This page is to help you in determining the locations of where your ancestors may have lived

This page is to help you in determining the locations of where your ancestors may have lived. The geographical aspect of genealogical research has many people 'stumped' when it comes to determining a family's location. (For instance, there is a land area in McMinn County that has been in three counties.)

Tennessee was formed in 1796. Before that time parts of this state was in North Carolina. Before statehood the region of northeast Tennessee was the Watauga Settlements and the State of Franklin. The county of Tennessee also existed prior to statehood.

Tennessee County, North Carolina was in existence from 1783-1796

The frequent Cherokee treaties had much to do with subsequent county formations and county line changes. One can never ignore this fact when researching in Tennessee.

(Treaty Lands indicates a land cession from Native American tribes--usually Cherokee and Chickasaw, some Creek)

(Pre-statehood dates indicate these were formed while still a part of North Carolina and/or the State of Franklin)

This list of dates is probably incomplete. We advise you to check with local historians for a complete listing.

County Name	Date Formed	County Seat	Date Boundaries Reformed	Formed From
*Anderson*	1801	Clinton	1806, 1807, 1817, 1850	Knox, Grainger
Bedford	1807	Shelbyville	*1809, 1836, 1855, 1871*	Rutherford, Treaty Lands
Benton	1835	Camden	*1855*	*Humphreys*
Bledsoe	1807	Pikeville	*1855-56, 1871*	*Roane & Treaty Lands*
Blount	1795 (pre-statehood)	Maryville	*1870*	Knox
Bradley	1836	Cleveland	1838, 1871, 1920	Treaty Lands
Campbell	1806	*Jacksboro*	*1849, 1850*	*Anderson, Claiborne*
*Cannon*	*1836*	Woodbury	*1837*	Rutherford, Smith, Warren
*Carroll*	*1821-1822*	*Huntingdon*		*Treaty Lands*
*Carter*	*1796*	*Elizabethton*	*1836, 1870*	*Washington*
Cheatham	1856	Ashland City		Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, Robertson
Chester	1879	Henderson		Hardeman, Henderson, McNairy, Madison
Claiborne	1801	Tazewell	*1806, 1844, 1850*	Grainger, Hawkins
Clay	1870	Celina		Jackson, Overton
Cocke	1797	Newport		Jefferson
*Coffee*	*1836*	*Manchester*	*1844*	*Bedford, Warren, Franklin*
*Crockett*	*1871*	*Alamo*		*Dyer, Gibson, Madison, Haywood*
*Cumberland*	*1855-1856*	*Crossville*	*1807*	*Bledsoe, Morgan, Fentress, Rhea, Putnam, White*
*Davidson*	*1783* *(pre-statehood)*	*Nashville*	*1786, 1799, 1803, 1856*	*Cumberland District & Washington County, North Carolina*
Decatur	1845-1846	Decaturville		Perry
DeKalb	1837-1838	Smithville		Cannon, Jackson, Warren, White
Dickson	1803	Charlotte	*1807, 1856, 1874*	Montgomery, Robertson
Dyer	1823	Dyersburg	*1835, 1871*	Treaty Lands

Fayette	1824	Somerville		Treaty Lands
Fentress	1823	Jamestown	*1842, 1849, 1854, 1855, 1879*	White, Overton, Morgan
Franklin	1807	Winchester	*1836, 1844, 1871*	Rutherford & Treaty Lands
Gibson	1823	Trenton	*1871*	Treaty Lands
Giles	1809-1810	Pulaski	*1836*	Treaty Lands
Grainger	1796	Rutledge	*1801, 1870, 1850*	Hawkins, Knox
Greene	1783 (pre-statehood)	Greeneville	*1792, 1870*	Washington
Grundy	1844	Altamont		Warren, Franklin, Coffee
Hamblen	1870	Morristown		Greene, Grainger, Jefferson
Hamilton	1819	Chattanooga	*1857, 1871, 1920*	Rhea & Treaty Land
Hancock	1844	Sneedville	*1879*	Claiborne, Hawkins
Hardeman	1823	Bolivar (aka Big Hatchie)		Treaty Land
Hardin	1819-1820	Hardinsville (1820-1830) & Savannah	*1823*	Treaty Land
Hawkins	1786 (pre-statehood)	Rogersville	*1792, 1801, 1844*	Sullivan
Haywood	1823	Brownsville	*1835, 1871*	Treaty Land
Henderson	1821	Lexington	*1879*	Treaty Land
Henry	1821	Paris		Treaty Land
Hickman	1807	Vernon (1810-1822) & Centerville	*1817, 1843, 1870*	Dickson
Houston	1874	Arlington (1872-1878) & Erin		Stewart, Humphries, Montgomery, Dickson
Humphreys	1809	Reynoldsburg (1812-1836) & Waverly	*1817, 1855, 1874*	Stewart
Jackson	1801	Fort Blount (1802-1806), Williamsburg (1806-1819 & Gainesboro	*1806, 1807, 1837, 1842, 1554, 1870*	Smith & Treaty Land
James	1871-1920 (abolished)	Ooltewah		Hamilton & Bradley
Jefferson	1792 (pre-statehood)	Dandridge	*1797, 1857, 1870*	Greene & Hawkins
Johnson	1836	Mountain City (aka Taylorsville)		Carter
Knox	1792 (pre-statehood)	Knoxville	*1795, 1801, 1850*	Greene, Hawkins

