Davidson County
Davidson County was formed in 1783
by an act of the state of North Carolina
(Laws of North Carolina 1783, Chapter 52)
The county seat is Nashville.
Selected Published County Histories
- African-American History of Nashville, Tennessee, 1780-1930: Elites and Dilemmas (Lovett, 1999) [name index]
- Andrew Jackson Slept Here: A Guide to Historical Markers in Nashville and Davidson County (Metropolitan Historical Commission of Nashville and Davidson County, 1993) [name index]*
- Articles from Nashville, Tennessee Newspapers, 1800 to 1850 (Armistead, 2009) [name index]
- Articles from Nashville, Tennessee Newspapers, 1851 to 1865 (Armistead, 2009) [name index]
- Articles from Nashville, Tennessee Newspapers, 1866 to 1870 (Armistead, 2009) [name index]*
- Articles from Nashville, Tennessee Newspapers, 1871 to 1875 (Armistead, 2012) [name index]*
- Black Community of Nashville and Davidson County, 1860-1870 (Ridley, 1982)
- Centennial History of Westminster Presbyterian Church: Originally Named Moore Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1873-1973: With a Postscript Through 1978 (Harwell, 1979) [name index]
- Davidson County (Burns, 1989) [name index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee (Nashville. Industrial Bureau, 1911?)*
- God, Guns, Guitars & Whiskey: An Illustrated Guide to Historic Nashville, Tennessee (Zimmerman, 2012)
- Historic Blue Grass Line: A Review of the History of Davidson and Sumner Counties (Nashville-Gallatin Interurban Railway, 1913)
- Historic Cane Ridge and its Families (Johnson, 1973) [name index]*
- Historic Places in Davidson, Williamson, Maury and Giles Counties (Tennessee Historical Commission, 1921?)
- Historic Travellers' Rest, Nashville, Tennessee (Davis, 1976)
- History of Davidson County (Woods, 1946?)
- History of Davidson, County, Tennessee, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers (Clayton, 1971) [index in separate volume]*
- History of McKendree Church (Tipps, 1984)
- History of the Dickinson Road (Bell, 1936?)
- Marks, Landmarks and Markers: A Guide to the Civil War in Nashville and Davidson County (Beasley, 196?)
- Nashville : A Pictorial History (Adams & Christian, 1980) [name index]
- Nashville in the New South, 1880-1930 (Doyle, 1985) [name index]
- Nashville Since the 1920s (Doyle, 1985) [name index]
- Nashville Streets & Their Stories (Wills, 2012)
- Nashville, Then and Now 1780-1930 (Weidner, 1930)
- Nashville, the Occupied City: The First Seventeen Months, February 16, 1862 to June 30, 1863 (Durham, 1985) [name index]
- North Nashville and Germantown: Yesterday and Today (Connelly, 1982) [name index]
- Northwest Davidson County: The Land, Its People: Historical Sketches of Bordeaux, Jordonia, Scottsboro, Bell's Bend, Joelton, White's Creek, Union Hill (Graves, 1975) [name index in separate volume]*
- Pioneers of Davidson County, Tennessee (Whitley, 1999) [surname index]*
- South Nashville (Wagner, 2018)
- Wicked Nashville (Goetsch, 2017)
- With Good Will and Affection-- for Antioch: Reminiscences of Antioch, Tennessee (Marshall, 2002) [name index]
Published Local Records
- 1770-1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements: Davidson, Sumner, and Tennessee Counties (in What is Now Tennessee) (Fulcher, 1987) [alphabetical for each county]
- 1780-1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements: An Enumeration of the Inhabitants of Record in Davidson County (Fulcher, 1979) [alphabetical]*
- 1812 Davidson County, Tennessee Tax List (Douthat, 19??) [name index]
- 1850 Census of the City of Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee (Porch, 1969) [surname index]
- 1860 Davidson County, Tennessee, Census [4 vols.] (Dobson-Sides, 2000) [surname index in vol. 4]*
- 1880 Census, Davidson County, Tennessee (Sistler, 2000) [alphabetical by head of household]*
- Cemetery Records of Davidson and Wilson Counties (Carver, 1957)
- Corrected Index, Deed Books T & W, Davidson County (Smith, 1994?) [name index]*
- Davidson Co., Tennessee Land Entries 1824-1836; Land Surveys 1824-1852 (Pruitt, 2007) [name index]
- Davidson Co., TN Marriages, 1838-1863 (Sistler, 1985) [alphabetical]*
- Davidson County Index to Military Discharges, 1917-1946 (19??)
