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Rhea County


Updated:  May 10, 2005

Rhea County was formed in 1807 from
Roane County.

The county seat is Dayton.

There were fires at the Rhea County courthouse
in 1869 and 1927.

 

CENSUS RECORDS 

  • Census on microfilm for Rhea County:  1830-1880, 1900-1930
  • State-wide census index:  1830-1880
  • State-wide census index on microfilm  (Soundex):  1880,  1900-1930
  • Rhea County census records in book form:  1830, 1840, *1850, *1860, *1870, *1880, 1910, *1920

 

SELECTED COUNTY HISTORIES

  • *History of Rhea County, Tennessee (Broyles, 1991)
  • Morgan Springs, Tennessee : Past, Present, and Future (Morgan, 1986?)
  • *Rhea and Meigs Counties (Tennessee) in the Confederate War (Allen, 1908)
  • *Rhea County History : As Recorded by William G. Allen (Broyles, 2003)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee. Its Agricultural and Horticultural Possibilities, Mineral and Timber Resources, Opportunities Offered the Homeseeker and Investor (Crawford, 1921?)

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

 

PUBLISHED LOCAL RECORDS

  • 1850 Rhea County, Tennessee [census] (Hutcherson & Creekmore, 1983)
  • *1880 Census, Rhea County, Tennessee (Sistler, 1990)
  • *Chickamauga Reservoir Cemeteries (Douthat, 1986)
  • *Churches and Schools of Rhea County, Tennessee (Broyles, 1992)
  • *Circuit Court of Rhea County Execution Docket, July Term 1866-March Term 1870 (Gray, 1992)
  • *Compendium of Rhea and Meigs Counties Tennessee 1808 Through 1850 (Broyles, 1980)
  • *Election Returns and Voter Lists, Rhea County, Tennessee, 1845-1860 (Broyles, 1992)
  • *Fourth Survey Distr[i]ct of Tennessee, 1808-1810 : John McClellan-Surveyor Anderson, Bledsoe, Campbell, Knox, Overton, Rhea, Roane Counties, TN (Douthat, 1988)
  • Historical Records of East Tennessee (McGhee, 1954)
  • Index to Rhea County Loose Court Papers (Broyles, 1992)
  • Index to the 1910 Census, Rhea County, Tennessee (Tallent, 1990?)
  • Marriages of Rhea County, Tennessee, 1808-1859 (Whitley, 1983)
  • Population Schedule of the United States Census for 1830 and 1840, Rhea County, Tennessee (Hutcherson, 1965)
  • Private Acts of Rhea County, Tennessee (McIntyre, 1986)
  • *Rhea County in Old Newspapers, 1809-1834 (Broyles, 1998)
  • Rhea County Miscellany (Broyles, 198?)
  • Rhea County Tax Lists : 1819 Through 1829 (Broyles, 1983)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, 1866 Tax List (Broyles, 1996)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, 1920 Census (Tallent, 1995)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Administrations and Wills, 1841-1852 (WPA, 1938)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Cemetery Records [*vol. 1 Northern three-fourths of county; vol. 2 Southern one-fourth of county] (Broyles, 1998)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Census, Marriage, and Tax Records 1850 Through 1900 (Broyles, 1982)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Circuit Court Jurors, 1815-1860 (Broyles, 1992)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Circuit Court Minutes, September 1815-March 1836 (Wells, 1996)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, County Court Minute Book, April 1, 1876 - August 1881 (Broyles, 1997)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Court Minutes [vol. 2 1829-1834; vol. 3 1834-1840; vol. 4 1840-1844 -- index to court minute book A] (WPA, 1937-1938)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (County Court) [9 vols., 1810-1815, May 1823 - April 1876] (Broyles, 1992-)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Deed Book F (Broyles, 1995)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee Deed Books A, B, C, D, E (Broyles, 1987)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Deed Records [1808-1809] (WPA, 1938)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee Land Entry Book (Surveyor's Book no. 1) : 1824-1889 and 1902-1929 (Broyles, 1992)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee : Marriage Record of Colored Persons 1866-1879 (Broyles, 1995)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Marriage Records, 1808-1890 (WPA, 1937)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Minute Docket, 1823-29 (WPA, 1938)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Scholastic Populations, 1838-1851 (Broyles, 1995)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee Tax Lists, 1819 Through 1829 (Broyles, 1989)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee : Tax Lists 1832-1834, and County Court Minutes, Volume D, 1829-1834 (Wells, 1996)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Taxable Property and Polls for 1837 (Broyles, 1992)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Tombstone Inscriptions (Gannaway & Poole, 1998)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Tombstone Records (WPA, 1938)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1914 Through 1925 (Wiefering, 1993)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1926 Through 1930 (Wiefering, 1997)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1931 Through 1935 (Wiefering, 1999)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1936 Through 1941 (Wiefering, 1999)
  • *Rhea County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1942 Through 1946 (Wiefering, 1999)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Wills and Inventories, 1825-1840 (WPA, 1936)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Wills and Settlements, 1850-1860 (WPA, 1936)
  • Rhea County, Tennessee, Wills, Inventories, Estate Settlements, and Guardian Reports, 1810-1881 (Broyles, 1989)
  • *Rhea County Vital Statistics, Record of Births, 1908-1912 (Broyles, 1997)
  • *Rhea County Vital Statistics, Record of Births, 1924-1939 (Broyles, 1997)
  • *Rhea County Vital Statistics : Record of Deaths, 1925-1939 (Broyles, 1997)
  • Tennessee Fourth Surveyor's District Land Surveys 1814-1824 : Anderson, Bledsoe, Campbell, Morgan, Overton, Rhea and Roane Counties, Tenn. (Bailey, 1996)
  • Tennessee, Records of Rhea County : Minutes of the Hiwassee Association of Missionary Baptists, 1891 (WPA, 1938)
  • Tennessee, Records of Rhea County : Minutes of the Quarterly Conference of the Washington Circuit of the Holston Conference, Methodist Church South, 1870-1879 (WPA, 1938)

 

LOCAL RECORDS ON MICROFILM 

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

Earliest records include:

  • marriages from 1808
  • wills from 1825
  • deed index from 1808
  • chancery court minutes from 1823
  • county court minutes from 1823
  • circuit court minutes from 1815
  • tax books from 1875

 

The following reels are available on interlibrary loan:

  • *Deed Index -- 1808-1922 (#71, 1 reel)
  • *Marriage records -- 1808-1899 (#36, 1 reel)
  • *Wills, Settlements & Inventories 1825-1902 (#69, 1 reel)
  • *WPA Records, Rhea County (Record Group #107, Roll 66, 1 reel) Roll includes Deed Records, Vol. A (1808-1809), Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, Minutes, Vols. B-D (1829-1844), Index to County Court Minutes (1844-1852), Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, Minute Docket (1823-1829), Marriage Records (1808-1890), Wills & Inventories (1825-1840), Administrations & Wills (1841-1852), Wills & Settlements (1850-1860), Minutes of the Quarterly Conference of the Washington Circuit of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Church, South (1870-1879), Minutes of the Hiwassee Association of Missionary Baptists (1891-1895) and Tombstone Inscriptions (undated).

 

NEWSPAPERS ON MICROFILM 

Newspapers were published in Dayton, Rhea Springs and Spring City.  Scattered early issues are available from 1885, and a complete run begins in 1941.  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.

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