Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Gibson County

Gibson County

Gibson County was formed in 1823 from Indian lands

(Private Acts of Tennessee 1823, Chapter 111)

The county seat is Trenton.

There was a fire at the Gibson County courthouse in 1941.

 

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Selected Published County Histories

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

 

Published Local Records

 

Local Records on Microfilm 

An inventory of microfilmed Gibson County records is available on our website.  Individual reels of microfilm may also be purchased.

Earliest records include:

The following reels are available on interlibrary loan from the Library and Archives:

 

Newspapers on Microfilm 

Newspapers were published in Bradford,  Dyer,  Humboldt,  Milan,  Rutherford and Trenton.  Scattered early issues are available from 1837, and a complete run begins in 1936.  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.

 

Search for Manuscripts Material in our Catalog 

 

Census Records

 

Additional Research Aids for Gibson 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.

 

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Gibson County Formation Act

PRIVATE ACTS OF TENNESSEE 1823, CHAPTER 111:

"An Act to establish a new county west of Carroll County."

 

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, That a new county to be called and known by the name of Gibson county, in honor of, and to perpetuate the memory of Col. John H. Gibson, shall be, and is hereby, established west of Carroll County; beginning at the north-west corner of Carroll county, running thence west on the fourth sectional line, to a point four miles west of the second range line in the thirteenth district; thence north, to the fifth sectional line; thence west on said sectional line, to the fifth range line; thence south with the said range line, to a point two and a half miles south of the line separating the tenth and thirteenth districts; thence east parallel with said line, to a point directly south of the south-west corner of Carroll County; thence north, to the beginning.

SECTION 2. BE IT ENACTED, That for the due administration of justice, the courts of Pleas and Quarter- Sessions, and circuit courts, for said county, until otherwise provided for by law, shall be holden at the house of Luke Biggs, under the same regulations and restrictions, and shall have and exercise the same powers and jurisdiction, as are, or shall hereafter be, prescribed for the several counties in this state.

SECTION 3. BE IT ENACTED, That it shall be the duty of the sheriff of said county of Gibson, to hold an election at the place of holding courts in said county, on the third Thursday and Friday in January next, for the purpose of electing field officers for said county, which shall be conducted under the same rules and regulations as are prescribed by law in similar cases; and the militia of said county shall compose the ___ regiment, and be attached to the ___ brigade.

SECTION 4. BE IT ENACTED, That the election for company officers for said county, shall be held at such places as the commandant of the militia of said county may think proper to appoint, which said elections shall be held on the third Monday in February next, under the same rules, regulations and restrictions, as are prescribed in like cases.

SECTION 5. BE IT ENACTED, That the sheriff of said county, on the days prescribed by law, shall hold an election at the place of holding court, for the purpose of electing a Governor, members of the State Legislature, members to Congress, and electors to vote for a President and Vice-President of the United States, under the same rules and regulations as prescribed by law.

SECTION 6. BE IT ENACTED, That a majority of the justices of the peace for said county shall have power to adjourn said court to any other place within said county, that would suit their convenience.

 

Passed on October 21, 1823

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Gibson County Bibliography

PLEASE NOTE that the Tennessee State Library and Archives does not hold copies of all of the items listed in this bibliography. Please check the Tennessee State Library and Archives Online Catalog or visit the Ask Us a Question! web page to contact the Library and Archives and verify we have an item in our collection. We will respond to e-mail requests promptly; response time may vary, depending on the amount of research required to answer your question and the unique nature of your request. If you need immediate assistance you may call the reference desk at (615) 741-2764 or visit us in person.

Subjects :

