Bradley County
Bradley County was formed in 1836 from Indian lands
(Acts of Tennessee 1836, Chapter 12).
The county seat is Cleveland.
SELECTED PUBLISHED COUNTY HISTORIES
- Album of Historical Memories. Chatata-Tasso, Bradley County, Tennessee, 1830-1961 (Hardy & Randolph, 1962)
- Bradley County (Lillard, 1980) [name index]*
- Bradley County [pictorial history] (George & Kinder, 2007)*
- Bradley Divided : Bradley County, Tennessee During the Civil War (Murray, 1992) [name index]
- Chancery Court Minute Book, 1873-1875 (Fagen, 2006) [name index]
- Charleston on the Hiwassee : A History of Charleston, Bradley County, Tennessee (Landers, 1999)*
- Chatata Valley (Manly, 1981)
- Chatata Valley families and their neighbors (Manly, 198?) [name index]
- Cleveland, the Beautiful : A History of Cleveland, Tennessee, 1842-1931 (Snell, 1986) [name index]
- Councils at Red Clay Council Ground, Bradley County, Tennessee, 1832-1837 (Snell, 1980)
- From War to Peace : World War II and the Postwar Years, Bradley County, Tennessee, 1940-1950 (Snell & George, 1986) [name index]*
- Fun, Fact, and Philosophy : The Diary of John Coffee Williamson, 1858-1861 (Williamson, 1996) [name index]*
- Goodspeed's Bradley County History (1988) [name index]
- Hard Times Remembered : Bradley County and the Great Depression (Snell, 1983) [name index]
- Heritage of Bradley County, Tennessee, 1836-1998 (Bradley County Heritage Book Committee, 1998) [surname index]*
- History of Bradley County (Wooten, 1949) [name index]*
- History of Bradley County : A Contribution to the American Revolution Bicentennial Observance (Lillard, 1976) [name index]*
- History of Broad Street United Methodist Church, Cleveland, Tennessee, 1836-1984 : The Story of Methodism in Bradley County (Trewhitt, 1984) [name index]
- History of the Rebellion in Bradley County, East Tennessee (Hurlburt, 1988) [name index]
- Horse and Saddle Days on Candies Creek in Bradley County, Tennessee (Ross, 1973)
- McDonald & Environs (Henry, 1997)*
- Reflections Past and Present : A Pictorial History of Bradley County, 1836-1991 (Bradley County Historical Society, 1991)*
Additional county and community histories can be found at the Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources: Bradley County. The items in the bibliography may not all be available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
PUBLISHED LOCAL RECORDS
- 1840 Federal Census Bradley County, Tennessee (Randolph, 1974?) [alphabetical]
- 1860 Federal Census, Bradley County, Tennessee (Snell, 1983) [alphabetical]
- 1860 Slave Schedule Bradley County, Tennessee (Fagen, 2001) [alphabetical by slaveholder]*
- 1880 Census, Tennessee, Transcription for Bradley County (Sistler, 1979) [alphabetical]
- Abstracts of Ocoee District Early Land Records-Entries (Lucille McClure, 1990) [alphabetical]
- Bradley County, Tennessee, 1850 Federal Census (Campbell, 1973) [alphabetical]*
- Bradley County Tennessee 1870 Census Index (Lee College [Cleveland, TN]), 1986) [alphabetical]
- Bradley County, Tennessee, 1900 Census Index (Cleveland Public Library, 1989) [alphabetical]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Chancery Court Book, 1840-1859 [2 vols.] (WPA, 1938) [name index]
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Chancery Court Case Files, 1860-1880, index (Fagen, 1998) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee Circuit Court Case File Abstracts 1836- 1860 (state cases) : and the trial of Alexander Wallace for the Murder of Paul Herriford (Sherrill, 1988) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Circuit Court Case Files, 1860-1880 [vol. 1 State cases; vol. 2 Civil cases] (Fagen & Wiefering, 1997) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Circuit Court Case Files, 1880-1900 [vol. 1 State cases; vol. 2 Civil cases] (Fagen, 1997) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Circuit Court Minute Book, 1837-1842 (Fagen & Wiefering, 1998) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Confederate Pension Applications (Wiefering & Sherrill, 1990) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Death Record Abstracts, 1913 Through 1925 (Welchance & Sherrill, 1988) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Entry Taker's Book, 1840-41 (WPA, 1939) [name index]
- Bradley County Tennessee Marriage Records, 1887-1901 (Cleveland Public Library, 1986) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Tax Lists of 1837, 1838, 1839 : [alphabetical by district] (Snell, 1979) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Tombstone Inscriptions (WPA, 1937) [name index]
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics 1926 Through 1930 (Wiefering, 1997) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics 1931 Through 1935 (Wiefering, 1997) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics 1936 Through 1941 (Wiefering, 1998) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics 1942 Through 1946 (Wiefering, 1998) [name index]*
