Greene County

Greene County

Greene County was formed in 1783 from Washington County

(Acts of North Carolina 1783, Chapter 51)

The county seat is Greeneville.

 

Selected Published County Histories
  • Bicentennial, 1783-1983: Greene County (Greeneville Sun,  1983)*
  • Broken Vessels: The Story of the Hanging of the "Pottertown" Bridge-burners, November-December, 1861 (Bible, 1996)
  • Community in Transition: Greene County, Tennessee, 1865-1900 (Bible, 1986)*
  • Goodspeed's Greene County History (1988) [name index]
  • Historic Greene County, Tennessee and Its People: 1783-1992 (Greene County History Book Committee, 1992)
  • Historic Greeneville: A City Among the Mountains (Allen, 1899)
  • Know Greene County (Doak High School, 193?)
  • Neighbor Against Neighbor, Brother Against Brother; Greene County in the Civil War (Hayes, 1966)
  • Reflections From the Past in Chuckey, Afton, Tusculum, and Eastern Greene County (Gregg, 2006)
  • Remembering Greene County Mills  (Gregg, 2013)  [name index] 
  • Rev. Andrew Rader's Diary 1853-1873  [name index]
  • Southside (Burgner, 1977)
  • Step Back in Time to Laurel Gap / Baileyton: Late 1700's Through Early 1900's in Greene County, Tennessee (Brandon, 2005)
  • Stories from the South of Greene County (Gregg, 2004)

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

 

Published Local Records
  • 1880 Census, Greene County, Tennessee (Sistler, 1993) [alphabetical by head of household]*
  • 1920 Greene County, Tennessee Census Index (Godwin, 2002) [alphabetical by head of household] *
  • Carter Co., Tennessee, Greene Co., Tennessee, Hawkins Co., Tennessee, Johnson Co., Tennessee, Sullivan Co., Tennessee, Unicoi Co., Tennessee [1891 enumeration of male voters] (Reed, 1992) [name index]
  • Chancery Court Minutes, Greene County, Tennessee, November 1825-January 1831 (Burgner, 1987) [name index]*
  • Civil War Soldiers of Greene County, Tennessee vol. 1 (Greene County Genealogical Society, 2016)  [alphabetical]
  • Civil War Soldiers of Greene County, Tennessee vol. 2  Faces of the Civil War (Greene County Genealogical Society, 2016)
  • Civil War Soldiers of Greene County, Tennessee vol. 3  Stories from the Civil War (Greene County Genealogical Society, 2017)
  • Greene County; Being Transcriptions From the Original Bonds and Licenses at the County Courthouse, Greeneville (Soderberg & Creekmore, 1965) [name index]
  • Greene County Cemeteries, From Earliest Dates to 1970-1971 (Reynolds, 1971) [ surname index in separate volume]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee 1836 Tennessee Civil Districts and Tax Lists (Douthat, 1993) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Death Record Abstracts [1908-1918] (Nikazy, 1997) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee Deed Abstracts, 1785-1810, Volumes 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 (Murray, 1996) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee Deed Abstracts, 1810-1822, Volumes 9, 10, 11 and 12 (Murray, 1997) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Guardians and Orphans Court Records, 1783-1870, and 1830 Tax List (Houston, 1984) [name index]
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Marriages, 1783-1868 (Burgner, 1981) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee Minutes of the Court of Common Pleas, 1783-1795 (Burgner, 1982) [name index]
  • Greene County, Tennessee Minutes of the Court of Common Pleas, 1797-1807 (Houston, 1981) [name index]*
  • Greene County Tennessee Tax Book 1809-1817 (WPA, 1936) [name index]
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Tax Digests, 1809-1817 (Burgner, 1986) [name index]
  • Greene County, Tennessee Tombstone Records (WPA, 1938)
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1914 through 1925 (Wiefering, 1994?) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1926 through 1930 (Wiefering, 1997) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1931 through 1935 (Wiefering, 1998) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1936 through 1941 (Wiefering, 1999) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Vital Statistics, 1942 through 1946 (Wiefering, 2000) [name index]*
  • Greene County, Tennessee, Wills, 1783-1890 (Burgner, 1981) [name index]*
  • Index to Buford Reynold's Greene County Cemeteries (McClung Historical Collection, 1973) [surname index to separate volume]
  • Kirchen Buch (Church book): Registers 1815-1828, St. James Lutheran Church, Greene County, Tenn. (Crosby, 1964)*
  • North Carolina Land Grants Recorded in Greene County, Tennessee (Burgner, 1981) [name index]*
  • Pleasant Vale Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Cemetery (1842-2002) (Britton, 2003) [name index]
  • Polk City Directory, Greene County, TN [2003, 2004, 2006-2019] [alphabetical listing]
  • Tale of Two Centuries: The Story of the Amos Bird/Phillip Hale North Carolina Land Grants, 1783, 1788, 1790 (Bible, 1996)
  • Tennessee, Records of Greene County: Inventory and Sale 1828-1843 [3 pts.] (WPA, 1938) [name index]
  • Tennessee, Records of Greene County : Minutes of Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions [16 vols.: 1783-1796, 1802-1832] (WPA, 1936-42) [name index]
  • Tennessee, Records of Greene County: Wills, Inventories 1802-1810 (WPA, 1936) [name index]

