yesterday's tennessee
Mr. Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith of Jackson has published seven genealogical miscellanies for Henderson County. He wishes to share this information as widely as possible and has granted permission for these web pages to be created. We thank Mr. Smith for his generosity. Copyright, Jonathan K. T. Smith, 2001
HENDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE was established by the state legislature on November 7, 1821; named for Colonel James Henderson. Two courthouse fires in the nineteenth century account for the unfortunate fact that few public records of that era have survived.
The first fire occurred in May 1863, soon after the 4th of the month as the county minutes contain only one day of that session, that being on the 4th. In Goodspeed's HISTORY OF TENNESSEE, Henderson County (1887), page 799, it is explained that the courthouse "was accidentally fired by some of the Third Michigan Cavalry who were quartered in the house. The most of the county records were consumed in the fire." William V. Barry, long-time newspaper editor, resident of Lexington from 1884 until his death in 1948, wrote in THE LEXINGTON PROGRESS, March 17,1933, "A bunch of the soldiers were up on the /courthouse/ balcony, smoking cigars and it must have been that one of them threw a cigar stub, still burning, down into a lot of paper rubbish in the unfloored garret above the second story. On account of the courthouse being used by the soldiers some of the county officials had carried home some of their books and of those left in the house most of them were saved from this fire." Beginning in June 1863 the court sessions were held at various times in different locations around the public square.
The courthouse built in 1867 was destroyed by fire, a suspected arson, in the early morning hours of July 3,1895. The next day, July 4, Robert J. Dyer, chairman of the county court, issued an announcement, a dated copy of which was recorded in the county court minute book, 1895-1897, page 3, noting, "that on the morning of July the 3rd 1895 the courthouse at Lexington, Tennessee was burned together with a large part of all the papers, records, books of the county."
It is likely that the second fire was the most devastating in the matter of destroyed public records. Undoubtedly several bound records that were not burned in the 1863 incident were destroyed in the courthouse fire thirty-two years later. The agent writing the historical sketch for Henderson County, for the Goodspeed history in 1886 gathered some information about the early actions of the courts that could only have come from the antebellum minutes of the various courts of the county. Late in the 19th century the Goodspeed history reported that all of the county court records "previous to 1840 have been destroyed."
From the 1895 fire only two county court minute books were saved, that of September 1860-June 1866 (464 pages) which is kept in the office of the Clerk and Master, Chancery Court, Lexington; attached to it is a comprehensive index compiled for the book contents by the Works Progress Administration in July 1938. The other volume, designated as county court minute book 4 (488 pages) began with the April 6,1891 session of the court and extends into 1893. It is indexed. The minutes from October 1893 until July 1895 were destroyed but the next minute book, designated as M covers the 1895-1897 period. It is indexed. These books are kept in the County Court Clerk's office.
Of the other bound records kept in the office of the County Court Clerk the following have also survived:
A photocopy of the volume, Receipt Book #1, 1857-1895 (227 pages; indexed) is available for use in the Henderson County Library; it begins with an 1857 receipt but immediately skips to 1867 and continues into 1895. It is a useful source as it contains records of receipts filed with the county court clerk for monies received/disbursed in the settling of an estate. The original book is kept in the office of the Clerk and Master. Available on microfilm (Tennessee State Library and Archives) are the guardian books: A, Jan.1861-Nov.1892 (434 pages; indexed); B, 1890-1919.
The recorded wills begin in 1895 within will book 3, 1895-1932 (429 pages; indexed, but not completely); except for several wills probated prior to the 1895 fire and later re-recorded the wills records were destroyed. The original wills from 1895 are kept in metal files in the office of the County Court Clerk.
Of the Chancery Court records, two minute books preceding 1895 were saved and although microfilmed their present location is unknown. They are available on microfilm, Tennessee State Library and Archives; minute book 7, March 1880-September 1882 (567 pages; indexed); minute book 8, March 1883-November 1886 (588 ages; indexed); these are useful in matters of estates; division of land among heirs.
