis Marion (c1732-1795)

East Tennessee county in the Sequatchie Valley. Established 1817.

The county is named after "The Swamp Fox" Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Marion (c1732-1795).^[3]

Parent County

1817--Marion County was created 20 November 1817 from Cherokee Indian Lands.
County seat: Jasper ^[4]

County Pronunciation

1. Hear it spoken^[5] (female)
2. Hear it spoken^[6] (male)

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

1822--Courthouse was destroyed by fire in August 1822, only records from the registrar's office and the county court clerk's office were saved.

• Lost census: 1890
• Lost marriage records: 1817 to 1880
• Lost probate records: 1817 to 1875

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

• Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in Tennessee Genealogy Blog
• Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

Resources

Tnmarion.png

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Marion County biography, census, court, family Bible, family history, land, military 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

• Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties: Marion County, courtesy: 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.

• 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.

• Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Marion County linking to the  information about the people buried there,

• Marion Co. TN Cemetery Records, part of the TNGenWeb Cemetery Database, lists many cemeteries in the county, often with indexes and transcripts of the burials.

• Marion County, Tennessee, USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project lists many cemeteries in the county and has transcripts of the tombstones arranged by cemetery.

• The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Marion county.  Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.

• ePodunk list of Marion County cemeteries

Census

1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population censuses of Marion 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 Marion County, TN census assignments, including links to transcribed files. [The USGenWeb Census Project^®]

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. A free online index, provided by Lineages, will help researchers determine if this resource can be of assistance:

• National Archives. Indexes to Manufactures Census of 1820. 1920; reprint, Knightstown, Ind.: Bookmark, 1977. FHL US/CAN Book 973 X2m 1820; digital version at Lineages. [Covers this county.]

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, Marion County on page 154.]

1850

• Douthat, James L. 1850, Marion County, Tennessee, Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: J.L. Douthat, 1982. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 X2d 1850.
• Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Jean Dennis Hobbs. 1850 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. [Dunlap, Tenn.]: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 X2g 1850.

1860

• Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Jean Dennis Hobbs. 1860 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. [Dunlap, Tenn.]: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 X2g 1860.

1870

• Goins, Sara Agee and Norma Jean Dennis Hobbs. 1870 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. [Dunlap, Tenn.]: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 1986. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 X2g 1870.

1880

• Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Marion County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, 1995. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 X29s 1880.

1900

• United States Census, Marion County, Tennessee, 1900. Dunlap, Tenn.: Goins and Hobbs Genealogy Service, 19--?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 X2u 1900.

Church

Court

Genealogy

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Marion (County), Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 30,000 entries.

• Douthat, James L. Sequatchie Families: Biographical Sketches of the Earlier Settlers of the Sequeatchie Valley of Tennessee. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: J.L. Douthat, 1983. FHL US/CAN Book 976.87 D3d.
• Harris, Euline. Ancestor Charts: Marion County, Tennessee. 2 vols. Whitwell, Tenn.: E. Harris, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 D2h ff.

A genealogy on the Stewart family has been published:

• [Stewart] Blakemore, Mary Stewart. A Narrative Genealogy of the Stewarts of Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee, and Allied Families. Richmond, Va.: Dietz Press, 1960. FHL Book 929.273 St49b; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).

Land

Marion County's original Deed Books are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1969, TSLA microfilmed Deed Books A to WW (1819-1915). FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 593422-593443.

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.] 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 TSLA; another version is available at World Vital Records.

Local Histories

The county is situated in the Sequatchie Valley

• 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 Marion County Revolutionary War records are available online through TNGenWeb:

1. 1835 Pension Roll
2. 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions

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, Marion County on page 154.]
• Rejected Pension Applicants, 1832, List, Searcher, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Mar. 1990).
• 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. 1 (Jan. 1961):20-23. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes Marion County pensioners (pp. 21-22).]
• War of 1812 Veterans, Natchez Trace Traveler, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov. 1988).

Civil War

• Civl War Research Database $
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System

Civil War service men from Marion 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 Marion County.

Confederate Soldiers

• 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Smith's) - CSA
• 4th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (McLemore's) - CSA
• 36th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company I.

Union Soldiers

• 9th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry - Company M.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Marion 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.
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications : Marion County, (accessed 31 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. Marion County, page 362-363.
  CWSAC, Battle Summaries, Wauhatchie, (accessed 31 Jan 2012).  Located in Hamilton County, Marion County, and Dade County.

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Marion County

• October 28 - 29, 1863 = Wauhatchie, also known as Brown's Ferry[8]

Map showing Civil War battles in Tennessee.

Newspapers

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 Marion County click on the following cities or towns:

• Jasper
• Sequatchie
• Pittsburg

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 Marion 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 Marion 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 Book 976.8 B2a.

