Tennessee has 94 counties and, although a number of then show NONE in this list, be aware the many of the volumes of Goodspeed’s county histories have been bought up by Southern Historical Press and are again under copyright restrictions. In those cases, you’ll need to find a hard copy of the book.
FAQ
1. While every county in the state is listed, links are only provided for titles that no longer fall under U.S. copyright laws. All (almost) links connect to free websites.
2. There are a few instances when a book has been digitized, but is only found on a paid site. In that case, no link is inserted, but a note as to the website where it has been found is given.
3. When a state history has also been found in digital format, it is listed in the STATE section that precedes the county list. I have limited STATE entries to those with county histories/biographical volumes in them.
4. There are a number of counties that DO have histories written, BUT they remain copyrighted material. Therefore, if a county has NONE after its name, it doesn’t mean there is no county history, just that none has been digitized. It’s also possible that the only digitized county history is included in one of the state volumes, so be sure to check those entries.
5. If the book is on FamilySearch, you will need a free account to access it. This list does NOT include town histories.
6. When all fifty states have been completed, I will post a PDF of them all.
7. One last note – it is very possible that a book is digitally available on more than one website. I’ve only included links to one site per book.
TENNESSEE
STATE – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present: together with an historical and biographical sketch of from twenty-five to thirty counties of east Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Chicago & Nashville, 1887. [The historical and biographical sketches are of the following counties: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, James, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Roane, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, and Washington.]
STATE – Counties of Tennessee, Austin Powers Foster, Department of Education, Division of History, Tennessee, 1923.
STATE – Early history of middle Tennessee, Edward Albright, Brandon Printing Company, Nashville, Tenessee, 1909.
STATE – Early times in middle Tennessee, John Carr, R.H. Horsley and Associates, Nashville, Tennessee, 1958. Reprint of 1857 edition.
STATE – Historic Tennessee: a brief historical and biographical sketch of Tennessee and early Tennesseans prepared especially for busy readers; profusely illustrated with many original maps and engravings, Historic Tennessee Publishing Company, Knoxville, Tennessee, 1938.
STATE – History of Tennessee: its people and its institutions from the earliest times to the year 1903, William Robertson Garrett & Albert Virgil Goodpasture, Brandon Company Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1903.
STATE – Who’s who in Tennessee: a reference edition recording the biographies of contemporary leaders in Tennessee with special emphasis on their achievements in making the volunteer state one of America’s greatest, Frank Embrick Bass, Historical Record Association, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 1961.
ANDERSON – Tennessee 200: bicentennial history of Anderson County, 1796-1996, Pellissippi Genealogical and Historical Society, Clinton, Tennessee, Action Printing, Jacksboro, Tennessee, 1997.
BEDFORD – History of Tennessee, form the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, 1886.
BENTON – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and biographical sketch of Carroll, Henry and Benton counties, besides a valuable fund of, notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
BLEDSOE – Education, economic and community survey, Bledsoe County survey, B.O. Duggan, D.M. Brown, J.H. Miser, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, School of Education, 1927.
BLOUNT – NONE
BRADLEY – Brief sketch of a country neighborhood in Bradley County, eight miles south of Cleveland, Tennessee: including the first settlers and present citizens, their mode of living in the past and present, T.E. Thatch, typescript, 1894. [FamilySearch Film 966948, Item 5]
BRADLEY – History of the rebellion in Bradley County, East Tennessee, J.S. Hurlburt, Indianapolis, 1866.
BRADLEY – A history of Bradley County, John Morgan Wooten, Bradley County Post 81, American Legion, Cleveland, Tennessee, 1949. [FamilySearch film 1,036,801, Item 3]
CAMPBELL – NONE
CANNON – The Goodspeed histories of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren and White counties: with biographical sketches and aboriginal map of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
CARROLL – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and biographical sketch of Carroll, Henry and Benton counties, besides a valuable fund of, notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
CARROLL – Carroll County: sesquicentennial booklet, Mary Ruth Devault, Carroll County Historical Society, McKenzie Banner, 1972.
CARTER – NONE
CHEATHAM – The Goodspeed histories of Montgomery, Robertson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, Houston counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publsihing Compnay, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
CHESTER – NONE
CLAIBORNE – Claiborne County folks, John Robertson, c1981.
CLAY – NONE
COCKE – NONE
COFFEE- The Goodspeed histories of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren and White counties: with biographical sketches and aboriginal map of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
COFFEE – History of Coffee County, Tennessee, Leighton Ewell, Doak Printing Company, Manchester, Tennessee, 1936
CROCKETT – NONE
CUMBERLAND – Cumberland County’s first hundred years, Helen Bullard Krechniak & Joseph Marchall Krechniak, Cumberland County Centennial Committee, Crossville, Tennessee, 1956.