Of the records in the County Register of Deeds office, there are Deed Book P, January 1856-April 1858 (640 pages); deed book l,1871-1873 (750 pages; indexed); deed book 2,1873-1875 (896 pages; indexed); deed book 3, 1875-1877 (700 pages; indexed); deed book 4.,1877-1878 (698 pages; indexed); deed book 6,1880-1882 (700 pages; indexed); deed book 7,1882-1884 (744 pages; indexed); deed book 12,1892-1894; deed books 5, 8-11;13 were destroyed; deed records are complete from 1895, beginning with deed book 14. All are indexed.
After the purchase of western Tennessee from the Chickasaws, in 1818, the state legislature the next year organized this territory into several surveyors' districts, each divided into ranges and five-mile square sections. Henderson County was located in Surveyor District 9, ranges 3-7, with six tiers of sections (nos. 6-l1). Land grants reflected the practical use of these districts and their subdivisions. A map engraved by H. S. Tanner in Philadelphia, Pa., for the Matthew Rhea MAP OF TENNESSEE, 1832, delineates these surveyor districts.
Colonel JOHN PURDY (April 16,1798-Dec. 11,1838), a native of Mifflin Co., Pa., who moved to Tennessee in 1819, principally a farmer, was Principal Surveyor of Surveyor District 9; his deputies did much of the actual surveying of the hundreds of tracts claimed and entered in this district. The office was first and very briefly located at Reynoldsburg on the Tennessee River, but after Lexington had been established as the county seat of Henderson County, the survey office was moved to this village until early in December 1824 he moved it to his homeplace on the south fork of the Forked Deer River about three miles south of the main road leading from Jackson to Lexington. (JACKSON GAZETTE, December 11, 1824). This was in Henderson County, then, but since 1879 has been part of Chester County. Colonel Purdy was one of the members of the Constitutional Convention of 1834. (NASHVILLE WHIG, August 27, 1834; tombstone of the colonel in the Brown Cemetery, Mifflin). In February 1836 the state legislature abolished the surveyor districts; the surveyor's records of District 9 were ordered turned over to the entry-taker of Henderson County, now that like each county it would have its own entry-taker and surveyor (ACTS OF TENNESSEE, 1835-1836,pages 153-156). These valuable records supposedly burned in the 1863 or 1895 courthouse fire, thus obliterating the entry and survey records for land grants in Henderson County although the records of the grants themselves have survived.
Many pioneer citizens of Henderson County took out land grants from the State of Tennessee from the earliest years of the county's history and these are recorded in two series, the General Land Grants and the West Tennessee Land Grants, available on microfilm from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
There are no pre-1895 tax records in the office of the Trustee for Henderson County. The tax records for the county, 1836 and 1837 are available on microfilm by the Tennessee State Library and Archives; an index has been prepared for each year by Laura Waddle. As of January 1, 1836 Henderson County was divided into civil districts, as prescribed by the amended state constitution, generating thereby tax records kept locally by such districts in the trustee's office. During the Civil War, on June 7, 1862 "An Act for the Collection of Direct Taxes in insurrectionary districts within the United States" was passed by Congress. This internal tax levied upon the citizenry was suspended after a few years operation. An excellent alphabetical summary of these records for Henderson County has been prepared by Laura Waddle and is available for use of patrons in the Henderson County Library. She designated it as the 1862 tax records because that was the year that legislation created this taxation (U.S. Archives: MF 368, Microcopy T227, Roll 3) but it is in the series of counties for which the actual taxes were for the year 1865 due to be paid by the spring of 1866. This is a fine source for determining the names of landowners by civil districts at this time along with valuations given for the same properties, all of which cast light upon the social circumstances of people of the time.