 

Local Records on Microfilm 

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

Earliest records include:

  • marriages from 1780
  • wills from 1800
  • deed index from 1785
  • chancery court minutes from 1825
  • county court minutes from 1783
  • circuit court minutes from 1809
  • tax books from 1809

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

  • Account of Insolvent Estates -- 1853-1901  (#87, 1 reel)*
  • Deed Index -- 1785-1871  (#171, 1 reel)*
  • Estate Settlements -- 1802-1857  (#147, 1 reel)*
  • Estate Settlements -- 1840-1855  (#148, 1 reel)*
  • Estate Settlements -- 1855-1880  (#149, 1 reel)*
  • Inventories -- 1828-1854  (#88, 1 reel)*
  • Inventories -- 1854-1872  (#89, 1 reel)*
  • Marriage Records -- 1780-1855  (#94, 1 reel)*
  • Marriage Records -- 1856-1888  (#95, 1 reel)*
  • Wills -- 1828-1893  (#164, 1 reel)*
  • Wills -- 1897-1931  (#165, 1 reel)*
  • WPA Records, Greene County  (Record Group #107, Roll 25,  1 reel). Roll includes County Court Minutes (1824-1826),  Minutes, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions (1825-1827) and Minutes (1828-1832).*

 

Newspapers on Microfilm 

Newspapers were published in Greeneville.  Scattered early issues are available from 1822, and a complete run begins in 1937.  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
  • Carl Neil Hayes Scrapbook, 1739-1971 (Microfilm Manuscript #519, 1 reel)*
  • Doak Family Papers, 1802-1938 (Microfilm Manuscript #541, 1 reel)*
  • Greene, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington Counties Cemetery Records, ca. 1780-1960 (Microfilm Manuscript #320, 1 reel)*
  • Joseph E. Bell Medical Account Book, 1820-1870 (Microfilm Manuscript #150, 1 reel)*
  • (Microfilm Manuscript #222, 1 reel)*

Search for Manuscripts Material in our Catalog 

 
Census Records
  • Census on microfilm for Greene County:  1830-1880, 1900-1930
  • State-wide census index:  1830-1880
  • State-wide census index on microfilm  (Soundex):  1880,  1900-1930
  • Greene County census records in book form:  1880*, 1920

 

Additional Research Aids for Greene County

* Indicates this title may be borrowed on interlibrary loan from the Library and Archives.

 

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Greene County Formation Act

LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA 1783, CHAPTER 51:

 

"An Act for dividing Washington County into two different counties, and erecting a county by the name of Greene."

 

I.  WHEREAS, the large extent of the county of Washington renders the attendance of the inhabitants on the extreme parts of the said county to do public duties, extremely difficult and expensive: 

II.  BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STAET OF NORTH-CAROLINA, AND IT IS HEREBY ENACTED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE SAME,  That from and after the passing of this act, the county of Washington shall be divided into two distinct counties, by a direct line beginning at William Williams' in the fork of Horse Creek, at the foot of Iron Mountain, thence a direct course to George Gallespie's house, at or near the mouth of Big Limestone, thence a north course to the line which divides the counties of Washington and Sullivan, thence with said line to the Chimney-Top Mountain, thence a direct course to the mouth of Cloud's Creek, in Holstein [sic] River; and all that part of Washington County westward of the said line, from and after the passing of this act, shall be and is hereby declared to be a distinct county by the name of Greene. 

[The Remainder unnecessary to be inserted.]

Taken from The First Laws of the State of North Carolina (Cushing, 1984)