CUMBERLAND – A short history of Cumberland County, Kiwanis Club of Crab Orchard, Tennessee, Patricia B. Kirkeminde, Crossville, Tennessee, 1952. Reprint 1982.
DAVIDSON – The historic Blue Grass Line: a review of the history of Davidson and Sumner counties, together with sketches of places and events along the route of the Nashville-Gallatin Interurban Railway, H.H. Mayberry, Nashville-Gallatin Interurban Railway, Nashville, Tennessee, 1913.
DAVIDSON – History of Davidson County, Tennessee: with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, W. Woodford Clayton, J.W. Lewis & Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1880.
DECATUR – NONE
DEKALB – The Goodspeed histories of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren and White counties: with biographical sketches and aboriginal map of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
DEKALB – History of DeKalb County, Tennessee, William Thomas Hale, Nashville, Tennessee, 1915.
DICKSON – The Goodspeed histories of Montgomery, Robertson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, Houston counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publsihing Compnay, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
DICKSON – Historical sketches of Dickson County, Tennessee, Jill Knight Garrett, Columbia, Tennessee, 1971.
DICKSON – A history of Dickson County, Tennessee, Robert Ewing Corlew, Tennessee Historical Commissioin and Dickson County Historical Society, c1956.
DYER – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and biographical sketch of Gibson, Obion, Weakley, Dyer and Lake counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
FAYETTE – The Goodspeed Histories of Fayette & Hardeman Counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
FENTRESS – History of Fentress County, Tennessee, Albert Ross Hogue, 1920.
FRANKLIN –History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
GIBSON – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and biographical sketch of Gibson, Obion, Weakley, Dyer and Lake counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
GIBSON – Gibson County, past and present; the first general history of one of west Tennessee’s pivotal counties, Frederick M. Culp & Mrs. Robert E. Ross, Gibson County Historical Society, Trenton, Tennessee, 1961.
GIBSON – Gibson County, sesquicentennial 1823-1973: celebrating its 150th anniversary, Gibson County Sesquicentennial Celebration, 1973.
GILES – History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
GILES – A brief sketch of the settlement and early history of Giles County, Tennessee, James McCallum, 1876.
GRAINGER – NONE
GREENE – NONE
GRUNDY – NONE
HAMBLEN – Historic Hamblen, 1870-1970, Morrison Printing Company, Morristown, Tennessee, 1970.
HAMILTON – Chattanooga, Tennessee; Hamilton County, and Lookout Mountain: an epitome of Chattanooga from her early days down to the present; Hamilton County, its soil, climate, area, population, wealth, etc. Lookout Mountain, its battlefields, beauties, climate, and other attractions, Louis L. Parham, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1876.
HAMILTON – The history of Hamilton county and Chattagooga, Tennessee, Volume 1, Zella Armstrong, Lookout Publishing Company, Chattanooga, 1931-1940.
HAMILTON – The history of Hamilton county and Chattagooga, Tennessee, Volume 2, Zella Armstrong, Lookout Publishing Company, Chattanooga, 1931-1940.
HAMILTON – Goodspeed’s history of Hamilton, Knox and Shelby counties of Tennessee, Volume 3, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, Reprint 1974.
HAMILTON – History of Tennessee, form the earlies time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Hamilton county; besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
HANCOCK – NONE
HARDEMAN – The Goodspeed Histories of Fayette & Hardeman Counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
HARDIN – Early history of Hardin County, Perry Morton Harbert, Tri-State Printing & Binding Company, Memphis, 1968. [FamilySearch Film 599776, Item 2]
HARDIN – A history of Hardin County, Tennessee, B.G. Brazelton, Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House, Nashville, Tennessee, 1885.
HAWKINS – Historical sketches of Hawkins County, Tennessee, Homer a. Walker, Washingtoni DC, n.d.
HAYWOOD – NONE
HENDERSON – History of Henderson County: comprising an account of the facts connected with the early settlement of the county; the origin and the development of the county; slavery, the Civil War, and the reconstruction days; the World War and present conditions, with illustrations, Auburn Powers, 1930.
HENRY – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present: together with an historical and biographical sketch of Carroll, Henry and Benton counties, besides a valuable fund of, notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
HENRY – A history of Henry county, Tennessee: descriptive, pictorial reproductions of old papers and manuscripts, Volume 1, E. McLeod Johnson, Paris, Tennessee, 1958.