- Davidson County Pioneers, Revolutionary and War of 1812 Soldiers (Whitley, 1965) [surname index]
- Davidson County, Superior Court of Law and Equity, Mero District, pleas [vol. 1 & 2 1803-1809; vol. 3 1807-1809] (WPA, 1938) [name index in vols. 2 & 3]
- *Davidson County, Tennessee, 1850 Census (Porch, 1969) [surname index]
- Davidson County, Tennessee County Court Minutes, 1783-1792 (Wells, 1990) [name index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee County Court Minutes, 1792-1799 (Wells, 1991) [surname index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee, County Court Minutes, 1799-1803 (Wells, 1991) [surname index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee Death Records & Tombstone Inscriptions [2 vols.] (Fulcher, 1979-) [name index in each volume]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee Deed Book H, 1809-1821 (Smith, 2000) [name index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee Deed Book "P" : Personal Property Deeds, 15 November 1821-13 February 1829 (Smith, 1997) [name index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee, Deed Books "T" and "W," 1829-1835 (Smith, 1994) [corrected index in separate volume]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee, Deed Book "Z" : Personal Property Deeds, September 5, 1835-January 2, 1838 (Smith, 2004) [name index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee Deeds [vol. 1 1784-1787; vol. 2 1786-1787; vol. 3 1787-1790; vol. 4 1790-1791; vol. 5 1789-1791; vol. 6 1791-1793; vol. 7 1793-1794; vol. 8 1794-1796] (Willis, 1997-) [name index in each volume]
- Davidson County, Tennessee, General Index to Deeds, 1784-1871 [Acuff - Doran] (WPA, 1942) [alphabetical by grantee]
- Davidson County, Tennessee, Land Records, 1788-1793 (WPA, 1937) [name index]
- Davidson County, Tennessee, Marriages, vol. 2 1838-47, vol. 3 1848-49 (WPA, 1938) [name index for vol. 2; surname index for vol. 3]
- Davidson County, Tennessee, Naturalization Records, 1803-1906 (Smith, 1997) [name index]*
- Davidson County, Tennessee, Register Book A, 1784-1789 [2 vols.] (WPA, 1940) [name index in vol. 1]
- Davidson County, Tennessee, Re-survey of Nashville, 1820 (WPA, 1939) [name index]
- Davidson County, Tennessee Wills & Inventories [vol. 1 1783-1816 ; vol. 2 1816-1830 ] (Marsh, 1990-) [surname index in each volume]*
- Davidson County, TN Wills and Administrations to 1861 (Sistler, 1989) [alphabetical]*
- Davidson County Women in the World War, 1914-1919 (Gilmore, 1923)*
- Death Notices from The Clarion, 1800-1821 (Armistead, 2005) [name index]
- Death Notices From the Christian Advocate, Nashville, Tennessee [1874-1876; 1877-1879; 1880-1882; 1883-1884 (in 2 pts)] (Smith, 1999-) [surname index in each volume]
- Death Notices in the CME Christian Index 1885-1905 (Smith, 1999) [surname index]
- Directory of Historical Markers--Nashville-Davidson County (Beasley, 1977) [name index]*
- Genealogical Abstracts from Reported Deaths, the Nashville Christian Advocate [1847-1849; 1857-1860; 1861, 1872-1873; 1869-1871; 1885-1886](Smith, 2000-) [surname index in each volume]
- Gone Under : Historic Cemeteries and Burial Grounds of Nashville, Tennessee (Zimmerman, 2012) [name index]
- Index, Northwest Davidson County : The Land, Its People (Smith, 19??) [name index & subject index]
- Index [to] Clayton's History of Davidson County, Tennessee, 1780-1880 (Whitfield & Williams, 1973) [name index]
- J. Percy Priest Reservoir, Cumberland River Basin, Stones River, Tennessee: Cemetery Relocation Plan (U.S. Army Engineer District, Nashville, 1965)
- J. Percy Priest Reservoir Project: Cemetery Relocation, Davidson, Wilson and Rutherford Counties, Tennessee (U.S. Army Engineer District, Nashville, 1966)
- Land Deed Genealogy of Davidson County, Tennessee [vol. 1 1783-1792; vol. 2 1793-1797; vol. 3 1797-1803] (Marsh, 1992) [surname index in each volume]*
- Marriage Record Book I: January 2, 1789-December 13,1837 (Lucas, 1979) [name index]
