Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Giles County

Giles County

Giles County was formed in 1809 from Indian lands

(Acts of Tennessee 1809 [First Session], Chapter 55)

The county seat is Pulaski.

There were fires at the Giles County
courthouse in 1813, 1857 and 1907.

 

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Selected Published County Histories

Additional county and community histories can be found at the Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources: Giles 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 Giles County records is available on our website.  Individual reels of microfilm may also be purchased.

Earliest records include:

 

Newspapers on Microfilm

Newspapers were published in Lynnville and Pulaski.  Scattered early issues are available from 1838, and a complete run begins in 1961.  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 Giles 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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Giles County Formation Act

ACTS OF TENNESSEE 1809 (First Session), CHAPTER 55:

 

"An Act to establish a county, south of Maury County, and north of the southern boundary of the state."

 

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, That there be a new county established within the following described bounds, towit: Beginning at the south east corner of Maury County, thence due south to the southern boundary of the state; thence west, so far as to form a constitutional county; thence north to the line of Maury County, and with said line to the beginning, which could shall be known by the name of GILES County.

SECTION 2. BE IT ENACTED, That James Ross, Nathaniel Moody, Tyree Rhodes, Gabriel Bumpass, and Thomas Whitson, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners who, or a majority of them shall (as soon as the nature of the case will admit) proceed to fix on a place on Richland Creek, as near the centre of the county as an eligible site can be procured, at which site the said commissioners shall procure at least one hundred acres of land, for which they shall cause a deed or deeds to be made, to themselves and their successors in office, by a general warrantee, on which they shall cause a town to be laid off, with the necessary streets, at least eighty feet wide, reserving at least two acres, for a public square, on which shall be built a court-house and stocks, also reserving a public lot, sufficient to contain a jail in a convenient part of the town, which town shall be known by the name of PULASKI.

SECTION 3. BE IT ENACTED, That when the town shall have been thus laid off, the aforesaid commissioners are further required to advertise for sale, in one of the Gazettes, in Nashville, to the highest bidder, giving sixty days previous notice, and allowing twelve months credit, such portion of the lots so laid off, as they may think will be for the benefit of the county, and that hey shall take bonds with sufficient security, to themselves and their successors in office, and shall make titles to the purchasers in fee simple.

SECTION 4. BE IT ENACTED,  That it shall be the duty of said commissioners to contract with suitable workmen to build a court-house, prison and stocks; and the money arising from the sale of such lots, after paying for the land purchased, and the necessary expense of laying off said town, shall be applied to the payment of such court-house, prison and stocks.

SECTION 5. BE IT ENACTED, That should the money arising from the sale of said lots, be insufficient to pay for each court-house, prison and stocks, in that case a majority of the justices of said county, shall in term time, have power, and are hereby authorized to lay a county tax, not exceeding the state tax, which tax shall be continued from year to year, until a sufficient sum be collected to pay for such public buildings, and shall be collected in the same manner as the state tax, and when collected, the sheriff shall pay the same over to the commissioners, and be by them applied to the payment of the said public buildings, and the commissioners receipt shall be allowed in the settlement of the sheriff's accounts.

SECTION 6. BE IT ENACTED, That before the said commissioners enter on the duties of their appointment, they shall enter into bond with sufficient security, payable to the Governor, for the time being, in the sum of six thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of their duty as herein expressed, which bond shall be lodged in the office of the clerk of the said county of Giles.

SECTION 7. BE IT ENACTED, That so soon as the public buildings shall be completed, the said commissioners shall lay before the court of Giles county a just and fair statement of all the monies by them received, as well as those by them expended, with sufficient vouchers for the same, by virtue of their appointment, and the court shall make them a reasonable compensation for their services, Provided, there shall be a majority of the justices of the peace of said county present, when such allowance is made.

