Polk County, Tennessee

President James Knox Polk (1795-1849)

East Tennessee county.

The county is named after President James Knox Polk (1795-1849).^[3]

Parent County

1839--Polk County was established 28 November 1839 from McMinn and Bradley Counties. Early records may be found under McMinn and Bradley Counties.
County seat: Benton ^[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

1895, 1935--Fires damaged records

• Lost census: 1890
• Lost deeds: 1839 to 1893
• Lost marriages: 1839 to 1893
• Lost probate: 1839 to 1872

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

Getting Started

Use the free Search for Surnames at Mountain Press's website to quickly search a variety of published Polk County biography, court, land, 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: Polk 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 Polk County linking to the  information about the people buried there,

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

• Polk 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 Polk county.  Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.

• ePodunk list of Polk County cemeteries

• Information on Polk County cemeteries, originally published in the Polk County Historical and Genealogical Quarterly, is available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb.
• Inscriptions of Polk County, Tennessee Cemeteries. Free Lookups Available!

Census

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

1840

• Snell, William R. and Bradley County Historical Society. 1840 Federal Census, Polk County, Tennessee. [Cleveland, Tenn.]: Mimeographed by Lee College Print Shop for Bradley County Historical Society, 1982. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2s 1840. Free Lookups Available!

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, Polk County on page 154.]

1850

• Adams, Terri, Waunetta Ledford and Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society. Polk County 1850 U.S. Census. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society, 199?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2a. Free Lookups Available!

1850 Agricultural Census

• Green, Linda L. Tennessee 1850 Agricultural Census. 2 vols. Woodbridge, Va.: L.L. Green, 2000. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 X2g v. 1 ff. [Polk County is included in Vol. 1.]

1860

• Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society. Polk County, Tennessee 1860 U.S. Census. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical Society, 1998. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2p 1860. Free Lookups Available!

1870

• Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society. Polk County 1870 U.S. Census. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1998. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2p 1870. Free Lookups Available!

1880

• Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. 1880 Census, Polk County, Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn.: Byron Sistler & Associates, 1991. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2s 1880. Free Lookups Available!

1900

• Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society. Polk County, Tennessee 1900 U.S. Census. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society, 2000. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2p 1900.

1910

• Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society. Polk County, Tennessee 1910 U.S. Census. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society, 2000. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2p 1910.

1920

• Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society. Polk County 1920 U.S. Census. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society, 2000?. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2p 1920. Free Lookups Available!

1930

• Presswood, Marian Bailey and Jo Ann Finnell. Polk County 1930 U.S. Census. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society, 2003. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 X2p 1930.

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.

• Polk County Church Records

- Family History Library Catalog - Polk 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 - Polk 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 Polk County are:

- List of Polk County churches with addresses and phone numbers (Yellowbook)

- List of Polk County churches (TN HomeTownLocator)

Baptist

• [1879-1943] Old Friendship Baptist Church Records. Polk County, 1879-1943.  TSLA Reel #348 FHL 840019
• [1879-1900] Sistler, Byron and Barbara Sistler. Vital Statistics from 19th Century Tennessee Church Records. Nashville: Sitler and Associates, 1979. FHL 976.8 K29s vol.1   Index to original Old Friendship Baptist Church Records. Polk County, 1879-1943.

Court

• W.P.A. Polk County, Tennessee Court Minutes 1840-1843. Free Lookups Available!

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]

General

As of August 2010, a query for persons born in Polk, Tennessee at World Connect, results in more than 20,000 entries.

• The Heritage of Polk County, Tennessee, 1839-1997. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society (Tennessee), 1997. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 H2h.

