History and Genealogy

County Records > Genealogical Fact Sheets About Tennessee Counties

Macon County


Updated:  September 1, 2005

Macon County was formed in 1824 from
Smith and Sumner counties.

The county seat is Lafayette.

There were fires at the Macon County courthouse
in 1860, 1901 and 1932.


 

CENSUS RECORDS 

  • Census on microfilm for Macon County:  1850-1880, 1900-1930
  • State-wide census index:  1850-1880
  • State-wide census index on microfilm  (Soundex):  1880,  1900-1930
  • Macon County census records in book form:  *1850,  *1860,  *1870,  *1880,  1900

 

SELECTED COUNTY HISTORIES

  • Cal's Column (Gregory, 1986)
  • *History, Macon County, Tennessee (Blankenship, 1986)
  • History of Tennessee From the Earliest Time to the Present : Together With an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of the Counties of Sumner, Smith, Macon and Trousdale (Goodspeed, 1979)
  • *Letter to the Editor : Newspapers Published in Macon County, Tennessee, and Their Preservation, Report 1978.1a, Together With a June 29, 1978, Update (Roddy, 1978)
  • *Macon County, Tennessee History and Families (2001)
  • *Thousands to Cure : On the Early Story of Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee, With Selected Supporting Materials (Roddy, 1991)
  • *What Ever Happened to Epperson Springs? (Roddy, 1974)

Additional county and community histories can be found at the Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources:  Macon CountyThe items in the bibliography may not all be available at TSLA.

 

PUBLISHED LOCAL RECORDS

  • *1880 Census, Macon County, Tennessee (Sistler, 1993)
  • 1900 Census, Macon County, Tennessee (Crumpton, 1988)
  • Campbell County, Tennessee (Commissioner Certificates Only), Clay County, Tennessee, Hancock County, Tennessee, Macon County, Tennessee, Pickett [1891 enumeration of male voters] (Reed, 1990)
  • *Fairview Cemetery of Macon County, Tennessee Burials and Families (Bronner, 2003)
  • *Index to Harold G. Blankenship's History of Macon County, Tennessee : A Genealogists' Name Index (Cannon, 1998?)
  • Macon County, Tennessee, 1850 Census (Porch, 1975)
  • *Macon County, Tennessee, 1850 & 1860 Census (Cothron, 1997)
  • *Macon County, Tennessee, 1870 & 1880 Census (Cothron, 1995)
  • Macon County, Tennessee, Bible and Cemetery Records (WPA, 1938)
  • *Macon County, Tennessee Bonds and Marriages [vol. 1 April 1901-July 1929; vol. 2 July 1929-September 1994] (2001)
  • *Macon County, Tennessee, Cemeteries [2 vols.] (Macon County Historical Society, 1987)
  • Macon County, Tennessee, Chancery Court Minutes, 1844-1860 (WPA, 1936)
  • Macon County, Tennessee, Execution Docket, 1846-55 & Trial Docket, 1854-74 (WPA, 1937)
  • *Macon County, Tennessee Obituaries and Articles [vol. 1 late 1800's - December 1936; vol. 2 January 1937 - May 1944; vol. 3 June 1944 - December 1946] (Scott, 2003-2005)
  • Name Index to History of Tennessee ... Together With ... Sketch of the Counties of Sumner, Smith, Macon and Trousdale (Marsh, 1971)

 

LOCAL RECORDS ON MICROFILM 

An inventory of microfilmed Macon County records is available on our web site.  Individual reels of microfilm may also be purchased.  

Earliest records include:

  • marriages from 1901
  • wills from 1940
  • deed index from 1901
  • chancery court minutes from 1844
  • county court minutes from 1905
  • circuit court minutes from 1901
  • tax books from 1845

 

The following reels are available on interlibrary loan:

  • *WPA Records, Macon County (Record Group #107, Roll 53,  1 reel)    Roll includes Chancery Court Minutes (1844-1860),  Execution Docket (1846-1855),  Trial Docket (1854-1874) and Bible & Cemetery Records (undated).

 

NEWSPAPERS ON MICROFILM 

Newspapers were published in Red Boiling Springs and Lafayette.  Scattered early issues are available from 1892, and a complete run begins in 1931.   Microfilms are loaned to Tennessee libraries.  Individual reels may also be purchased.  An Inventory of Newspapers on Microfilm at TSLA is available on our web site.

 

SELECTED MANUSCRIPTS MATERIAL

 

*  Indicates this title may be borrowed on Interlibrary Loan.


Tennessee State Library and Archives
403 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 615.741.2764 Fax: 615.532.2472
Email:reference.tsla@state.tn.us
Web Policies