SECTION 8. BE IT ENACTED, That for the due administration of justice, the court of pleas and quarter sessions shall be held in and for the county of Giles, on the third Monday in February, May, August and November, in each and every year; and the justices for said county shall hold the first court at the house of Lewis Kirk, and they may adjourn their courts from time to time, to such place as they may think most convenient, until a courthouse be built in and for said county, and then all causes, matters and things, depending in said court, and all manner of process, returnable to the same, shall be adjourned to such court-house, and all courts of pleas and quarter sessions, held in and for said county, shall be held by the justices of the peace, in the same manner, and under the same rules and regulations, and shall have and exercise the same powers and jurisdictions as are or shall be prescribed, by and for the several counties in this state.

SECTION 9. BE IT ENACTED, That nothing herein contained, shall be so construed as to prevent the sheriff or collector of Maury County for collecting the taxes within the said county of Giles, which are at this time due, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.

SECTION 10. BE IT ENACTED, That the said county of Giles be a part of the district, for electing an elector to elect a President and Vice-President of the United States, for electing a governor, representative or representatives to Congress, Senator or Senators and representatives in the General Assembly, and field officers; and be annexed to the brigade to which it has heretofore been attached, and the elections be held at the place for holding court in said county, and shall be conducted under the same rules and regulations as are established by law; and that the sheriff or deputy sheriff of said county of Giles, shall, on the second Thursday of March next, hold an election at the place above stated, for the purpose of electing the field officers of militia for the said county of Giles, which election shall be conducted pursuant to the laws now in force and use for the election of field officers, and the sheriff or returning officer shall make a return in all cases of elections agreeably to the laws now in force and use in this state, and shall observe the same rules and regulations in making returns and comparing votes, as are now observed in the electoral district, to which the said county is attached.

SECTION 11. BE IT ENACTED, That the militia of said county of Giles shall constitute the thirty-seventh regiment, and shall hold regimental matters on the fourth Thursday in October in each year, and the colonel or commanding officer of each regiment, shall lay off the county line into companies, and shall use his writ, and appoint the place where elections shall be held for company officers.

SECTION 12. BE IT ENACTED, That this act shall be in force from and after the first day of January next.

 

Passed on November 14, 1809

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Giles 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! webpage 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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Giles County in General

