Grainger County, Tennessee Genealogy Records

Which records survive from Grainger County, the years each set covers, and where to find them.

Formed
1796
County seat
Rutledge

Records that survive

These are the record series the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) has microfilmed for Grainger County, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.

Land and deeds

  • Deeds1796–1932
  • Deed Index1797–1957
  • Entry Books1808–1921
  • Entry, Land1824–1852
  • Entry Takers1853–1873
  • Trust Deeds1868–1937
  • Trust Deed Index1910–1950
  • Deeds c1928–1981
  • Trust Deeds c1937–1981

Wills

  • Wills1833–1992

Estates and guardianships

  • Estates/Guard. Settl., Box 11796–1839
  • Estates/Guard. Settl., Index1796–1915
  • Bonds, Administrators1831–1981
  • Estates, Inventories1833–1982
  • Estates/Guard. Settl., Box 2-31840–1852
  • Settlements, Guardian1847–1965
  • Estates/Guard. Settl., Box 3-41852–1861
  • Bonds, Executors1856–1972
  • Bonds, Guardian1856–1958
  • Settlements, Admin. and Exec1859–1954
  • Estates/Guard. Settl., Box 4-51862–1867
  • Estates/Guard. Settl., Box 5-61867–1875
  • Estates/Guard. Settl., Box 6-71876–1889
  • Estates, Insolvent1885–1921
  • and 7 more series in the full listing

Marriages, births and deaths

  • Marriages, Box 1-Box 21796–1820
  • Marriages, Index (Bride)1796–1950
  • Marriages, Index (Groom)1796–1950
  • Marriages, Box 2-Box 31820–1832
  • Marriages, Box 3-Box 41833–1843
  • Marriages, Box 4-Box 51844–1850
  • Marriages, Box 51851–1859
  • Marriages, Box 61860–1867
  • Marriages, Box 6-Box 71868–1878
  • Marriages, Box 7-Box 81878–1886
  • Marriage Bonds1886–1936
  • Marriages, Box 8-Box 91887–1896
  • Marriages, Box 9-Box 101897–1906
  • Marriages1899–1992
  • and 5 more series in the full listing

Tax lists

  • Tax Books1851–1910
  • Tax Cards District 1 c1953–1976
  • Tax Cards District 2, A-N c1953–1976
  • Tax Cards District 2, O-Z c1953–1976
  • Tax Cards District 3 c1953–1976
  • Tax Cards District 4-5 c1953–1976
  • Tax Books c1989–1991

Military and pensions

  • Military Discharges c1943–1982

Court orders and minutes

  • Misc. Cases: Box 1-Box 21775–1846
  • Minutes1796–1995
  • Miscellaneous Cases: Index1796–1915
  • State of TN Cases: Index1810–1915
  • Equity Cases1826–1835
  • Enrollments1829–1876
  • Misc. Cases: Box 3-Box 51847–1876
  • Minutes, Civil1877–1992
  • Minutes, Criminal1877–1995
  • Misc. Cases: Box 5-Box 81877–1892
  • Minutes, Quarterly1890–1995
  • Misc. Cases: Box 8-Box 101892–1900
  • Misc. Cases: Box 11-Box 121901–1910
  • Misc. Cases: Box 12-Box 141910–1915
  • and 1 more series in the full listing

County government and the poor

  • Miscellaneous, Bond Books c1942–1982

Schools

  • Scholastic Census Books1946–1956
  • Scholastic Census Bks. (Misc.)1948–1952

Other records

  • Box 11810–1874
  • Box 1 (continued)1874–1875
  • Box 21875–1876
  • Box 31876–1878
  • Box 41878
  • Box 4 (continued)1878–1879
  • Box 51879–1880
  • Box 5 (continued)1880–1881
  • Box 61881–1883
  • Box 71883–1884
  • Box 81884–1885
  • Box 8 (continued)1885
  • Box 91885–1887
  • Box 101887
  • and 36 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

  • Grainger 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: Grainger 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, Grainger" 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: Hawkins County, Knox County, Sumner County

Check the parent counties for earlier records: Hawkins County, Knox County, Sumner County

Later formed partly from Grainger County: Anderson County, Claiborne County, Hamblen County, Union County

Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1796, 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.