Bibliography

• [Baily] Baily Family Bible Records, ca. 1838-1958. MSS., FHL US/CAN Film 1697633 Item 8.
• [Barnes] See Longley.
• [Cantrell] See Longley.
• [Curd]
• [Hildebrand] Clemmer, Sudie, J.D. Clemmer, and George F. Mellen. Nancy Ward and the Hildebrand Family of Polk County, Tennessee: Reprinted Newspaper Clippings from the J.D. Clemmer Scrapbooks. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County News, 1962. FHL US/CAN Film 908921 Item 7.
• [Hood] Hood, Dellmann Osborne. The Tunis Hood Family. Portland, OR: Metropolitan Press, 1960. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 H761h; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
• [Land] Land, Barbara and Gary Land. The Land's & the Staige's. 2 vols. [Ukiah, Calif.: B. & G. Land], 1994. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 L299L ff.
• [Langley] See Longley.
• [Longley] Matthews, Addah Longley. Genealogy, Curd-Longley, Cantrell-Barnes. North Newton, KS: Mennonite Press, 1966. Available at FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 C922g; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
• [Quintrell] Quintrell: Family Bible Records, 1830-1941. MSS., FHL US/CAN Film 1307616 Item 61.
• [Ward] Bell, Annie W.B. Military and Genealogical Records of the Famous Indian Woman Nancy Ward. Typescript, 1961. FHL US/CAN Film 875418 Item 2.
• [Ward] Clemmer, Sudie, J.D. Clemmer, and George F. Mellen. Nancy Ward and the Hildebrand Family of Polk County, Tennessee: Reprinted Newspaper Clippings from the J.D. Clemmer Scrapbooks. Benton, Tenn.: Polk County News, 1962. FHL US/CAN Film 908921 Item 7.
• [Ward] Holland, Hubert G. Nancy Ward A/K/A Cherokee Rose and Beloved Woman. Typescript, FHL US/CAN Film 1750757 Item 14.
• [Whitson] McDuffee, Ted Ransom. Duff to McDuffee on One Leaf: The Family History James H. Duff-McDuffee and Nancy Ann Whitson with Ancestors and Descendants. Knoxville, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Pub., 1999. FHL FAM HIST Book 929.273 D873m.
• [Young] Stein, Carl F. Some Descendents of James Pickens Young 1815: of Polk, Rhea, Hamilton, Blount, & Knox Counties, Tenn., Cherokee, & Gaston Counties, North Carolina. Family Group Sheets. FHL US/CAN Film 2055385 Item 2.

Land

Early Polk County Deed Books are lost. In 1970, TSLA microfilmed surviving Deed Books 1 to 10 (1897 to 1911), Trust Deed Books 1 to 4 (1894-1911) and a General Index (1897-1938). FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 1012141-1012149.

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

• History of Polk County 1839-1999. Free Lookups Available!

Maps

Military

Revolutionary War

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

• 1835 Pension Roll
• 1852 Rejected or Suspended Pensions
• Select Pension Applications Pertaining to Polk County, Tennessee Residents

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, Polk County on page 154.]
• 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. 2 (Apr. 1961):49-52. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 B2a v. 8 (1961); digital version at journal website. [Includes Polk County pensioners (p. 50).]

Civil War

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

Civil War service men from Polk 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 Polk County.

Confederate Soldiers 

• 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Ashby's) -  CSA - Company A.
• 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company C and D.
• 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Lillard's) - CSA - Companies C and D.
• 5th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry (McClellan's) - CSA - Company A.
• 5th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (McKenzie's) - CSA
• 19th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company F.
• 29th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry - CSA - Company B.
• 43rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry (Gillespie's) (5th East Tennesse Volunteers) - CSA - Company A.
• 59th Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Cooke's) (Eakin's 1st Battalion) - CSA - Company K.
• 62nd Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry (Rowan's) (80th Infantry) - CSA - Company E.

Additional sources for Civil War soldiers from Polk County:

• Wiefering, Edna et al. Tennessee Union Soldiers: of Bradley, McMinn and Polk Counties Serving in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 10th TN Cavalry 5th TN Infantry and 5th TN Mounted Infantry. Cleveland, Tenn.: Cleveland Public Library (Tennessee), 1996. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8 M28tus.
• Worsham, William J. Old Nineteenth Tennessee regiment, C.S.A. June, 1861-April, l865. Knoxville, Tennessee: Press of Paragon Printing Co., 1902.  Free digital copy.
• Genealogy Trails History Group, Polk County Tennessee Military Page, (accessed 1 Feb 2012).
• USGenWeb Archives, Polk County Tennessee Archives, (accessed 1 Feb 2012).
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications : Polk County, (accessed 1 Feb 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 1 Feb 2012). Online at Internet Archive. Polk County, page 368-369.
• Civil War Research From the Robert B. Barker Papers, (accessed 1 Feb 2012).  The collection contains information on both Union and Confederate soldiers who have a Polk County connection.
• Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, The Civil War in Polk County, (accessed 1 Feb 2012).