*Lake*	*1870*	*Tiptonville*		*Obion*
*Lauderdale*	*1835*	*Ripley*		*Tipton, Dyer, Haywood*
*Lawrence*	*1817*	*Lawrenceburg*		*Hickman, Treaty Land*
*Lewis*	*1843*	*Gordon (1844-1878), Newberry (1848-1897) & Howenwald*		*Hickman*
*Lincoln*	*1809*	*Fayetteville*	*1836, 1871*	*Bedford*
*Loudon*	*1870*	*Loudon*		*McMinn, Roane, Monroe, Blount*
*Macon*	*1842*	*Lafayette*	*1870*	*Sumner, Smith*
*Madison*	*1821*	*Jackson*	*1871, 1879*	*Treaty Land*
*Marion*	*1817*	*Cheekville (1818-1820 & Jasper*	*1857*	*Treaty Land*
*Marshall*	*1836*	*Lewisburg*		*Maury, Lincoln, Giles, Bedford*
*Maury*	*1897*	*Columbia*	*1836*	*Williamson & Treaty Land*
*McMinn*	*1819*	*Calhoun (1829-23) & Athens*	*1836, 1838, 1870*	*Treaty Land* *(Hiwassee Purchase)*
*McNairy*	*1823*	*Purdy (1825-1890) & Selmer*	*1879*	*Hardin*
*Meigs*	*1836*	*Decatur*	*1870*	*Rhea, McMinn*
*Monroe*	*1819*	*Morganton (1820-22) & Madisonville*	*1870*	*Treaty Land (Hiwassee Purchase)*
*Montgomery*	*1796*	*Clarksville*	*1803, 1856, 1874*	*(Abolished Tennessee County)*
*Moore*	*1871*	*Lynchburg*	*1807*	*Lincoln, Franklin, Bedford*
*Morgan*	*1817*	*Montgomery (1818-1870) & Wartburg*	*1823, 1835, 1849*	*Anderson & Roane*
*Obion*	*1823*	*Troy (1824-1890) & Union City*	*1870*	*Treaty Land*
*Overton*	*1806*	*Monroe (1810-1835) & Livingston*	*1823, 1842, 1854, 1870, 1879*	*Jackson and Treaty Land*
*Perry*	*1819*	*Perryville (1821 - 1846), Bethel or Harrisburg (1846-1848) & Linden*	*1846*	*Hickman, Humphreys*
*Pickett*	*1879*	*Smyrna (1881-1882) & Byrdstown*		*Overton & Fentress*
*Polk*	*1839*	*Benton*		*Bradley, McMinn (& Cherokee County, North Carolina)*
*Putnam*	*1842 (abolished then re-established 1854*	*Cookeville*	*1855*	*Fentress, Jackson, Overton, Smith & White*
*Rhea*	*1807*	*Dayton*	*1819, 1836, 1855*	*Roane & (Meigs) Treaty Land Hiwassee Purchase*

*Roane*	*1801*	*Kingston*	*1807, 1817, 1819, 1855, 1870*	*Knox and Treaty Land*
*Robertson*	*1796*	*Springfield*	*1803, 1856*	*Tennessee & Sumner*
*Rutherford*	*1803*	*Murphesboro*	*1807, 1836, 1855*	*Davidson, Williamson & Wilson*
*Scott*	*1849*	*Huntsville*		*Anderson, Campbell, Fentress, Morgan*
*Sequatchie*	*1857*	*Dunlap*		*Warren, Marion, Hamilton*
*Sevier*	*1794 (pre-statehood)*	*Sevierville*		*Jefferson*
*Shelby*	*1819*	*Memphis*		*Treaty Land*
*Smith*	*1799*	*Carthage*	*1801, 1807, 1836, 1842, 1854, 1870*	*Sumner & Treaty Land*
*Stewart*	*1803*	*Dover*	*1809, 1874*	*Montgomery*
*Sullivan*	*1779 (pre-statehood)*	*Blountville*	*1786*	*Washington*
*Sumner*	*1786 (pre-statehood)*	*Gallatin*	*1796, 1799, 1842, 1870*	*Davidson*
*Tipton*	*1823*	*Covington*	*1835*	*Treaty Land*
*Trousdale*	*1870*	*Hartsville*		*Wilson, Sumner, Smith & Macon*
*Unicoi*	*1875*	*Erwin*		*Washington & Carter*
*Union*	*1850*	*Maynardville*		*Knox, Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson*
*Vanburen*	*1840*	*Spencer*		*Warren & White*
*Warren*	*1807-1808*	*McMinnville*	*1836, 1837, 1840, 1844, 1857*	*Jackson, White, Smith, Treaty Land*
*Washington*	*1777 (pre-statehood)*	*Jonesborough*	*1783, 1796, 1799, 1870*	*Washington District, North Carolina*
*Wayne*	*1817*	*Waynesboro*		*Hickman*
*Weakley*	*1823*	*Dresden*		*Treaty Land*
*White*	*1806*	*Sparta*	*1807, 1823, 1837, 1840, 1842, 1854, 1855*	*Smith & Jackson*
*Williamson*	*1799*	*Franklin*	*1803, 1897*	*Davidson*
*Wilson*	*1799*	*Lebanon*	*1803, 1870*	*Sumner*