The Revenue Book (212 pages),1895-1913, in which is recorded the names of persons taking out licenses to operate businesses, principally merchants, is kept in the office of the County Court Clerk. Other records kept there include the county's birth and death records, 1908-1912; the state began its official registry of births and deaths in 1914 and those accessible directly to the public extend into the 1940s. In Lexington, the Reed's Chapel, Parham Mortuary, Peoples Funeral Home records date back only to fairly recent years; Pafford's Funeral Home, established in 1883, has extant bound records from June 1939 with some computerized records dating to 1927.
Of the Circuit Court Clerk's records, there are civil execution dockets and criminal dockets, both beginning in 1895. Also, Minute Book J, July 10,1893-July 18, 1895, with a notation on its back page, "This is the only book saved out of the fire of July 3,1895 belonging to the circuit clerk office. This July 31st 1895." Subsequent minute books and other records of this office are kept in the courthouse in Lexington.
The Tennessee State Library and Archives initially microfilmed the extant public records of Henderson County in April 1975 and have microfilmed the public records subsequently and also the city minutes of Lexington, Tennessee from June 1901; Sardis, Tennessee since May 1949; Parker's Cross Roads since July 1981 (but not for recent years).
According to local school personnel, the tornado of March 1956 ruined some of the older Henderson County school records, but the administrative minutes date from March 1940 and some school census (pupil) records date from the late 1940s. There is a typescript source, "Henderson County Schools, 1940-1941" prepared by Louise Oakley which gives interesting historical sketches of the many schools operating in the county at that time; a copy is in the Tennessee Room of the Henderson County Library.
In 1976 a three-volume work, HENDERSON COUNTY CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS, was published by several local citizens, a reliable listing of persons buried with tombstones in ALL known county cemeteries as gathered under the leadership of Mrs.Robbie Wallace and Mr. W. L. Barry. In order to assist persons researching their black family heritage, Jonathan Smith published TOMBSTONE INSCRIPTIONS FROM BLACK CEMETERIES IN HENDERSON COUNTY,TENNESSEE in 1995.
The U.S. census records date from 1830 for Henderson County; those of 1830 and 1840 record the names only of the heads of households and all family members were accounted for in age categories; slaves, male and female, were given in the same numerical manner beside the entry of the householder and family claiming them. Beginning in 1850 all members/inmates of households were listed by name, age, place of birth, occupation (if any) and valuation of their personal and real properties. Also for the 1850, 1860 census years slave schedules are available, numerical listings of slaves under their owners' names with number of buildings to house them. In 1850, 1860,1880 (1870 missing) there are mortality schedules available in which all persons who had died within the census year, locally, were listed by name, age, place of birth and cause of death. Also, in the 1850-1880 censuses are agricultural schedules which list heads of households with the acreages they owned/rented/leased, improved and unimproved, valuation of each, categories of crops and livestock raised in the past year with the value of same given.
U.S.Censuses Involving Henderson County
The TENNESSEE PRIVATE ACTS, published by Michie Co., Charlottesville, Virginia,1984 provides an index to legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly affecting localities, including Henderson County and some of its communities; for Henderson County, generally, pages 252-257; Lexington, page 330; Sardis, page 496; Scotts Hill, pages 502-503; Pleasant Exchange, page 459.Periodic supplements to this book are published. Much of this legislation provides information interesting to genealogists.
The local newspaper, THE LEXINGTON PROGRESS, was established by William Valentine Barry in 1884; its earliest issues were destroyed but there are several for late 19th century; becoming numerous after 1900 and virtually complete since 1913.Other newspapers, with their issues microfilmed by the Tennessee State Library and Archives include:
Useful published histories of Henderson County include Weston A. Goodspeed's HISTORY OF TENNESSEE, Henderson County,1887 (general history with biographical sketches of forty-eight citizens of the county);a neat, easily readable reprint of this county history was published, with index, by Mountain Press, Signal Mountain, Tennessee, 1988. HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY by Auburn Powers, 1930, in textbook format, easily readable material, generally reliable but not indepth coverage; an index has been prepared for this worthwhile book by Mary N. Sneed. HENDERSON COUNTY, a general history written by G. Tillman Stewart, largely relying on formerly published materials, issued in the Tennessee County History Series, Memphis State University Press, 1979. A sketch about Henderson County was published on pages 1104-1109 in the RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE by J.B.Killebrew, 1874, which is useful in understanding the natural resources of the area. A thoroughly comprehensive history of Henderson County, useful for genealogists, has yet to be written and published.