- Marriage Record Book I, January 2, 1789- December 13, 1837, Davidson County, Tennessee (Daughters of the American Revolution, 1952) [name index]
- Marriages of Davidson County, Tennessee, 1789-1847 (Whitley, 1981) [name index]
- Mill Creek Church Meeting Minutes, April 1797-April 1811, Davidson County, Tennessee (1994?) [name index]
- Minutes of the County Court of Davidson County [vol. 2, Book B, 1791-1797] [2 pts.] (WPA, 1941) [name index in pt. 1]
- Minutes of the Superior Court Mero District [vol. 1 1803-1805; vol 2 1805-1807 (in 2 pts0; vol. 3 1807-1809] (WPA, 1941) [name index in vol. 1 and vol. 3; in pt. 1 of vol. 2]
- Nashville Hardgrave Cemetery (Doggett, 1995)
- Nashville North, TN Polk City Directory [1998-2019]
- Nashville South, TN Polk City Directory [1998, 2000-2019]
- Obituaries ... of People Who are Buried in the City Cemetery [vol. 1 1822-1846; vol. 2 1846 & 1870-1875] (Armistead, 200?) [name index in each volume]
- Old City Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee, Tombstone Inscriptions (Garrett & McClain, 1971) [alphabetical]
- Polk's Nashville Suburban Directory (1957-1997/98)
- Selected Cemeteries in Davidson County, Tennessee (Glencliff High School, 1980) [name index]
- Tennesseans Before 1800: Davidson County (Fischer, 1997) [alphabetical]*
- Tennessee, Records of Davidson County, Hugh Gwinn & als. Copy Record : Williamson Rice & als., 1808-1813 (WPA, 1937) [name index]
- Tennessee, Records of Davidson County, Minutes of the Superior Court of North Carolina Including Mero District, 1788-1803 [2 vols.] (WPA, 1938) [name index in each volume]
- Tennessee, Records of Davidson County, Wills & Inventories [vol. 2, pt. 1 1794-1805 / pt. 2. 1794-1805; vol. 3 1805-1811; vols. 4-6, pt. 1. 1805-1816 / pt. 2. 1805-1816; vol. 8, pt. 1. 1821-1826; vol. 10, pt. 1. 1832-1836 / pt. 2. 1832-1836] (WPA, 1937) [name index in vol. 2 (pt. 1), vol. 3, vol.4-6 (pt. 1), vol. 8 and vol. 10 (pt. 1)]
- Tombstone Inscriptions of Davidson County, Tennessee [4 vols.] (Fulcher, 1986-) [name index in each volume]
Local Records on Microfilm
An inventory of microfilmed Davidson County records is available on our website. Individual reels of microfilm are also available for purchase.
Earliest records include:
- marriages from 1789
- wills from 1784
- deed index from 1784
- chancery court minutes from 1846
- county court minutes from 1783
- circuit court minutes from 1803
- tax books from 1805
The following reels are available on interlibrary loan from the Library and Archives:
- Deed Index -- 1784-1871 (A-K) Reverse (Roll A, 1 reel)*
- Deed Index -- 1784-1871 (L-Z) Reverse (Roll B, 1 reel)*
- Deed Index -- 1784-1871 (A-K) Direct (Roll H, 1 reel)*
- Deed Index -- 1784-1871 (L-Z) Direct (Roll I, 1 reel)*
- Marriages -- 1789-1837 (#469, 1 reel)*
- Marriages -- 1837-1863 (#470, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1784-1816 (#427, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1816-1821 (#428, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1821-1832 (#429, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1832-1840 (#430, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1840-1846 (#431, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1846-1853 (#432, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1853-1859 (#433, 1 reel)*
- Will Books -- 1859-1865 (#434, 1 reel)*
- WPA Records, Davidson County (Record Group #107, Roll 16, 1 reel). Roll includes Wills & Inventories, Vol. 2, pt. 2 (1794-1805), Wills & Inventories, Vol. 3 (1805-1811), Wills & Inventories, Vols. 4-6, pts. 1 & 2 (1805-1816), Wills & Inventories, Vol. 8, pt. 1 (1821-1826) and Wills & Inventories, Vol. 10, pts. 1 & 2 (1832-1836).*
Newspapers on Microfilm
Newspapers were published in Donelson, Goodlettsville, Madison, Nashville and Old Hickory. Scattered early issues are available from 1808, and a complete run begins in 1880. 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 website.