East Tennessee Roots

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Marion County, Tennessee records have been published in East Tennessee Roots (10 vols.). A subject index to these articles is available online. Surname indexes to Volumes 9 and 10 are also available online. The Family History Library has collected most issues of East Tennessee Roots FHL Book 976.8 D25e.

The Searcher

The Family History Library has Volume 2, no 3 (Dec 1990) - volume 15, no. 4 (winter 2003). FHL US/CAN 976.879 D25s This serial ceased publication on 15 February 2004. For further information see website: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tnmarion/genealogical_group.htm
Indexed in PERiodical Source Index (PERSI)

Prisons

Learn if your Marion 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

Marion County's original will books are kept at the County Courthouse. Wills proved before 1875 do not survive. In 1969, TSLA microfilmed extant wills covering the years 1875 to 1968. FHL copy: FHL Film 593420.

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, 1875-1968 (Vols. 1-4)
• Bonds, Letters, 1912-1969 (5 vols.)
• Court records, 1842-1847, 1890-1900 (3 vols.)
• Insolvent estate records, 1885-1907
• Inventories, 1878-1968 (Vols. 1-2)
• Minutes, 1842-1847
• Settlements, 1877-1936 (3 vols.)

Taxation

The original Marion County Tax Books, Assessment Roll, 1875, and Tax Duplicate 1903-1904 are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1969, TSLA microfilmed these records. FHL copy: FHL US/CAN Film 593446.

The following Marion County tax records have been abstracted:

• [1836] Harris, Euline. 1836 Tax List for Marion County, Tennessee. Whitwell, Tenn.: E. Harris, n.d. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 R4h.
• [1836] Douthat, James L. Marion County, Tennessee, 1836 Tennessee Civil District and Tax Lists. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1993. FHL US/CAN Book 976.879 R4d; online: free surname index and purchase details.
• [1836] "Taxpayers, by District, 1836," Southern Roots & Shoots, Vol. 12, No. 3 (1996).
• [1836] Harris, Euline. "1836 Marion County Tax List," available online, courtesy: RootsWeb. [Source: TSLA microfilm; links to online 1836 Civil District Map.]
• [1853] "Revenue Docket, Claims, Licenses, 1853," Searcher, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Winter 1995).
• [1854] "District One Tax List, 1854," Searcher, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Spring 2001).
• [1856-1859] "Revenue and Execution Docket, 1856-59," Searcher, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Winter 1999).
• [1891] "Poll Tax, 1891," Searcher, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Summer 1995); Vol. 7, No. 2 (Fall 1995).

Vital Records

Marriage

• 1881-1888 - Marion County Marriage Index 1881-1888 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batches M519491 and M519492.^[9]

Divorce

In 1940 and 1941, W.P.A. workers pinpointed the location of Marion 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

For deaths of Methodists in Marion 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.]

Societies and Libraries

South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society
P.O. Box 175
South Pittsburg, Tennessee 37380
Phone: 1-423-837-8327
E-mail: information@historicsouthpittsburgtn.org

East Tennessee Historical Society
601 S. Gay St.
P.O. Box 1629
Knoxville, Tennessee 37901-1629
Phone: 1-865-215-8824
E-mail: eths@east-tennessee-history.org

Marion County Genealogical and Historical Group
6611 Old Dunlap Rd.
Whitwell, TN 37397
Phone: 1-423-658-5770

Jasper Public Library
14 West Second St.
Jasper, TN 37347
Phone: 1-423-942-3369
Fax: 1-423-942-6383
Hours: Mon. 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Tues., Wed., Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sat. 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Beene-Pearson Public Library
208 Elm Ave.
South Pittsburg, TN 37380
Phone: 1-423-837-6513

Orena Humphreys Public Library
900 Main Street, Suite 1
Whitwell, TN 37397
Phone: 1-423-658-6134

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

• Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
• Marion County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Marion County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
• Marion County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• Marion County, Tennessee History & Genealogy (American Local History Network) Resources to help you place your ancestors with in the context of their local history.
• RootsWeb Mailing List: TNMARION-L (Marion 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)

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), Marion County, Tennessee page 641, At various libr40ries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
3. ↑ "Francis Marion," Wikipedia.
4. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 642. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.
5. ↑ Voice of Lynnae Weller, Kingsport, Tenn. (2010).
6. ↑ Voice of Gene Black, FamilySearch employee, former resident of Bristol, Tenn. (2010).
7. ↑ 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].
8. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 19 September 2012)
9. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/8/88/Igitennesseel.pdf.

• This page was last modified on 13 May 2013, at 22:18.
• This page has been accessed 6,037 times.
• Privacy policy
• About FamilySearch Wiki
• Disclaimers