Records that survive
These are the record series the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) has microfilmed for Gibson County, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.
Land and deeds
- Land Grants · Register of Deeds1785–1793
- Deeds · Register of Deeds1819–1968
- Entry Books · Register of Deeds1821–1904
- Survey Books · Register of Deeds1821–1850
- Deed, Index · Register of Deeds1829–1985
- Deed of Conveyance · Register of Deeds1832–1872
- Trust Deeds · Register of Deeds1875–1968
- Trust Deed Index · Register of Deeds1925–1986
- Deeds and Trust Deeds · Register of Deeds1968–1986
Wills
- Wills · Probate Records1824–1986
Estates and guardianships
- Estates, Inventories · Probate Records1836–1872
- Settlements, Administrators · Probate Records1843–1982
- Settlements, Guardian · Probate Records1843–1986
- Accounts, Admin.and Executor · Probate Records1852–1884
- Bonds, Administrators · Probate Records1860–1967
- Bonds, Guardian · Probate Records1860–1922
- Estates, Claims Against · Probate Records1862–1917
- Estates, Settlements · Probate Records1870–1882
- Estates, Insolvent · Probate Records1876–1909
- Records, Administrators · Probate Records1880–1910
- Records, Guardian · Probate Records1894–1964
- Claims, Probate Docket · Probate Records1974–1982
- Inventory · Probate Records1982–1987
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Bonds (WPA copy) · County Clerk1824–1860
- Marriage Bonds, Loose Record · County Clerk1824–1863
- Marriages Loose Records Index · County Clerk1824–1950
- Marriages Loose Records · County Clerk1824–1950
- Marriages · County Clerk1860–1986
- Misc. Vital Statistics, Births · County Clerk1881–1882
- Marriage Bonds · County Clerk1888–1917
- Misc. Vital Statistics · County Clerk1909–1911
Tax lists
- Tax List, Loose Records · Trustee1824–1896
- Tax Books · Trustee1833–1983
- Tax Books · Dyer City of1970–1974
Military and pensions
- Military Discharges · Register of Deeds1943–1988
Court orders and minutes
- Minutes · Circuit Court1824–1986
- Minutes · County Clerk1824–1986
- Enrollment Books · Chancery Court1834–1876
- Minutes · Chancery Court1840–1986
- Enrollments · County Clerk1858–1892
- Minutes · Trenton City of1881–1985
- Minutes, Quarterly · County Clerk1891–1987
- Minutes · Rutherford City of1896–1987
- Minutes and Ordinances · Humboldt City of1904–1986
- Minutes · Dyer City of1911–1987
- Minutes · Bradford City of1913–1987
- Minutes, Criminal · Circuit Court1941–1966
- Minutes and Ordinances · Milan City of1943–1987
- Minutes · Gibson City of1951–1987
- and 7 more series in the full listing
Roads
- Misc. Road Books · County Clerk1883–1891
Other records
- Census · Trustee1830
- Misc. Account Book · Trustee1874–1880
- Misc. Account with Heirs · County Clerk1890–1905
- Ordinances · Trenton City of1908–1966
- Cemetery Records · Humboldt City of1910–1975
- Misc. Auto Registration · County Clerk1911–1919
- Cemetery Book · Trenton City of1917–1976
- Cemetery, Rose Hill · Humboldt City of1923–1953
- Cemetery Records · Dyer City of1925–1981
- Ordinances · Humboldt City of1955–1957
- Ordinances · Dyer City of1981–1987
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
- Gibson 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: Gibson 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, Gibson" 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: Land not yet in any county
Later formed partly from Gibson County: Crockett County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1823, 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.