Records that survive
These are the record series the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) has microfilmed for Hardeman County, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.
Land and deeds
- Entry Books · Register of Deeds1820–1846
- Entry and Survey Book · Register of Deeds1821–1901
- Deed Index · Register of Deeds1822–1985
- Deeds · Register of Deeds1822–1999
- Trust Deeds · Register of Deeds1868–1999
- Trust Deed Index · Register of Deeds1925–1959
- Trust Deed General Index · Register of Deeds1957–1985
- Deed Index Direct/Reverse · Register of Deeds1985–1999
- Trust Deed Gen. Index (Dir/Re · Register of Deeds1985–1999
Wills
- Wills · Probate Records1824–1993
- Wills Index Loose Records · Probate Records1830–1904
- Wills Loose Records · Probate Records1913–1917
Estates and guardianships
- Settlements, Adm. & Exec · Probate Records1850–1976
- Settlements, Guardian · Probate Records1850–1978
- Bonds, Guardian · Probate Records1854–1967
- Bonds, Executor's · Probate Records1860–1866
- Bonds, Administrator's · Probate Records1875–1954
- Probate Minutes · Probate Records1982–1993
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Index Loose Records · County Clerk1823–1883
- Marriages · County Clerk1823–1993
- Vital Records (Deaths) · County Clerk1828–1939
- Marriages Loose Records · County Clerk1841–1950
- Marriage, Licenses · County Clerk1860–1874
- Marriage, Freedman · County Clerk1865–1870
- Marriage Bonds · County Clerk1874–1879
- Marriage License and Bonds · County Clerk1879–1956
- Vital Records (Births/Deaths) · County Clerk1881–1927
- Vital Records (Births) · County Clerk1928–1939
Tax lists
- Tax Books · Trustee1824–1990
Military and pensions
- Military Discharges · Register of Deeds1919–2000
Court orders and minutes
- Appearance Docket · County Clerk1824–1829
- Execution Docket · County Clerk1824–1836
- State Docket · County Clerk1824–1834
- Trial Docket · County Clerk1824–1829
- Witness Docket · County Clerk1824–1835
- Minutes · County Clerk1827–1994
- Second Courthouse · County Clerk1828–1864
- Minutes · Circuit Court1833–1985
- Minutes · Chancery Court1852–1996
- Index to Minutes · Circuit Court1873–1877
- Mayor's Docket · Bolivar, City of1889–1939
- Minutes, Ordinance/Resolution · Toone, City of1914–2000
- Minutes · School Board1927–1996
- Minutes · Bolivar, City of1931–1996
- and 6 more series in the full listing
County government and the poor
- Records and Bonds · County Clerk1823–1859
- Bolivar, City of (Title Bonds) · Loose Records Project1825
- C.S.A. Reimbursment Claims · Loose Records Project1861–1862
- U.S. Reimbursment Claims · Loose Records Project1868
Other records
- Loose Rec. Petitions Index · Probate Records1849–1854
- Loose Records Petitions · Probate Records1854–1900
- Loose Records Index · Chancery Court1863–1866
- Loose Records · Chancery Court1863–1916
- Charters · Register of Deeds1931–1999
- Ordinances · Bolivar, City of1939–1969
- Oil and Gas Leases · Register of Deeds1940–1990
- Resolutions · Bolivar, City of1945–1969
- Census Records · School Board1946–1956
- Ordinances · Grand Junction, City of1957–1993
- Ordinances · Whiteville, City of1969–1995
- Ordinances · Saulsbury, City of1977–1989
- Greenbelt · Register of Deeds1981–1998
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
- Hardeman 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: Hardeman 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, Hardeman" 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 Hardeman County: Chester 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.