Jackson County, Tennessee Land Records

- Jackson County deed records are available from 1872.  Some microfilmed deed records are available at the TSLA. One such record is Register of Deeds, Deed Index (Direct and Reverse), Vol. A., 1872-1915. Many years ago your hosts of this site, Jane Hembree Crowley and Charles Reeves, Jr., obtained a copy of this microfilm on inter-library loan and scanned all 380 pages in this record and saved each page as a digital image. We printed one copy, and it remained on an office shelf until re-discovered recently. These scans have now been converted to PDF files, available at the links below.

• Some of the entries are very difficult to read. Some effort was made to enhance the images in Photoshop.
• "Direct" means records are listed as <seller> to <buyer>, "Reverse" means <buyer> from <seller>
• No details of the transfer are given, just the Book and Page they are on in the deed records
• The records themselves can hopefully be found in the Jackson County courthouse
• The listings are alphabetical by the the first letter of the surnames, but not within a given letter
  

File Links:

Direct:  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  Y

Reverse:  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  Y

- The following book may be found in some libraries, purchased on eBay, Amazon and other bookstores, or ordered from the author:

Bryant, Betty Huff., Building Neighborhoods : Jackson County, Tennessee, prior to 1820, copyrighted 1992. Can also be ordered from Betty Huff Bryant, 1100-B Mission Ridge, Austin, TX 78704.

-- The following books containing information on land grants may be ordered from Byron Sistler and Associates.

John Armstrong's Entry Book by Irene M. Griffey, 1993. Entries are statewide and is the earliest land record for most of Tennessee. Covers 18th century, over 2600 entries.

The Preemptors: Middle Tennessee' First Settlers by Irene M. Griffey, 1989. Exact copy of Middle Tennessee's first land entry book and 1878 militia payroll.

North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778-1791 by Goldene F. Burgner, 1981, repr. 1990. Contains about 5500 land grants issue by NC for land in Tennessee. Indexed.

- General information on Tennessee Land History can be found here.

- Many may not realize that portions of northern Tennessee, including what is now Clay County, were once in Kentucky. For further information, see the excellent report on Walker's Line on the TNGenWeb site. This may affect where you look for Jackson or Clay County ancestral information. Some researchers have reported finding the same Land Grants in both Kentucky and Tennessee. Some of the Land Grants reported in The Kentucky Land Grants (A systematic Index to All of the Land Records Recorded in the State Land Office at Frankfort, Kentucky 1782-1924) by Willard Rouse Jillison, are in fact in what is now Clay County, Tennessee. Some of the Tennessee counties affected are Clay, Claiborne, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Montgomery, Robertson, Smith, and Stewart.

Mathias Sweazea was granted land in Tennessee
Mountain District Land Grants

Grantee Grant No. Acres Date County Book Page

Sweazea, Mathias 3367 50 May 13, 1834 Jackson A 495

The State of Tennessee No. 3367;

To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting; Know ye that by Virtue of entry to 692 made in the office of the entry taker of Jackson County and dated the 5th of January 1826. There is granted by the said State of Tennessee unto Mathias Sweazea a certain tract or parcel of land containing fifty acres by survey bearing date the 14th of December 1832. Lying in said County North of Cumberland River on the south side of Jennings Creek. Beginning at an Elm and Beech on the south boundary of his 100 acres running thence south eighty six and two tenth poles to a white oak on top of a high ridge, thence east one hundred and four poles to two beeches on top of a high ridge, thence north sixty six and two tenth poles to a stake on the south boundary of one of his 5 acre tracts, thence west with said line and with the south boundary of another of his 5 acre tracts, in all Forty eight poles to the south west corner of said five acres, thence north with the west boundary of said five acres twenty poles to the north west corner, thence west with the south boundary of said 100 acres fifty six poles to the beginning .

With the hereditaments and appurtenances to have and to hold said tract or parcel of land with it's appurtenances to the said Mathias Sweazea and his heirs forever. In witness whereof Wm Carroll, Governor of the State of Tennessee hath here unto set his hand and caused the Great seal of the State to be affixed at Nashville on the 13th day of May AD 1834.

And of the independence of the United States the 57th.

By the Governor, Wm. Carroll

Sam G. Smith, Secty. of State

State of North Carolina

No. 1489. Know ye that we have granted unto William Godfrey two hundred and seventy four acres of land in our county of Sumner [Tennessee] North side of Cumberland River and North side of the North side of the North fork of the [illegible] creek runs through Thomas Payton's land Beginning Westside of said fork at a buckeye tree on the said Payton's North boundary runs East with his line passing North East Corner at fifty seven paces in all one hundred sixty paces to a beech then North two hundred and seventy four paces to a stake, then West one hundred and sixty paces to a stake, then South two hundred and seventy four paces to the Beginning. To Hold to the said William Godfrey his heirs and assigns for ever. Dated the 4th of January 1792.

Alex Martin

J. Glasgow Secretary

Warrant [number] 1270 -- John Dickson D.S. [District Surveyor] John Payton, William Wilson C.C. [chain Carriers]

Deed Records on the USGenWeb Archives.