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Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Tennessee Counties

Van Buren County

Van Buren County

Van Buren County was formed in 1840
from Warren and White counties
(Acts of Tennessee 1839-40, Chapter 59).

The county seat is Spencer.

SELECTED PUBLISHED COUNTY HISTORIES

  • History of Van Buren County, Tennessee : "The Early Canebreakers", 1840-1940 (Medley,  1987) [name index]*
  • Van Buren County, Tennessee, Pictorial History (1998)*

Additional county and community histories can be found at the Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources:  Van Buren County. The items in the bibliography may not all be available at TSLA.  

 

PUBLISHED LOCAL RECORDS


  • 1880 Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee  (Sistler,  1999) [alphabetical by surname]*
  • Compendium of Local Biography : Van Buren County, TN. (199?) [name index]
  • Death Records, Van Buren County [1914-1919] (Hillis, 200?) [surname index]
  • Our People : The Tombstone Inscriptions of Van Buren County, Tennessee, with Genealogical Notes  (Rhinehart,  1983) [name index]*
  • Our People : The Tombstone Inscriptions of Van Buren County, Tennessee, with Genealogical Notes : Tombstones Copied 1973 to 1976  (Rhinehart,  1997) [name index]*
  • Our People : The Tombstone Inscriptions of Van Buren County, Tennessee, with Genealogical Notes : Tombstones Copied 1973 to 1976  (Rhinehart, 2008) [name index]
  • Probate Records (Wills, Settlements and Guardianships) of Van Buren County, Tennessee [1840-1860]  (Bayless,  1991) [name index]
  • Seventh Census of the United States, 1850: Van Buren County, Tennessee, Free Population Schedules  (Carpenter,  1971)*
  • Tennessee, Records of Van Buren County: County Court Records of 1840 Recorded in Marriage Records, Vol. A, 1840-1861 (Moore, 1936) [name index]
  • Tennessee, Records of Van Buren County, Tombstone Inscriptions (Moore, 1936) [name index]
  • United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1850 (Rhinehart,  1982) [surname index]*
  • United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1860 (Rhinehart, 1982) [surname index]*
  • United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1870 (Rhinehart, 1982) [surname index]*
  • United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1880 (Rhinehart, 1982) [surname index]*
  • United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1900 (Rhinehart, 1983) [surname index]*
  • United States Census, Van Buren County, Tennessee, 1930 (Rhinehart, 2004) [surname index]
  • Van Buren County Marriage Records : Book I Through Book V, May 21, 1840 to September 2, 1935  (Rhinehart,  1983) [name index]
  • Van Buren County Marriages, September 14, 1935 to July 26, 1961 (Rhinehart, 2003) [name index]
  • Van Buren County Obituaries, 1978-2001 (Rhinehart, 2002) [name index]
  • Van Buren County Obituaries, 2000-2012 (Rhinehart, 2013) [name index]

 

LOCAL RECORDS ON MICROFILM 

An inventory of microfilmed Van Buren County records is available on our web site.  Individual reels of microfilm may also be purchased.   

Earliest records include:

  • marriages from 1840
  • wills from 1840
  • inventories of estates from 1840
  • deed index from 1840
  • chancery court minutes from 1868
  • county court minutes from 1840
  • circuit court minutes from 1840
  • tax books from 1886

 

The following reels are available on interlibrary loan from TSLA:

  • Deed Index  1840 - 1898  (#25,  1 reel)*
  • Marriage Records 1840 - 1915  (#12,  1 reel)*
  • Wills & Inventories  1840 - 1899  (#24,  1 reel)*
  • WPA Records, VanBuren County  (Record Group #107, Roll 83, 1 reel). Roll includes County Court Records (1840), Marriage Records (1840-1861), and Tombstone Inscriptions (undated).*

 

NEWSPAPERS ON MICROFILM 

Newspapers were published in Spencer.  Scattered early issues are available from 1912.   Microfilms are loaned to Tennessee libraries.  Individual reels may also be purchased.  An Inventory of Newspapers on Microfilm at TSLA is available on our web site.  

 

SELECTED MANUSCRIPTS MATERIAL

 

CENSUS RECORDS

  • Census on microfilm for Van Buren County:  1850-1880, 1900-1930
  • State-wide census index:  1850-1880
  • State-wide census index on microfilm  (Soundex):  1880,  1900-1930
  • Van Buren County census records in book form:  1850*, 1860*,  1870*, 1880*, 1900*

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR VAN BUREN COUNTY

 

* Indicates this title may be borrowed on Interlibrary Loan from TSLA.

 

 

Updated August 27, 2014

 
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