HICKMAN – Historical sketches of Hickman County, Tennessee, Jill Knight Garrett, n.p., n.d.
HICKMAN – A history of Hickman County, Tennessee, W. Jerome Spence & David L. Spence, Gospel Advocate Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1900.
HOUSTON – The Goodspeed histories of Montgomery, Robertson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, Houston counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publsihing Compnay, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
HUMPHREYS – The Goodspeed histories of Montgomery, Robertson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, Houston counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publsihing Compnay, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
JACKSON – Historical scrapbook of Jackson County, Tennessee, Garland Draper, n.d. [FamilySearch Film 985310, Item 4]
JEFFERSON – Heritage – Jefferson County, Bicentennial Committee of Jefferson County, Tennessee, 1976.
JEFFERSON – Scrapbook history of Jefferson County, Tennessee, Reuel B. Pritchett, Tennessee State Library and Archives, n.d. [FamilySearch Film 968343]
JOHNSON – NONE
KNOX – Goodspeed’s history of Hamilton, Knox and Shelby counties of Tennessee, Volume 3, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, Reprint 1974.
KNOX – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present: together with an historical and a biographical sketch of the county of Knox and the city of Knoxville, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, 1887.
KNOX – The French Broad Holston Country, a history of Knox County, Tennessee, Mary U. Rothrock, East Tennessee Historical Society, Knoxville, Tennessee, c1946.
LAKE – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and biographical sketch of Gibson, Obion, Weakley, Dyer and Lake counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
LAUDERDALE – History of Lauderdale County, Tennessee, manuscript, Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1968. [FamilySearech Film 570860, Item 3]
LAUDERDALE – Old times in west Tennessee: reminiscences, semi-historic, of pioneer life and the early emigrant settlers in the Big Hatchie country, Joseph S. Williams, W.G. Cheeney, Memphis, Tennessee, 1873.
LAWRENCE – NONE
LEWIS – History of Lewis County, Tennessee, Harold Sublett, Subletts Studio, Hohenwald, Tennessee, 1976.
LINCOLN – History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
LOUDON – NONE
MACON – NONE
MADISON – Goodspeed history of Madison County, Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1887. Reprint 1972.
MARION – NONE
MARSHALL – History of Tennessee : from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties; besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Volume 2, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, 1886.
MAURY – History of Tennessee : from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties; besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Volume 2, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, 1886.
MAURY – Index to Maury and Williamson counties: Goodspeed’s History of Tennesse, 1886, Teva May Sparkman Lightburne, San Antonio, Texas, 196_.
MAURY – History of Maury county, Tennessee, William Bruce Turner, Parthenon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1955.
MAURY – Century review, 1805-1905; Maury County, Tennessee : a condensation of the most important events of the past one hundred years, and descriptive sketches of the cities and villages Columbia and Mt. Pleasant in detail, directory of the cities and mail list for thirty-seven rural routes of Maury County, Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Columbia, Tennessee, 1905.
MAURY – Smith’s history of Maury county, Tennessee, Frank H. Smith, Maury County Historical Society, 1969.
MAURY – A historical sketch of Maury County read at the centennial celebration in Columbia, Tennessee, July 4th, 1876, William Stuart Fleming, Maury County Historical Society, Columbia, Tennessee, 1967.
MAURY – Maury County, Tennessee historical sketches, Jill Knight Garrett, 1967.
MCMINN – NONE
MCNAIRY – Reminiscences of the early settlement and early settlers of McNairy County, Tennessee, Marcus Joseph Wright, Commercial Publishing Company, Washingotn, DC, 1882.
MEIGS – NONE
MONROE – Early days in Monroe County, Tennessee, Worth Stickley Ray, n.d.
MONTGOMERY – The Goodspeed histories of Montgomery, Robertson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, Houston counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publsihing Compnay, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
MOORE – History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Giles, Lincoln, Franklin and Moore counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
MORGAN – NONE
OBION – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present: together with an historical and biographical sketch of Gibson, Obion, Weakley, Dyer and Lake counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
OBION – History of Obion County: towns and communities, churches, schools, farming, factories, social and political, E.H. Marshall, H.A. Lanzer Company, Union City, Tennessee, 1970.
OBION – Illustrated, histori, industrial – biographical book of Obion County, L.B. Hill, Obion County Enterprise, Obion, Tennessee, 1911. [FamilySearch Film, 8,964,055
OVERTON – Our Wonderful Overton County Heritage, George Allen Knight, Southeastern Composition Services, Knoxville, Tennessee, c1975.