Interesting and useful to genealogists and local historians are Brenda K. Fiddler's (editor) W.V.BARRY'S LEXINGTON PROGRESS, 1884-1946, published in 1995 and HENDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE, A PICTORIAL HISTORY by Brenda K. Fiddler and Emily Davis published in 1996.
The many post offices of Henderson County since its establishment, listing dates active and if closed, those dates, with postmasters and tenures of offices dated, are listed in D. R. Frazier's TENNESSEE POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTER APPOINTMENTS, 1789-1984.One of the oldest villages, Pleasant Exchange, was chartered January 17, 1838, with its commissioners being SAMUEL D.STRAYHORN,WILLIAM G.VANHOOK, JOHN VANHOOK, DAVID E.W. BROWN, DAVID COZORT.(ACTS OF TENNESSEE,1837-1838, Nashville,1838, pages 151-152).
Several excellent historical maps for Henderson County have been prepared by retired civil engineer, James H. Hanna of Jackson and these are available in the Tennessee Room of the Henderson County Library. Base maps, i.e. highway maps of the county prepared by the State Department of Transportation and U.S. topographical maps for the county are available; the latter are useful in that they list by name and location many of the county's cemeteries.
In the vertical files and on the bookshelves of the Tennessee Room in the Henderson County Library which goes by the name of the Everett Horn Library, in Lexington, are many published and manuscript family histories; church histories; numerous files on local topics; local public records, newspapers, family Bible records and other records on microfilm. Much credit is due Mrs. Laura Waddle of Henderson County for the development of this fine local genealogy/history collection; it would be difficult to exaggerate the depth of gratitude due this lady by so many genealogists and local historians for her heritage preservation efforts. Also, the head librarian, Mrs. Lynn Lewis and members of her helpful staff extend obliging manners in making this collection available to serious researchers.
Some local religious denominations have published and/or otherwise prepared reliable historical sketches of their congregations; some of these are on microfilm. All too often in the past, local church records were destroyed by fire, vandals and the effects of passing time; some congregations failed to keep proper records but as awareness of the value and interesting features of "heritage" has developed, better records have been kept.
The U.S.Census Bureau reported that in 1850 three were three Baptist congregations; four Methodist congregations; two Presbyterian congregations in Henderson County. In 1860, the same source reported that there were then thirteen Baptist congregations; thirteen Methodist congregations; one Cumberland Presbyterian congregation; one Christian (name of denomination) congregation in Henderson County.
Judging from the surviving photographs of old-time church buildings, the meetinghouse of the Missionary Baptist Church at Hepzibah (congregation constituted in 1847), built about 1855, was abandoned in 1920 and the congregation relocated to Sand Ridge on then-new highway 20 (U.S.412), was fairly typical of the simple architecture of the old houses of worship; some were more elaborately constructed, others more primitive still; but by the end of the 19th century most congregations were attempting to get out of their log buildings into frame houses. Some, like that at Hepzibah, had adjoining burial grounds which have been largely abandoned after the congregations located elsewhere. Vandals have done their mischief in these isolated locations, turning over and destroying tombstones that were raised through love and respect by people for their deceased relatives and friends.
The old Hepzibah meetinghouse was pictured in the BAPTIST AND REFLECTOR, volume 95, 22,May 30, 1929, page 8 and a drawing of it from this source has been prepared by Herschel K. Smith:
Other works by Jonathan K. T. Smith can be found at the Madison County Records Repository at TNGenWeb.
volume I · volume II · volume III · volume IV · volume V · volume VI · volume VII
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