Records that survive
These are the record series the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) has microfilmed for Davidson County, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.
Land and deeds
- Deeds · Register of Deeds1784–1946
- Deeds/Record book · Register of Deeds1813–1818
- Deeds/Record Book · Register of Deeds1822–1825
- Plat Books · Register of Deeds1860–1939
- Deeds/General Records · Register of Deeds1869–1872
- Trust Deeds · Register of Deeds1871–1946
- Lien Books · Register of Deeds1877–1907
- Personal Conveyance · Register of Deeds1882–1940
- Mortgages · Register of Deeds1887–1895
- Trust Deeds & Mortgages · Register of Deeds1887–1889
- Trust DeedsDeeds · Register of Deeds1908–1909
- Trust deeds · Register of Deeds1909–1938
- Trsut Deeds · Register of Deeds1924–1927
- Turst Deeds · Register of Deeds1925–1926
- and 2 more series in the full listing
Wills
- Wills/Inventories/Settlements · Probate Court1784–1941
- Wills · Probate Court1821–1875
Estates and guardianships
- Delinquent Tax Sales · Trustee1865–1867
- Min. Board of Administration's · Nashville, City of and Metro1945–1947
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriages · County Clerk1789–1941
- Marriages end in April · County Clerk1941
Tax lists
- Tax Books · Trustee1865–1948
- Tax Books (Inside Nashville) · Trustee1883–1915
- Tax Books (Outside Nashville) · Trustee1883–1936
- Tax Books District 1-25 · Trustee1885
- Tax Books Ward 1-14 · Trustee1885
- Tax Books (Delinquent) · Trustee1887–1892
- Tax Books (County and School) · Trustee1896
- Tax Books (Inside Nash. A-O) · Trustee1898
- Tax Books (Inside Nash. P-Z) · Trustee1898
- Tax Bks (State/County/School) · Trustee1900–1907
- Tax Bks (State/Co./School/Road) · Trustee1902–1906
- Tax Bks (State/Co./School, etc.) · Trustee1903–1923
- Tax Books (Inside Nash. 2 Bks) · Trustee1907–1909
- Tax Books (Inside Nash. A-K) · Trustee1918–1936
- and 10 more series in the full listing
Military and pensions
- Min. Board of Civil Service/Pension · Nashville, City of and Metro1923–1941
Court orders and minutes
- Minutes · County Clerk1783–1928
- Minutes, Daily · County Clerk1783–1829
- Minutes, Equity · County Clerk1803–1809
- Minutes, First Circuit Court · Circuit Court1803–1959
- Minutes · Nashville, City of and Metro1837–1998
- Minutes · Chancery Court1846–1956
- Minutes, Board of Aldermen · Nashville, City of and Metro1860–1883
- Minutes, Index · Nashville, City of and Metro1861–1999
- Minutes · Edgefield, City of1869–1880
- Chancery Register · Register of Deeds1887–1888
- Rule Docket · Chancery Court1889–1961
- Minutes pp. 364-end · County Clerk1891–1892
- Minutes pp. 1-55 · County Clerk1895–1896
- Minutes, Second Circuit Court · Circuit Court1895–1959
- and 6 more series in the full listing
County government and the poor
- Min. Commissioner's Meetings · Belle Meade, City of1938–1987
Other records
- Ord. (Files: 976-10,330.1) · Nashville, City of/Metro Council1836–1865
- Justice of the Peace 4th Dist · County Clerk1850–1861
- Ordinances · Nashville, City of and Metro1865–1913
- Resolutions · Nashville, City of and Metro1867–1913
- Ordinances · Edgefield, City of Annexed to Nashville1869–1884
- General Records · Register of Deeds1872–1927
- Min. Board of Public Works · Nashville, City of and Metro1883–1945
- Register · Register of Deeds1887–1895
- Charter Records · Register of Deeds1889–1938
- Trust Books · Register of Deeds1890–1898
- Personal Conceyance · Register of Deeds1902–1903
- (Enforcement of Sidewalk Law) · Nashville, City of and Metro1913–1959
- Ord. (Files: 723-1139) · Nashville, City of and Metro1913–1916
- Ord. (Files: 1140-2100) · Nashville, City of and Metro1916–1921
- and 77 more series in the full listing
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
- Davidson 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: Davidson 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, Davidson" 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: Washington County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Washington County
Later formed partly from Davidson County: Cheatham County, Rutherford County, Sumner County, Williamson County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1783, 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.