OVERTON – Overton County, address delivered at Livingston, Tennessee, July 4th, 1876, Albert V. Goodpasture, B.C. Goodpasture, Nashville, Tennessee, 1954.
PERRY – NONE
PICKETT – NONE
POLK – Scrapbook history of Polk County, Tennessee, John Morgan Wooten, Tennessee State Library and Archives, n.d. [FamilySearch Film 966946, Item 4]
PUTNAM – NONE
RHEA – Records of Rhea: a condensed county history, Thomas Jefferson Campbell, Rhea Publishing Company, Dayton, Tennessee, 1940.
ROANE – The history of Roane County, Tennessee: 1801-1870, Emma Helm Middleton Wells, Lookout Publishing Company, Chattanooga, Tennessee, c1927.
ROBERTSON – The Goodspeed histories of Montgomery, Robertson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, Houston counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publsihing Compnay, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
RUTHERFORD – History of Tennessee : from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties; besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Volume 2, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, 1886.
RUTHERFORD – The history of Rutherford County, Tennessee: a collection of biographies of physicians who practiced in the area during the nineteenth century, Robert G. Ransom, Rutherford County Historical Society, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 1987.
RUTHERFORD – A history of Rutherford County, Carlton C. Sims, c1947.
SCOTT – County Scott and its mountain folk, Esther Sharp Anderson, Huntsville, Tennessee, c1958.
SEQUATCHIE – NONE
SEVIER – NONE
SHELBY – Goodspeed’s history of Hamilton, Knox and Shelby counties of Tennessee, Volume 3, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, Reprint 1974.
SHELBY – History of the city of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent citizens, John McLeod Keating, D. Mason, Syracuse, New York, 1888.
SMITH – Dr. John W. Bowen’s history of Smith county, Tennessee, n.p., n.d.
SMITH – Early Smith County, Tennessee, women and children: a list of some women and children residing in Smith County, Tennessee, 1800-1850, Hilda Irene Stewart McKinney, Troutdale, Oregon, 1972.
SMITH – Smith County history: some account of the people of Smith from the first organization of the county, John W. Bowen, n.p., n.d. [FamilySearch Film 1,670,013, Item 4]
SMITH – Smith County memorandum, 1849-1878, Tennessee State Library and Archives, n.d. [FamilySearch Film 570834, Item 1]
STEWART – The Goodspeed histories of Montgomery, Robertson, Humphreys, Stewart, Dickson, Cheatham, Houston counties of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1886.
SULLIVAN – Historic Sullivan: a history of Sullivan county, Tennessee, with brief biographies of the makers of history, Oliver Taylor, King Printing Company, Bristol, Tennessee, 1909.
SUMNER – Historic Sumner County, Tennessee: with genealogies of the Bledsoe, Cage and Douglass families and genealogical notes of other Sumner County families, Jay Guy Cisco, Nashville, Tennessee, 1909.
SUMNER – Sumner County, history of Tennessee : from the earliest time to the present, together with an historical and a biographical sketch of from twenty-five to thirty counties of east Tennessee … : illustrated, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1887.
TIPTON – Old times in west Tennessee: reminiscences, semi-historic, of pioneer life and the early emigrant settlers in the Big Hatchie country, Joseph S. Williams, W.G. Cheeney, Mephis, Tennessee, 1873.
TROUSDALE – History of Trousdale County, Tennessee, J.C. McMurtry, Vidette Printing, n.d.
UNICOI – NONE
UNION – NONE
VAN BUREN –NONE
WARREN – The Goodspeed histories of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren and White counties: with biographical sketches and aboriginal map of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
WASHINGTON – NONE
WAYNE – Early life in Wayne County, Tennessee, Gerald K. Moore, c2008.
WEAKLEY – History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and biographical sketch of Gibson, Obion, Weakley, Dyer and Lake counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
WHITE – The Goodspeed histories of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Warren and White counties: with biographical sketches and aboriginal map of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1887.
WHITE – History of White County, Monroe Seals, c1935.
WILLIAMSON – History of Tennessee : from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties; besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Volume 2, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, 1886.
WILSON – A historical sketch of Wilson County, Tennessee, form its first settlement to the present time, J.V. Drake, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tavel Eastman & Howell, Nashville, 1879. [FamilySearch Film 570808, Item 1]
WILSON – The history of Wilson county: its land and its life, Dixon L. Merritt, Lebanon, Tennessee, 1961.
WILSON – History of Tennessee : from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties; besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Volume 2, Goodspeed Publishing Company, Nashville, 1886.
WILSON – Index of persons in the History of Wilson County, Tennessee, Brice M. Mace, 1963.