Newspapers

A local volunteer through Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness is willing to do free obituary lookups in Polk County 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 Polk County click on the following cities or towns:

• Benton
• Copperhill
• Ducktown

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 Polk County.]

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 Polk 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 Polk 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 Pellissippian

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Polk County, Tennessee records were published in the The Pellissippian (25 vols., 1980-2004), the quarterly of the Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society. The society has posted tables of contents for all 25 volumes on their website. They also have back issues available for purchase. The Family History Library has acquired the first 20 volumes FHL Book 976.8 D25p.

Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society Quarterly and Newsletter

This quarterly has been in publication since 1995. For more information, visit the society's website. Most issues are available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 D25p.
Index found in PERIodical Source Index (PERSI)
Digital version of volume 12 available at Family History Archives.

Prisons

Learn if your Polk 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

• Index to Polk County Wills 1894-1970, available online, courtesy: TNGenWeb Project.

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, 1873-1940s (3 vols.)
• Bonds, Letters, 1890-1965 (6 vols.)
• Insolvent estate records, 1895-1932
• Letters, 1903-1964
• Settlements, 1894-1936 (3 vols.)

Taxation

The original Polk County Tax Books 1893-1902 were microfilmed by TSLA in 1970. Copies of their films are also available at the Family History Library: FHL US/CAN Films 1012150-1012151.

Vital Records

Marriage

The original Polk County marriage records are kept at the County Courthouse. In 1970, TSLA microfilmed Marriage Books 1 to 18 (1894-1970). FHL copies: FHL US/CAN Films 840021-840023, 1013614, 1012138-1012139.

Polk County's marriage records have been abstracted multiple times. As a guide to lead you back to the original sources, Blankenship's book surpasses the others for the early years, as she cites original volume and page numbers. The following is a list of these publications:

• [1894-1907] Jones, Viola H. Marriage Records, Polk County, Tennessee, 1894 through 1907: Recorded in Volumes 1, 2, 3. Louisville, Tenn.: V.H. Jones, 1987. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 V2j. [Abstracts names of brides, grooms, and officiators, along with marriage dates.]
• [1894-1907] Blankenship, Nelly M. Polk County Marriages: Vol. 4 Sept. 1894 - Sept. 1907, v. 1 - 4. Murfreesboro, Tenn.: F.M. Blankenship, 1992. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 V28b. [Abstracts names of brides, grooms, officiators, and bondsmen, dates of marriage, along with volume and page numbers and "extra" information.]
• [1894-1970] Poteet-Pitts, Jennie Vee. Polk County, Tennessee Marriages 1894 through 1970. Louisville, Tenn.: V.H. Jones, 1995. FHL US/CAN Book 976.8875 V28p. Free Lookups Available! [Abstracts names of brides, grooms, and officiators, along with marriage dates for early marriages; greater detail for more recent marriages, including volume and page numbers.]

Divorce

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

Polk County Historical & Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 636
Benton, TN 37307

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

Benton Public Library
Hwy 411
Benton, TN 37307
Phone: 1-423-338-4536

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

Wikipedia has more about this subject: Polk County, Tennessee

• Family History Library Catalog (FamilySearch)
• Mailing List: TNPOLK-L (Polk 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)
• Polk County, Tennessee: "A Hidden Treasure" (American Local History Network & Tennessee Local History Network) Resources that will help you place your ancestors within the context of their local history.
• Polk County, TN Family History and Genealogy Message Board (Ancestry)
• Polk County, TN Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Polk County, TN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
• Polk County, TNGenWeb (USGenWeb)
• Polk County, TN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (MyTennesseeGenealogy)

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), Polk 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. ↑ Voice of Gene Black, FamilySearch employee, former resident of Bristol, Tenn. (2010).

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