Records that survive
These are the record series the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) has microfilmed for Cocke County, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.
Land and deeds
- Survey Book · Register of Deeds1856–1889
- Deeds · Register of Deeds1865–1996
- General Index to Deeds · Register of Deeds1865–1963
- Land Entries · Register of Deeds1874–1898
- Trust Deed Index · Register of Deeds1877–1963
- Trust Deeds · Register of Deeds1877–1992
Wills
- Wills · Probate Records1876–1996
Estates and guardianships
- Inventories · Probate Records1875–1984
- Bonds, Guardian · Probate Records1877–1984
- Settlements, Administrators · Probate Records1877–1910
- Settlements, Guardian · Probate Records1877–1947
- Estates, Insolvent · Probate Records1897–1920
- Settlements, Admin, and Exec · Probate Records1907–1996
- Estates, Claims Against · Probate Records1921–1924
- Estates · Probate Records1922–1951
- Bonds, Administrators · Probate Records1927–1985
- Settlements, Guard. & Conserv · Probate Records1953–1994
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriages · County Clerk1877–1994
- Vital Statistics · County Clerk1908–1912
- Vital Statistics (Births) · County Clerk1925–1938
- Vital Statistics (Deaths) · County Clerk1926–1938
Tax lists
- Tax Books · Trustee1876–1992
Military and pensions
- Military Discharge Index · Register of Deeds1919–1995
- Military Discharges · Register of Deeds1919–1995
Court orders and minutes
- Minutes · Chancery Court1877–1993
- Minutes · Circuit Court1877–1899
- Minutes · County Clerk1877–1996
- Minutes, Civil · Circuit Court1883–1993
- Minutes · Newport, City of1894–1997
- Minutes, Quorum · County Clerk1899–1982
- Minutes, Criminal · Circuit Court1900–1993
- Minutes, Quarterly · County Clerk1908–1966
- Minutes · School Board1923–1996
- Minutes · Probate Records1982–1997
County government and the poor
- Bonds, Admin. and Exec · Probate Records1877–1994
Other records
- Ordinances · Newport, City of1903–1958
- Reciepts and Disbursments · Newport, City of1918–1929
- Miscellaneous Records · Register of Deeds1923–1996
- Release Books · Register of Deeds1925–1995
- Miscellaneous, Greenbelt · Register of Deeds1937–1993
- Census Records · School Board1952–1956
- General Index Direct · Register of Deeds1963–1996
- General Index Reverse · Register of Deeds1963–1996
Open TSLA's full microfilm listing (PDF)
Source: Tennessee State Library and Archives, county records microfilm listing. Some record titles reflect the segregated record-keeping of their time. Statewide birth and death registration began in 1914, after a brief statewide attempt in 1908–1912.
Where to find the records
- Cocke County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the register of deeds, the county clerk and the chancery and circuit court clerks, and any online record search the county offers.
- The register of deeds
Deeds, mortgages and other land records, usually from the county's beginning.
- The county clerk
Marriage licenses and bonds and the county court's minutes. For most of the 1800s the county court also handled wills, estates and guardians.
- The chancery and circuit court clerks
Lawsuits, including the chancery suits families used to divide land and settle estates.
- TSLA: Cocke County records on microfilm (PDF)free
Every filmed volume with its years and roll number, by office.
- Tennessee State Library and Archivesfree
The state archives in Nashville, with microfilm of county records from every county.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Tennessee, Cocke" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Greene County, Jefferson County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Greene County, Jefferson County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1797, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Tennessee's county court minutes record estate settlements, guardians, road orders and much more. When a will is missing, look there and in the chancery court, where families often went to divide land.