Records that survive
These are the record series the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) has microfilmed for Knox County, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.
TSLA's microfilm listing for Knox County isn't available online. Contact TSLA, or the county's own archives, to ask what survives.
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
- Knox 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.
- 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, Knox" 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, Hawkins County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Greene County, Hawkins County
Later formed partly from Knox County: Anderson County, Blount County, Grainger County, Roane County, Sevier County, Union County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1792, 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.