• Biographical directory, TN General Assembly, 1796-1969 (Giles County, Preliminary #22). Nashville, TSLA, 1970. 53 pp.
• Blue, Keith F. A study of the private preparatory schools in the areas of Maury, Giles, & Lincoln counties. N.p., Upper Duck River Development Association, 1973. 40 pp.
• Bulletin. vol. 1, March 21, 1974-. (Quarterly). Giles County Hist. Soc.
• Butler, Margaret, ed. Tall tales & true stories about Giles countians. Pulaski, the author, 1979. 93 pp.
• Estes, P.M. Historic places in Davidson, Williamson, Maury & Giles counties. Nashville, Nashville Auto Club, 1928. 29 pp.
• Finding our past: history of black education in Giles County, 1920-1970. Pulaski, Giles County Hist. Soc., 1986. 97 pp.
• Flood insurance study: Giles County, TN, unincorporated areas. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1992. 1 vol.
• George Peabody College for Teachers. Div. of Surveys & Field Services. Public schools of Giles County, TN: a survey report. Nashville, n.p., 1963. 210 pp.
• Giles County, 1980-1987: an economic analysis. Nashville, TN Dept. Emp. Sec., 1988. 12 pp.
• Giles County, TN: a unique quality of life. Pulaski, Giles County Chamber of Commerce, 198-. 32 pp.
• Giles County, TN: Homecoming '86. Pulaski, Homecoming '86 Giles County Committee, 1986. 178 pp.
• Giles County, TN Sesquicentennial Association. Official souvenir program of Giles County, TN, sesquicentennial, 1809-1959: July 11-18, 1959. Pulaski, the association, 1959. 128 pp.
• Giles heirlooms: historic recipes & places. Compiled by the Giles County Hist. Soc. Pulaski, Sain Publications, 1992. 192 pp.
• Goodspeed's history of TN (Giles County, pp. 749-766, 846-876). Goodspeed, 1886.
• Killebrew, Joseph B. Resources of Giles County; resources of Lincoln County. Nashville, Union & American, 1871. 14 pp.
• Knox, Robert D. A history of public education in Giles County, TN. TTU thesis, 1965. 92 pp.
• McCallum, James. A brief sketch of the settlement & early history of Giles County, TN, 1876. Pulaski, Pulaski Citizen, 1928. 125 pp. (also published in AHM 2 (1897), pp. 303-323)
• McCary, Charles E.L. Mineral resources summary of the Aspen Hill quadrangle, TN (including the TN portion of the Salem quadrangle, AL-TN). Nashville, TN Div. Geol., 1967. 8 pp.
• Natural Resource Analysis Demonstrations (TVA). Important farmland, Giles County, TN. Nashville, the service 1978. 1 map.
• Parker, Clara M. Flournoy Rivers' manuscripts; & History of Pisgah by W. Thomas Cardin. N.p., 19--. 228 pp. (Flournoy Rivers' manuscripts were published in the Pulaski Citizen, 1895-1898; History of Pisgah was published in the Pulaski Record, 1904)
• Parker, Elizabeth C. History of Giles County, TN. MTSU thesis, 1953. 101 pp.
• Phase II archaeological investigations at site 40GL26 Giles County, TN. Memphis, MSU Dept. Anthrop., 1985. 66 pp.
• Preparing for economic growth & change, Giles County. Prepared by M. Lynne Holliday, et al. Nashville, TN Advisory Comm. on Intergovernmental Relations, 1990. 84 pp.
• Soil survey, Giles County, TN. Washington, D.C., US GPO, 1907, 1968.
• Solomon, James. Times from Giles County. N.p., the author, 1976. 151 pp.
• Sorrells, Dan R. Historical study of the Elk River from Fayetteville to Elkton, TN; a resource intern report. Knoxville, Elk River Development Assoc. & TVA, 1973. 53 pp.
• TN Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics & Mines. Essays & addresses, with discussions thereon, at the meeting of the Giles County Farmers' Institute at Pulaski, TN, March 8 & 9, 1889. Nashville, Campbell Print. Co., 1889. 1p.
• TN Dept. Transportation [county maps] issued periodically.
• TN Valley Authority. Ind. Div. Agricultural-industrial survey of Giles County, TN. 2 vols. Knoxville, TVA, 1934. var. pp.
• Thomas, W.O. "Giles County & Pulaski." Trotwood's Monthly 3 (1906), pp. 249-257.
• US Geol. Survey [topographic maps] issued periodically. Quadrangles: Sandy Hook, Lynnville, Campbells Station, Campbellsville, Milky Way, Brick Church, Cornersville, Bodenham, Pulaski, Tarpley, Frankewing, Appleton, Aspen Hill, Elkton, Dellrose, Union Hill, Salem, Elkmont, Ardmore.

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Elkton

• There was a time: a history of Elkton & outlying communities. Elkton, Elkton High School, 1978. 46 pp.

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Ku Klux Klan

(Note: numerous works on the Ku Klux Klan's development outside of Tennessee, & numerous fictional works, are available but in the interests of space not listed here.)

