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Revolutionary War Bounty Land

10/8/2019

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Although Tennessee is not a federal land state, meaning none of its land was owned by the federal government, some North Carolina Revolutionary War veterans received bounty land in the state. Bounty land is land the federal government set aside as a reward for those who served in the Revolutionary War as well as the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Indian Wars.

Modern day Tennessee was once part of western North Carolina. However, in 1784 North Carolina gave the lands back to the United States to create a military reserve. This land was to be used for land grants to North Carolina Revolutionary War veterans and their heirs. North Carolina did not use any of its own land for bounty land grants.


Revolutionary War bounty land grants and warrant records can be found in the major online genealogy databases. Remember, just because a man’s name was on a warrant does not mean he was in the war. Many grants were sold to individuals other than the veteran and there was a lot of cheating in the grant process. It is wise to search a roster of soldiers in the Revolutionary War to verify that the name on a warrant was a veteran. One such list is contained in this digitized book, Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution. 
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Ancestry.com: North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843
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Free State of Scott

10/7/2019

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by Barbara Hermann

This bit of information would have startled me awake in my 7th grade Tennessee History class: While doing research on Scott County, I discovered that in 1861, United States Senator Andrew Johnson made a speech in Scott County against secession from the Union. Scott County voters voted against secession. A short time later the county court, by resolution, formed “the Free and Independent State of Scott.” This took place after Tennessee voted to secede in June 1861. Although neither Tennessee nor the United States government  ever  legally recognized the Free State of Scott, the vote to create it was rescinded in 1986 as part of the statewide Homecoming ’86 celebration. You can read more about it in the Tennessee State Library archives at https://sos.tn.gov/tsla/tri-star-chronicles-scott-county.
 
Recently, I saw an ad for a movie on Netflix titled “Free State of Jones” and thought it might be fiction relating to Scott County, but it is actually the story of the real Jones County in Mississippi that became an independent state after a Confederacy draft law passed allowing one white male to be exempted from military service for every 20 slaves on a plantation. Poor farmers did not want to “fight a rich man’s war.” It turns out there was also a county in Alabama (Winston) that also chose to become a “free state” instead of joining the Confederacy! You can read more about these three counties in the online encyclopedias for each state.

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Burned Counties in Tennessee

10/6/2019

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Courthouse fires and other natural disasters caused records held in certain Tennessee counties to be permanently lost. These are termed “burned counties.”  For a complete list, visit “Lost Records: Courthouse Fires and Disasters in Tennessee” at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. 

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Pictured is the fourth Putnam County Courthouse,  taken sometime in 1900, probably not long after its construction was completed. The third court house in the county caught fire and burned on 13 May 1899. Many of the records housed in the court house were destroy.

Here are some tips for research in burned counties:
  • Create a detailed family group record to use as your guide.  Research the family as well as their friends, associates, and neighbors.
  • Check for relevant records in counties surrounding your burned county.
  • Look at records held by the state and federal government, such as land grants, censuses, and pension records from wars.
  • Also check church records, newspapers, as well as published county histories and biographies.
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County Boundary Changes

10/5/2019

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County boundaries changed frequently in the early years of the state. And continued to change, with Loudon, Monroe, McMinn, Sumner, Macon, Haywood and Tipton all experiencing changes in the second half of the twentieth century. There are several websites, including the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, the TNGenWeb Project and Map of Us, that are excellent resources for tracking boundary changes through time.
 
In order to locate records, it is critical to know the correct county for the time period you are searching. One of our clients was looking for an ancestor from Hillsdale, TN. Today, Hillsdale is in Macon County; but when her ancestor lived there, the area was part of Smith County. Knowing that, we were able to find the information she was looking for.
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Know Your County History

10/4/2019

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When you begin to research an early Tennessee ancestor, it is very important to take time to learn about the history of the area. Which county was the area in when your ancestors were there? Who were the first settlers; what drew them to the area and why? What was the predominant religion? This information can provide clues for not only finding your ancestors, but understanding potential migration paths.
 
Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee From the Earliest Time to the Present, (1887) including its Early Explorations and Pre-historic Races, also its Aboriginal and Pioneer Annals, which includes county histories for 82 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, is one source for early historical information. It provides a nineteenth century perspective along with information on early settlers and settlement locations, and the significant geographical features, climate, crops and roads that influenced settlement. The county histories also discuss the growth of churches, schools, businesses and county government.
 
Other sources for county history information include the Tennessee County History Series published by the Memphis State University Press in the 1980’s, books published by county historical societies, and county websites. TSLA has two very useful resources: the Bibliography of Local History Sources and the County Genealogical  “Fact Sheets."

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Before Statehood in 1796

10/3/2019

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Before Tennessee statehood in 1796, parts of Tennessee were located in present day North Carolina. For example, in 1775, Washington District, North Carolina was formed from land around the Watauga, Holston, and Nolachucky Rivers. This later became part of Washington County, Tennessee. Davidson County, North Carolina was formed in 1783 from the Cumberland District and later became part of Davidson County, Tennessee. 
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​Keep in mind when doing research that some persons born before Tennessee became a state may report their birthplace as North Carolina rather than Tennessee.

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​Maps from mapofus.org
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Tennessee State Library and Archives

10/2/2019

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This world-class facility will blend the necessity of historic preservation with the ever-increasing demand for digital access. - Secretary Tre Hargett, 
The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), located in Nashville, will soon be opened in its new 165,000 square foot facility on Bicentennial Mall at the intersection of Sixth Avenue N and Jefferson Street. Scheduled to be opened Fall 2019, the new building will ensure Tennessee's history will be preserved for generations. 

"This world-class facility will blend the necessity of historic preservation with the ever-increasing demand for digital access. I applaud Gov. Haslam and the entire General Assembly for making this a reality so we can better serve Tennesseans,” Tennessee State Secretary of State Tre Hargett said during the facility's ground breaking ceremony.


TSLA will be referenced frequently in this month’s blog posts. They have a wealth of information available to the genealogy researcher. Some of the information is online at https://sos.tn.gov/tsla, and some of it is just a phone call, email, chat or visit away. One resource that is still growing is the Genealogy Index Search. This index searches across many of the databases at the archives and identifies available records. 

In addition, TSLA has partnered with Ancestry to provide Tennessee residents free access to a number of Tennessee specific databases. These databases can be accessed through the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL).
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