Records that survive
These are the record series the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) has microfilmed for Lake County, with the office that kept each and the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps.
Land and deeds
- Entry Book · Register of Deeds1845–1929
- Deed Index · Register of Deeds1870–1969
- Deeds · Register of Deeds1870–1952
- Trust Deeds · Register of Deeds1870–1951
- Trust Deed Index · Register of Deeds1927–1956
Wills
- Wills · Probate Records1871–1975
Estates and guardianships
- Settlements, Adm./Exc./Guard · Probate Records1872–1965
- Bonds & Letters, Guardian · Probate Records1896–1963
- Inventories of Estates · Probate Records1911–1942
- Minutes of Insolvent Estates · Probate Records1913–1938
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Bonds · County Clerk1883–1953
- Vital Records, Death/Births · County Clerk1925–1939
Tax lists
- Tax Books · Trustee1933–1948
Military and pensions
- Military Discharges · Register of Deeds1945–1953
Court orders and minutes
- Minutes · County Clerk1870–1952
- Rule Docket · Chancery Court1871–1931
- Minutes · Circuit Court1892–1947
- Minutes · Chancery Court1896–1969
- Minutes · School Board1907–1967
- Minutes · Tiptonville, City of1907–1983
- Misc. Levee/Drainage Minutes · County Clerk1919–1974
- Minutes, Quarterly · County Clerk1930–1965
- Minutes · Ridgely, City of1959–1979
County government and the poor
- Bonds & Letters, Admin's · Probate Records1896–1976
- Reelfoot Commission Report · Register of Deeds1927
Other records
- Misc. Physician's Register · County Clerk1897–1902
- Ordinances & Resolutions · Tiptonville, City of1908–1976
- Misc. Optometrist Records · County Clerk1909–1924
- Petition for Naturalization · Circuit Court1909–1928
- Oil and Gas Leases · Register of Deeds1927–1940
- Municipal Code · Tiptonville, City of1980–1982
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
- Lake 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: Lake 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, Lake" 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: Obion County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Obion County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1870, 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.