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Greene 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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Greene County in General
  • Bicentennial, 1783-1983: Greene County. Alex Jones, ed. Greeneville, Greeneville Sun, 1983. 208 pp.
  • Biographical directory, TN General Assembly, 1796-1969 (Greene County, Preliminary #38-A). Nashville, TSLA, 1973. 76 pp.
  • Burgner, Goldene F. The southside. N.p., the author, 1977. 164 pp.
  • Community in transition: Greene County, TN, 1865-1900. Greeneville, Greene County Hist. Soc., 1986. 86 pp.
  • Crosby, Caleb P. Concord Baptist Church: Historical Day, 14 Oct. 1984. N.p., the author, 1984. 17 pp.
  • Evangelical Lutheran TN Synod (11th session, 1830). Report of the transactions held in Emanuel's Church, Greene County, TN from Monday the 13th to Tuesday the 14th Sept., 1830. New Market, VA, Printed in S. Henkel's Office, 1832. 5 pp.
  • First TN-VA Dev. Dist. Potential industrial areas in Greene County, TN. Johnson City, the district, in cooperation with the TVA, 1972. unp., maps.
  • Flood insurance study: Greene County, TN, unincorporated areas. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1991. 13 pp.
  • Glassie, Henry. "The old barns of Appalachia." Mtn. Life & Work 41 (1965), pp. 21-30.
  • Goodspeed's history of east TN (Greene County, pp. 881-890, 1239-1261). Goodspeed, 1887.
  • Greene County: a place in history. Greeneville, Greeneville Sun, 1976. 200 pp. (Bicentennial edition of the Greeneville Sun July 29, 1976)
  • Greene County, 1980-1987: an economic analysis. Nashville, TN Dept. Emp. Sec., 1988. 12 pp.
  • The Greeneville Sun. The Greene County story: as told in the front pages of newspapers published & printed in Greene County since 1805. Greeneville, Greeneville Sun, 1979. 270 pp.
  • Harmon, Bertha C. Falling leaves of Appalachia: memories of yesterday. Greeneville, Snapp Publishing, 1984. 93 pp.
  • Hayes, Carl N. Neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother; Greene County in the Civil War. Greeneville, the author, 1966. 31 pp.
  • Health profile: Greene County. Johnson City, ARCHA Health Systems Agency, 1986. 22 pp.
  • Historic Greene County, TN & its peoples: 1783-1992. Waynesville, NC, Don Mills, Inc., 1992. 434 pp.
  • Huntley, Harvey. Lutherans in Greene County: a bicentennial history. N.p., 1975. 180 pp.
  • Kroodsma, R.F. Woodlands & farm economy of east TN. Knoxville, UT Ag. Exp.Sta., 1947. 38 pp.
  • Lane, Patricia. "Birth, marriage & death: past & present customs in east TN." TN Folklore Soc. Bull. 50 (1984), pp. 58-67.
  • Lewis, Thomas M.N. "The Camp Creek site." TN Arch. 13 (1957), pp. 1-48.
  • Liberty Hill United Methodist Church, 1894-1994: the centennial history. N.p., 1994. 102 pp.
  • Nelson, Virginia K. Samuel Frazier, a Whig of 1776, one of the framers of TN's constitution, 1796, first state senator from Greene County, TN, 1796-1801, his wife Rebecca Julian, & their descendants. Knoxville, the author, 1978. 203 pp.
  • Pageant of east TN commemorating the sesquicentennial of Greene County at Greeneville, August 18, 1933. Greeneville, n.p., 1933. 16 pp.
  • Parman, Guy D. Geographic factors in the land use of Greene County, TN. ETSU thesis, 1954. 86 pp.
  • Roberts, Harry B. A brief history of Greene County: a good place to live. N.p., the author, 1984. 42 pp.
  • Roberts, Harry B. Olden times in Greene County. Greeneville, Greene County Heritage Trust, 1985. 2 vols.
  • Service sector business opportunities report for Greene County, TN. Knoxville, TVA, 1988. 49 pp.
  • Soil survey, Greene County, TN. Washington, D.C., US GPO, 1947, 1958.
  • TN Dept. Transportation [county maps] issued periodically.
  • TN Taxpayers Assn. A report of the survey of the finances & management of the government of Greene County, TN, prepared for the county court of Greene County & for the taxpayers of Greene County, sponsored by Greene County Taxpayers League. Nashville, TN Taxpayers Assn., 1934. 74 pp. (its Research `report #9)
  • TN Taxpayers Assn. A report on a survey of the condition of the highway funds of Greene County, TN, & the financial administration of such funds by the county highway department; with recommendations. Nashville, TN Taxpayers Assn., 1954. 42 pp. (its Research report #105)
  • TN Valley Authority. Ind. Div. Agricultural-industrial survey of Greene County, TN. Knoxville, TVA, 1934. var. pp.
  • TN Valley Authority. Regional Soils Database. Important farmland in Greene County, TN. Nashville, the service, 1981. 1 map.
  • Tusculum, TN. Doak High School. Know Greene County. Tusculum, the school, 193-. 64 pp. (written by the seventh & eighth grades of Doak High School)
  • US Geol. Survey [topographic maps] issued periodically. Quadrangles: Stony Point, Lovelace, Sullivan Gardens, Bulls Gap, McCloud, Baileytown, Jearoldstown, Leesburg, Springvale, Mohawk, Mosheim, Greeneville, Chuckey, Telford, Parrottsville, Cedar Creek, Davy Crockett Lake, Greystone, Flag Pond, Paint Rock, Hot Springs.