• Alexander, Thomas B. Prelude to Ku Kluxism in TN. Vanderbilt U. thesis, 1940. 159 pp.
• Allen, Ward. "A note on the origin of the Ku Klux Klan." THQ 23 (1964), p. 182.
• Barker, Earlene T. The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s. MSU thesis, 1960. 155 pp.
• Chalmers, David M. Hooded Americanism; the first century of the Ku Klux Klan, 1865-1965. Garden City, NY, Doubleday, 1965. 420 pp.
• Damer, Eyre. When the Ku Klux rode. NY, Neale Pub. Co., 1912. 152 pp.
• Davis, Susan L. Authentic history, Ku Klux Klan, 1865-1877. NY, Am. Lib. Service, 1924. 316 pp.
• Garett, William R. & J. M. Bass, eds. "Ku Klux mysteries." AHM 6 (1901), pp. 46-47.
• Golladay, Edward I. Military government-- Ku Klux-- defense of the south: speech of Hon. Edward I. Golliday, of TN, delivered in the House of Representatives, April 4, 1871. Washington, D.C., F. & J. Rives & G.A. Bailey, 1871. 14 pp.
• Horn, Stanley F. Invisible empire: the story of the Ku Klux Klan, 1866-1871. Boston, Houghton, 1939. 434 pp. (various reprints available)
• Kent, Anne P. The Ku Klux Klan in TN. UT thesis, 1935. 134 pp.
• Lester, John C. & Daniel L. Wilson. Ku Klux Klan, its origin, growth & disbandment. Nashville, Wheeler, Osborn & Duckworth, 1884. 117 pp. (various reprints available)
• McFarlin, Brenda M. The Ku Klux Klan in middle TN, 1866-1869. MTSU thesis, 1971. pp.
• Meriwether, Elizabeth A. Recollections of 92 years, 1824-1916. Nashville, THC, 1958. 249 pp.
• Randel, William P. The Ku Klux Klan; a century of infamy. Philadelphia, PA, Chilton Books, 1965. 300 pp.
• Revised & amended prescript of the order of the * * * [Ku Klux Klan]. Pulaski, Pulaski Citizen, 1868. 24 pp. (reprinted AHM 5 (1900), pp. 3-26).
• Robuck, J.E. My own personal experience & observation as a soldier in the Confederate army during the Civil War, 1861-1865, also during the period of reconstruction. Appending a history of the origin, rise, career & disbanding of the famous Ku Klux Klan, or invisible empire. Exactly why, when & where it originated. Birmingham, AL, Leslie Print. & Pub. Co., 1911. 136 pp.
• Romine, William B. & Mrs. William B. Romine. Story of the original Ku Klux Klan. Pulaski, Pulaski Citizen, 1934. 29 pp.
• Sherrod, Isa L. The Ku Klux movement in TN. George Peabody College thesis, 1935. 109 pp.
• TN General Assembly. Senate. Committee on Military Affairs. Report of evidence taken before the Military Committee in relation to outrages committed by the Ku Klux Klan in middle & west TN. Submitted to the extra session of the thirty-fifth General Assembly of the state of TN, Wednesday, 2d day of September, 1868. Nashville, S.C. Mercer, Printer to the State, 1868. 67 pp.
• Trealease, Allen. White terror. NY, Harper, 1971. 557 pp.

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Martin College

• Allen, Paul F. A history of Martin College: the first l00 years. Pulaski, Martin College, 1971. 49 pp.
• Halvarson, Carl M. Struggle & promise; a study of institutional purpose at Martin College, 1870-1970. Nashville, n.p., 1968. 35 pp.

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Pulaski

• Cemeteries as open space reservations. Washington, D.C., US Dept. Housing & Urban Dev., 1970. 69 pp.
• Cohen, Nell R. Pulaski history, 1809-1950; the beginning, the building, the development, the institutions, & the people of the town of Pulaski, TN. Pulaski, the author, 1951. 99 pp. (TN Homecoming '86 ed., Pulaski, Giles County Hist. Soc., 1986).
• Flood insurance study: city of Pulaski, TN, Giles County. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1987. 12 pp.
• Floods on Richland & Pleasant Run creeks & two unnamed tributaries to Richland Creek in the vicinity of Pulaski, TN. Knoxville, TVA, 1983. 22 pp.
• Pulaski, Giles County, TN: a land flowing with milk & honey. Pulaski, n.p., 195-. 33 pp.
• Pulaski TN Industrial & Agricultural Dev. Comm. Pulaski & Giles County industrial data. N.p., 1958. 20 pp.
• Pulaski, TN. Memorial Church of the Messiah. Order of services to be used at the laying of the cornerstone of the Memorial Church of the Messiah, Pulaski, TN, Thursday, July 7th, 1887. Pulaski, Citizen Job Print. Dept., 1887. 12 pp.
• Richardson, William T. Historic Pulaski, birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, scene of execution of Sam Davis. Nashville, Methodist Pub. House, 1913. 108 pp.
• US Congress. House. Committee on Public Lands. Report of the Committee on the Public Lands on the petition of the commissioners appointed to fix a site for the town of Pulaski, in the county of Giles & the state of TN, Jan. 18, 1811. Washington, D.C., A & G Wray, 1810. 4 pp.

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