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Gibson County in General

• Allred, Charles E. Economic aspects of one-variety cotton communities in TN. Knoxville, UT Ag. Exp.Sta., 1940. 37 pp.
• Biographical directory, TN General Assembly, 1796-1969 (Gibson County, Preliminary #45-A). Nashville, TSLA, 1974. 32 pp.
• Bright, R.E. The history of secondary education in Gibson County, TN. UT thesis, 1931. 121 pp.
• Community information, greater Gibson County, TN. Prepared by Greater Gibson County Chamber of Commerce & West TN Ind. Assoc. Jackson, the association, 1988. 54 pp.
• Cox, Brent. Gibson in grey: Gibson County in the Civil War. N.p., the author, 1986. 46 pp.
• Culp, Frederick M. & Mrs. Robert E. Ross. Gibson County, past & present: the first general history of one of west TN's pivotal counties. Trenton, Gibson County Hist. Soc., 1961. 583 pp.
• Culp, Frederick M. A history of old Gibson Primitive Baptist Church. N.p., 1956. 20 pp.
• Emergency operations plan, Gibson County, TN. Nashville, TEMA, 1987. 1 vol.
• Families & history of Gibson County, TN to 1989. Milan, Lee-Davis UDC Hist. Soc., 1989. 356 pp.
• Flood insurance study: Gibson County, TN, unincorporated areas. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1983. 17 pp.
• Flood insurance study: town of Kenton, TN, Gibson & Obion counties. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1982. 14 pp.
• Flood of Sept. 12-13, 1982 in Gibson, Carroll, & Madison counties, western TN. Nashville, US Geol. Survey, 1986. 1 map.
• Gibson County, 1980-1987: an economic analysis. Nashville, TN Dept. Emp. Sec., 1988. 12 pp.
• Gibson County sesquicentennial, 1823-1973; celebrating its 150th anniversary (county festivities, Oct. 15-21, Milan, 1973). Milan, Gibson County Sesquicentennial Celebration, Inc., 1973. 216 pp.
• Goodspeed's history of TN (Gibson County, pp. 797-816, 857-931). Goodspeed, 1887.
• Greene, W.P., ed. Gibson County, TN (illustrated): a series of pen & picture sketches, comprising a passing glance at the history, progress & present state of industrial & social development... Nashville, Gospel Advocate, 1901. 144 pp.
• Hargrove, Mrs. Gordon B. The honor roll, Gibson County, TN, USA, 1917- 1918- 1919. Eaton, the author, 1920. 200 pp.
• Hays, Tony. Gibson-Crockett, a joint heritage. Chattanooga, Kitchen Table Press, 1986. 98 pp.
• Johnson, R.W. "Truck farming in the northern part of the cotton belt-- Gibson County, TN." J. TN Acad. Sci. 16 (1941), pp. 266-289.
• Morgan, Arthur E. Preliminary report upon the drainage of the lands overflowed by the North & Middle forks of the Forked Deer River & the Rutherford Fork of the Obion River in Gibson County, TN. Nashville, TN Div. Geol., 1910. (its Bulletin # 3-B, pp. 21-43)
• Operation SOS, Sept. 15, 1979. Trenton, SOS Dyer Facelift Comm., 1979. 52 pp.
• Otaigbe, Esther A. A description of agricultural, marketing & practices in Gibson County, TN. TSU thesis, 1979. 60 pp.
• Pounds, Ernest R. A history of Skullbone (old north Gibson), TN. Bradford, the author, 1980. 112 pp.
• Putnam, Lyle L. A proposed program of consolidation for the public schools of Gibson County, TN. Murray State Teachers College thesis, 1947. 31 pp.
• Presbyterian Church in the USA. A rural survey in TN, made by the Department of Church & County Life of the Board of Home Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the USA. NY, Redfield, 1912. 48 pp.
• Progress thru power: twenty-fifth anniversary report to the members of the Gibson County Electric Membership Corporation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1961. Gibson, the corporation, 1961. 14 pp.
• Robinson, Robert E. Doctor Robinson: his life & times. N.p., 1993. 251 pp.
• Rothrock, Mary U, ed. "Family letters: home life in Carroll & Gibson counties, TN, 1868." WTHSP 25 (1971), pp. 107-134.
• Rothrock, Mary U. "Family letters: home life in Gibson County, TN, January - June, 1869." WTHSP 26 (1972), pp. 94-130.
• Smith, Gerald P. An archaeological overview & management plan for the Milan Army Ammunition Plant, Gibson & Carroll counties, TN. Walnut Creek, CA, Woodward-Clyde Consultants, 1984.
• Soil survey, Gibson County, TN. Washington, D.C., US GPO, 1994. 106 pp.
• Thompson, Ernest T. The fabulous David Crockett, his life & times in Gibson County, including tall tales & anecdotes. Rutherford, David Crockett Memorial Assoc., 1956. 57 pp.
• TN Dept. Transportation [county maps] issued periodically.
• TN Valley Authority. Ind. Div. Agricultural-industrial survey of Gibson County, TN. Knoxville, TVA, 1935. var. pp.
• US Geol. Survey [topographic maps] issued periodically. Quadrangles: Trimble, Kenton, Rutherford, Greenfield, Tatumville, Yorkville, Dyer, Bradford, Trezevant West, Friendship, Brazil, Trenton, Milan, Atwood, Alamo, Humboldt, Medina, Spring Creek.
• Walker, Emily B. Gibson County, TN, newspaper historical & genealogical extracts. South Fulton, the author, 1986.
• West TN combination directory, 1872, containing the histories & directories of Jackson, Brownsville & Trenton, the representative business towns of west TN, together with historical sketches of Milan, Denmark & Spring Creek. Louisville, KY, Circulating Directory Co., n.d. 196 pp. (reprinted 1988 by Guild Bindery Press).

