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Using Tennessee Census Records, 1880-1940

The 1880 Census

The 1890 Census and the 1891 Enumeration of Male Voters

The 1900 - 1930 Censuses

Soundex

The 1940 Census

The 1880 Census

The Tennessee State Library and Archives has a published index to the 1880 census of Tennessee. The index is divided into three volumes: east, middle and west Tennessee. The index lists only the name, age & county of residence of the head of household, and a citation to the original census record. Write and request a copy of the entries for your surname by mail.

In some cases, the 1880 census for a county has been transcribed and published. If you know the county of residence for the family you seek, check the genealogical fact sheet for the county to determine whether such a publication is available. If so, you can write and request a copy of the entries for your surname by mail.

If neither of these options works for you, you need to search the 1880 Soundex, a census index on microfilm. The State Library and Archives staff cannot search the Soundex for you, as such searches are often time-consuming and require analysis on the part of the researcher. Please be aware that the 1880 Soundex is limited by the fact that it indexes only households with children aged 10 and under.

Residents of Tennessee can view scanned copies of Tennessee census records by going through the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL), clicking on the Genealogy tab, and then selecting HeritageQuest Online.

Your local library may provide access to web sites such as HerigateQuest Online or AncestryLibrary.com, which have scanned the existing Tennessee census records for 1810 - 1880 and 1900 - 1940. The archives.org web site also offers scanned PDFs of Tennessee census records to the public.

The 1890 Census and the 1891 Enumeration of Male Voters

The 1890 census was destroyed in a records warehouse fire before microfilm was invented. There are no Tennessee census records for 1890. See the National Archives article "First in the Path of the Firemen: The Fate of the 1890 Population Census" for additional details.

There is, however, a list of male voters in each county in 1891. Some of these voter lists include ages, but no other personal or family information is provided. These lists are not alphabetical, and not all have been indexed. We cannot search for a record if the county has not been indexed. Published indexes are available for the following counties: Anderson, Benton, Blount, Carroll, Carter, Cheatham, Clay, Cumberland, Dickson, Dyer, Fentress, Gibson, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Lawrence, Lewis, Loudon, Macon, Morgan, Obion, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Putnam, Roane, Scott, Sevier, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sullivan, Trousdale, Unicoi, Washington, Wayne, Wayne, Weakley, and Williamson.

PLEASE NOTE: Ancestry.com, in partnership with the Tennessee State Library and Archives, has added an index to and scans of the 1891 Tennessee enumeration of male voters. The indexes to these records at Ancestry.com's Tennessee State Library and Archives web page can be viewed by all. RESIDENTS OF TENNESSEE who are not members of Ancestry.com can view the scanned copies of the records by first going to the Tennessee Electronic Library page at http://tntel.tnsos.org/, clicking on the Genealogy tab, and then clicking on Tennessee Records; the scans of the delayed birth records can then be viewed after a free log-in on the Ancestry site. The indexes and images are free to Tennessee residents. Individuals who subscribe to Ancestry.com can also view the scanned records.

The 1900 - 1940 Censuses

There are no published statewide indexes to Tennessee census records 1900-1930.

In some cases, the 1900, 1910, 1920 or 1930 census for a county has been transcribed and published. If you know the county of residence for the family you seek, check the genealogical fact sheet for the county to determine whether such a publication is available. If so, you can write and request a copy of the entries for your surname by mail.

If neither of these options works for you, you need to search the Soundex, a census index on microfilm. The State Library and Archives staff cannot search the Soundex for you, as such searches are often time-consuming and require analysis on the part of the researcher. A library in your area may have this microfilm. If not, your local librarian can assist you in borrowing Soundex microfilm from one of the fee-based microfilm lending programs.

Please be aware that the 1910 Soundex has a peculiar arrangement, whereby the index for people living in the metropolitan areas is on separate reels from those living in the rest of the state.

Soundex

The Soundex is a card-index to households in census records from 1880-1930. The cards have been microfilmed, and can be found at many libraries or borrowed through a fee-based lending program. Instead of being arranged alphabetically, the Soundex converts every surname to a number and indexes by the sound of the name. For example, the names Henson and Hansen would have the same Soundex number. With a little practice, the Soundex can be easy to use and a valuable genealogical research tool.

Updated March 5, 2013