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David Crockett Birthplace
  • Smith, Samuel D. Historical background & archaeological testing of the Davy Crockett Birthplace State Historical Area, Greene County, TN. Nashville, TN Dept. Conservation, 1980. 67 pp.
  • TN Dept. Conservation. Davy Crockett's birthplace: state historical area, Greene County, TN: general development guidelines. Nashville, TN Dept. Conservation, 1977. 76 pp.

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Greeneville
  • Allen, Charles W. Historic Greeneville, TN, a city among the mountains. NY, Moss, 1899. 48 pp.
  • Bergeron, Paul H. "A Tennessean blasts Calhoun & nullification." THQ 26 (1967), pp. 383-386. (about John Wyly of Greeneville)
  • Connally, Ernest A. "The Andrew Johnson homestead at Greeneville, TN." ETHSP 29 (1957), pp. 118-140.
  • Doughty, Richard H. Greeneville: one hundred year portrait (1775-1875). Greeneville, the author, 1975. 350 pp.
  • Doughty, Richard H. 150 years of ministry to Greeneville: a sesquicentennial history of the Greeneville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1841- 1991. Greeneville, Teague Print. Co., 1990. 87 pp.
  • Duggines, A. C. Lest we forget: First Baptist Church, Greeneville, TN, 1871- 1960. Kingsport, Kingsport Press, 1960. 372 pp.
  • Graf, LeRoy P. "The Greeneville legal association (1858): a document." ETHSP 24 (1952), pp. 155-160.
  • Greene Valley grandparents [motion picture]. Memphis, Center for Southern Folklore, 1973. 10 min., b&w, 16 mm. (shows the work of the Foster Grandparent Program at the Greene Valley Developmental Center in Greeneville)
  • Holly, J. Fred. The economy of Greeneville, TN; a study of the information & data related to the Greeneville, TN economic community. Knoxville, UT, 1950. 62 pp.
  • Jones, George W. Oration of Hon. George W. Jones, with other proceedings, at the unveiling of the monument to the memory of ex-president Andrew Johnson, at Greeneville, TN, June 5, 1878. Nashville, printed by the American, 1878. 24 pp.
  • Lawing, Hugh A. "Andrew Johnson National Monument." THQ 20 (1961), pp. 103-119. (reprinted in Landmarks of TN history, pp. 199-215)
  • Profile of a significant school: Greeneville Junior High School, Greeneville, TN. Prepared by School Planning Laboratory, UT; Southeastern Regional Center, Educational Facilities Lab., Inc. Knoxville, UT, 1964. 16 pp.
  • Rankin, Robert S. "The oldest college west of the Alleghenies." ETHSP 1 (1929), pp. 19-26. (Greeneville College)
  • Seaton, Alvin & Pauline Seaton. Free grace, free will: the history of First Free Will Baptist Church, 502 East Church Street, Greeneville, TN, 1921- 1983. Greeneville, the authors, 1984. 165 pp.
  • Timber Ridge Church: a two hundred year heritage of Presbyterian faith, 1786-1986, by members of Timber Ridge Church. Greeneville, the church, 1986. 209 pp.
  • University of TN. Bureau of Public Admin. Greeneville's government: a study of the organization & administration of the government of Greeneville, TN. Knoxville, UT, 1950. 160 pp.
  • The Youth Builders, a forty year celebration. Greeneville, Youth Builders, 1986. 90 pp.

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Rheatown
  • Rheatown, Tennessee: first settled in 1771; sponsored by Rheatown United Methodist Women. Rev. & reprinted in 1986. Johnson City, Overmountain Press, 1976, 1986. 113 pp.

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Tusculum / Tusculum College
  • Bailey, Gilbert L. A history of Tusculum College, 1944-1964. ETSU thesis, 1965. 71 pp.
  • Brown, Leah M. Rev. Hezekiah Balch, D.D., 1741-1810: a biography. Milwaukie, OR, the author, 1988. 60 pp.
  • Fuhrmann, Joseph T. The life & times of Tusculum College. Greeneville, Tusculum College, 1986. 360 pp.
  • Haynes, Grace. The Daddy Haynes story, the life of professor Landon Carter Haynes. Morristown, Morristown Print., 1968. 319 pp. (reprinted 1968 by Carolina Ruling)
  • Ragan, Edgar A. A history of Tusculum College, 1794-1944. Greeneville, Tusculum Sesquicentennial Committee, 1945. 274 pp.
  • Wills, David. In memoriam: memorial discourse delivered on the occasion of the erection of a monument to the memory of Rev. Samuel W. Doak, D.D., at Greeneville, TN, Feb. 27, 1873. Atlanta, GA, Constitution Book & Job Print., 1873. 21 pp.

 

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