- Bradley County, Tennessee, Will Book, 1859-1884 (WPA, 193?) [name index]
- Bradley County Will Book, 1864-1883, Index (Fagen, 19??) [name index]*
- Canday's Creek Baptist Church of Bradley County : Minutes, 1849-1866 (WPA, 1941) [name index]
- Cherokee Property Valuations in Tennessee, 1836 (Hoskins, 1984) [name index]
- Chickamauga Reservoir Cemeteries (Douthat, 1986) [surname index]*
- Circuit Court Minute Books, Bradley County, Tennessee [vol.1 1838-1839; vol. 2 1840-1842] (Fagen, 2005) [name index]
- Circuit Court Minutes of Bradley County, 1837-1842 [2 vols.] (WPA, 1942) [name index]
- Death Records From Tipton Funeral Home, Cleveland, Tennessee, January 1, 1899-October 19, 1914 (Fagen, 2015) [alphabetical]
- Ft. Hill Cemetery 1836-2006, Cleveland, Tennessee (Green, 2006) [alphabetical]
- Historical Cemetery Records of Bradley County, Tennessee (Ross, 1973) [surname index]
- Index to the Ocoee District Early Land Records - Entries (McClure, 1990) [alphabetical]
- Marriage book I, 1864-1887, Bradley County, Tennessee (Manly, 1985) [name index]*
- Minutes of the Circuit Court of Bradley County : Book B, 1838-1841 (WPA, 1941) [name index]
- Petitions from Bradley County to the Tennessee State Legislature, 1837-1866 (Sherrill, 1992) [name index]
- Ocoee Land District Maps (Douthat, 2013) [name index]
- Selected Cemeteries of Bradley County, Tennessee (1972-1989) (Hicks, 1999) [name index]*
- Tennessee, Records of Bradley County : Journal of Augustine F. Shannon, 1848-1850 (WPA, 1940) [name index]
LOCAL RECORDS ON MICROFILM
An inventory of microfilmed Bradley County records is available on our web site. Individual reels of microfilm may also be purchased.
Earliest records include:
- marriages from 1864
- wills from 1859
- deed index from 1865
- chancery court minutes from 1838
- county court minutes from 1864
- circuit court minutes from 1838
- tax books from 1865
The following reels are available on interlibrary loan from the Library and Archives:
- Wills -- 1859-1905 (#22, 1 reel)*
- WPA Records, Bradley County (Record Group #107, Roll 6, 1 reel) Roll includes Circuit Court Minutes, Pts. I & II (1837-1842), Circuit Court Minutes, Book B, Parts I & II (1838-1841), Chancery Court Book, Pts. I & II (1840-1859), Entry Taker's Book (1840-1841), Will Book (1859-1884), Minutes of Canday's Creek Baptist Church (1849-1893), Minutes of White Plains Baptist Church (1843-1844), Journal of Augustine P. Shannon (1848-1850) and Tombstone Inscriptions (undated).*
NEWSPAPERS ON MICROFILM
Newspapers were published in Shelbyville. Scattered early issues are available from 1826, and a complete run begins in 1948. Microfilms are loaned to Tennessee libraries. Individual reels may also be purchased. An Inventory of Newspapers on Microfilm at the Library and Archives is available on our web site.
SELECTED MANUSCRIPTS MATERIAL
- Allen Family Papers-Addition, 1834-1942*
- Bradley County Miscellaneous Records, ca. 1835-1960 (Microfilm Manuscript #561, 4 reels)*
- Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) Court Records, 1891-1953 (Microfilm Manuscript #1668, 12 reels)*
- First Cumberland Presbyterian Church Records. Cleveland, Bradley County, 1837-1986 (Microfilm Manuscript #1148, 1 reel)*
- Hardwick, Johnston, Corn, and Jarnigan Family Scrapbooks, 1875-1968 (Microfilm Manuscript #1337, 3 reels)*
- Philippi Baptist Church Records. Cleveland, Bradley County, 1841-1992 (Microfilm Manuscript #1366, 1 reel)*
- Quarterly Conference Records of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Church. Bradley County, 1864-1893 (Microfilm Manuscript #1505, 1 reel)*
- St. Luke's Episcopal Church Records. Bradley County, 1867-1970 (Microfilm Manuscript #602, 1 reel)*
- Union Missionary Baptist Church Minute Books. Bradley County, 1852-1993 (Microfilm Manuscript #1398, 1 reel)*
- William Cowan Lee Account Books, 1888-1924 (Microfilm Manuscript #651, 1 reel)*
CENSUS RECORDS
- Census on microfilm for Bradley County: 1840-1880, 1900-1930
- State-wide census index: 1840-1880
- State-wide census index on microfilm (Soundex): 1880, 1900-1930
- Bradley County census records in book form: 1840, 1850*, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900*
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR BRADLEY COUNTY
- County Index to Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications
- Early Tennessee Tax Lists at the Tennessee State Library and Archives
- Funeral Home Records at the Tennessee State Library and Archives
- Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912
- Index to Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933
- School Census Records
- Tennessee World War I Veterans
* Indicates this title may be borrowed on interlibrary loan from the Library and Archives.