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Bradford

• Flood insurance study: city of Bradford, TN, Gibson County. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1982. 13 pp.
• Pounds, Ernest R. A pictorial history of Kimball, later to become known as Bradford, TN. N.p., Skullbone Print. Service, 1981. 114 pp.

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Dyer

• A history of the Dyer, TN community: the people & their work. Paducah, KY, Turner Pub. Co., 1986. 256 pp.

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Germantown

• Ranchle, Bob. "Reminiscences from the Germantown settlement in Gibson County, TN." TN Folklore Soc. Bull. 45 (1979), pp. 62-67.

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Humboldt

• Community information, Humboldt, TN. Prepared by Humboldt Chamber of Commerce & West TN Ind. Assoc. Jackson, the assoc. (annual?)
• Flood insurance study, city of Humboldt, TN, Gibson County. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1983. 16 pp.
• Humboldt & Gibson County, TN: a description of their great resources & advantages. Humboldt, Humboldt Land & Improvement Co., 1900. 15 pp.
• Humboldt Chamber of Commerce. Industrial survey, Humboldt, Gibson County, TN. Humboldt, the chamber, 1938. 20 pp.
• Humboldt, TN, Municipal Plann. Comm. Humboldt, its people & economy: a preliminary survey. Humboldt, the commission, 1947. 10 pp.
• Humboldt TOPICS study. Prepared in cooperation with the US Dept. Transportation, FHA & the city of Humboldt. Nashville, n.p., 1974. 55 pp.
• Humboldt transportation study: existing conditions. Prepared by the TN Dept. Transportation, in cooperation with the FHA & the city of Humboldt. Nashville, TN Dept. Transportation, 1986. 2 maps on 1 sheet.
• Rooks, C.W. Humboldt, past, present & future. Humboldt, Chamber of Commerce, 1925. 16 pp.
• US Army Corps of Engineers. Memphis district. Flood plan information, Middle Fork Forked Deer River & tributaries in the vicinity of Humboldt, TN. Memphis, the district, 1970. 45 pp.

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Laneview College

• Thompson, Ernest, Jr. & Harry Williamson. "A history of Laneview College of Gibson County, TN." WTHSP 18 (1964), pp. 130-135.

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Milan

• Community information, Milan, TN. Prepared by Milan Chamber of Commerce & West TN Ind. Assoc. Jackson, the association, 1988. 36 pp.
• Milan, TN economic & community development profile. Prepared by Milan Chamber of Commerce & West TN Ind. Assoc. Jackson, the association, 1987. 67 pp.
• Rauchle, B.C. "The Germantown near Milan, TN." WTHSP 20 (1966), pp. 61- 76.

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Rutherford

• Flood insurance study: town of Rutherford, TN, Gibson County. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1983. 6 pp.
• In & around Rutherford, by the Rutherford Heritage Comm. for Homecoming '86. Rutherford, the committee, 1986. 205 pp.

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Trenton

• Community information, Trenton, TN. Prepared by the city of Trenton, Greater Gibson County Chamber of Commerce & West TN Ind. Assoc. Jackson, the association, 1988. 33 pp.
• Downing, Marvin. "First Monday: a trade day & social institution in Trenton, TN." WTHSP 46 (1992), pp. 73-83.
• Flood insurance study: city of Trenton, TN, Gibson County. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1982. 17 pp.
• US Army Corps of Engineers. Flood plain information study, North Fork of the Forked Deer River & Cain Creek, Trenton, TN. Prepared at the request of the city of Trenton & TN State Plann. Comm. by US Army Engineer, District, Memphis, Corps of Engineers. Memphis, the district, 1965. 2 vols. in one.

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