Selected Manuscripts Material
- 1798 Federal District Tax List for Davidson County, Tennessee (13th Assessment District) (Microfilm Manuscript #1640, 1 reel)*
- Albert F. Ganier, Sr. Papers, 1786-1965 (Microfilm Manuscript #1096, 1 reel)*
- Antebellum Southern Plantations. UPA. (Microfilm Manuscript #1370, 20 reels)*
- Belle Meade United Methodist Church Records. Nashville, 1951-1980 (Microfilm Manuscript #655, 1 reel)*
- Belmont United Methodist Church Records. Nashville, 1910-1981 (Microfilm Manuscript #709, 3 reels)*
- Calvary United Methodist Church Records. Davidson County, 1942-1980 (Microfilm Manuscript #649, 2 reels)*
- Centenary United Methodist Church Records. Davidson County, 1818-1983 (Microfilm Manuscript #757, 1 reel)*
- Chandler - Jackson Family Papers, 1787-1868 *
- Christ Episcopal Church Records. Nashville, 1829-1958 (Microfilm Manuscript #47, 2 reels)*
- *City Road Methodist Church Records. Davidson County, 1885-1940 (Microfilm Manuscript #1041, 1 reel)
- Coffee-Perkins Family Papers, 1783-1828
- Community Chest and United Givers Fund, Nashville Tennessee, Scrapbooks, 1922-1959 *
- Dake Family Papers, 1828-1974 (Microfilm Manuscript #1185, 2 reels)*
- Davidson County, Tennessee Land Records, 1786-1950
- Davidson - McClelland Family Papers, 1849-1947 (Microfilm Manuscript #850, 1 reel)*
- DeMoss family papers, 1803-1931
- Downtown Presbyterian Church Records. Nashville, 1961-1970 (Microfilm Manuscript #495, 1 reel)*
- Dr. Walter Henry Storer Photograph Collection, c. 1930s-1955
- Edwin A. Price Family Papers, 1855-1934 (Microfilm Manuscript #1550, 1 reel)*
- George I. Waddey & Son, Inc., Nashville Plat Book Collection, 1908-1970
- Goodloe Family Papers, 1674-ca. 1895 (Microfilm Manuscript #605, 1 reel)*
- Gray Family Papers, 1799-1912 (Microfilm Manuscript #880, 4 reels)*
- Grace Baptist Church Records. Davidson County, 1910-1956 (Microfilm Manuscript #648, 3 reels)*
- Hardeman Family Papers, 1806-1885 (Microfilm Manuscript #1180, 1 reel)*
- Harding-Jackson Papers, 1819-1911
- Harding-Jackson Papers, Addition, 1874-1891
- Hobson United Methodist Church Records. Davidson County, 1851-1983 (Microfilm Manuscript #787, 1 reel)*
- Ida Hamilton Thompson Dickinson Genealogical Collection, ca. 1660-1945 (Microfilm Manuscript #1155, 1 reel)*
- James Douglas Anderson Papers, 1854-1951 (Microfilm Manuscript #610, 6 reels)*
- John McCormick Lea Account Books, 1847-1853 (Microfilm Manuscript #453, 1 reel)*
- James Perry Foster Diaries, 1938-2005 (Microfilm Manuscript #1841, 1 reel)*
- Klein, Harry, Papers, 1943-1949 (Microfilm Manuscript #1666, 4 reels)*
- Land Records. Davidson County, 1786-1950 (Microfilm Manuscript #1373, 1 reel)*
- Lucius Edward Burch Papers, 1921-1959 (Microfilm Manuscript #660, 6 reels)*
- Luke Lea Papers, 1826-1993 (Microfilm Manuscript #1541, 16 reels)*
- Margaret Travis Gray Genealogical Materials: Travis Ancestors of Emmett Alexander Travis, 1790-(1860-1988)-1996 (Microfilm Manuscript #1778)*
- Martha DeBow Casey Collection, 1791-1933 (Microfilm Manuscript #1743, 1 reel)*
(Microfilm Manuscript #1257, 2 reels)* (Microfilm Manuscript #487, 1 reel)* - Mount Olivet Cemetery Records. Nashville, 1912-1989 (Microfilm Manuscript #1184, 4 reels)*
- Murdock Collection of John Overton Papers, 1816-1932 (Microfilm Manuscript #803, 3 reels)*
- Norvell Sevier Rose Collection, 1846-1930 (Microfilm Manuscript #1432, 1 reel)*
- Old City Cemetery Records. Nashville, 1822-1980 (Microfilm Manuscript #659, 3 reels)*
- Real Estate Books, 1866-1870 (Microfilm Manuscript #144, 1 reel)*
- Records of Cumberland District, Davidson and Washington Counties, 1779-1806 (Microfilm Manuscript #224, 1 reel)*
- Smith Springs Baptist Church Records. Nashville, Davidson County, 1874-1984 (Microfilm Manuscript #845, 2 reels)*
- Smith Springs Baptist Church Records Addition. Nashville, 1985-1989 (Microfilm Manuscript #1121, 1 reel)*
- Spring Hill Cemetery Records. Davidson County, 1785-1985 (Microfilm Manuscript #895, 18 reels)*
- St. George's Episcopal Church Records. Nashville, 1949-1969 (Microfilm Manuscript #470, 2 reels)*
- Tucker-Vaughan Papers, 1840-1912 (Microfilm Manuscript #1431, 1 reel)*
- William Wells Berry Papers, 1838-1896
Search for Manuscripts Material in our Catalog
Census Records
- Census on microfilm for Davidson County: 1820-1880, 1900-1930
- State-wide census index: 1820-1880
- State-wide census index on microfilm (Soundex): 1880, 1900-1930
- Davidson County census records in book form: 1850*, 1860*, 1880*
Additional Research Aids for Davidson 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.
Davidson County Formation Act
LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA 1783, CHAPTER 52:
"An Act to erect a county adjoining the line of Virginia, including a part of Cumberland River."
I. WHEREAS a considerable number of inhabitants have settled on the lands on Cumberland River in this state, at a very great distance from any place where County Courts are held, and it is represented that erecting a county to include the said inhabitants, and appointing courts to be held among them, would be very beneficial and advantageous: Therefore for the general good of the said inhabitants,
II. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NORTH-CAROLINA, AND IT IS HEREBY ENACTED BY THE AUTHORITY OF SAME, That all that part of this state lying west of Cumberland Mountain and south of the Virginia line, beginning on the top of Cumberland Mountain where the Virginia line crosses, extending westward along the said line to Tennessee River, thence up the said river to the mouth of Duck River, thence up Duck River to where the line of marked trees run by the commissioners for laying off land granted the Continental Line of this state intersects said river (which said line is supposed to be in thirty-five degrees fifty minutes north latitude) thence east along said line to the top of Cumberland Mountain, thence northwardly along said mountain to the beginning, shall after the passing of this act be, and is hereby declared to be a distinct county by the name of Davidson.
III. [Unnecessary to be inserted]
IV. AND IT BE FURTHER ENACTED BY THE AUTHORITY AFORESAID, That the County Court of Davidson shall appoint an Entry-Taker for the purpose of receiving entries of lands for those who are allowed pre-emptions by the law for laying off lands granted to the Continental Line of this state: And as it has been suggested that the inhabitants of the said county have no specie certificates, they shall be at liberty to pay at the rate of ten pounds specie or specie certificates per hundred acres, for the aforesaid pre-emptions, and shall be allowed the term of eighteen months to pay the same; and that the heirs of all such persons who have died, having rights of pre-emptions as aforesaid, shall be allowed the term of one year after coming of lawful age, to secure their pre-emptions. Provided, that no grants shall be made for the said lands until the purchase money shall be paid into the proper office.
Taken from The First Laws of the State of North Carolina (Cushing, 1984)