When searching of census information on Jackson County, keep these things in mind.

1. The state of Tennessee was not created until 1796. In May of 1790, the area that became Jackson County was in The Territory South of the Ohio River, popularly called the Southwest Territory. Militia captains took a census in July of 1791. At that time, the area that became Jackson County was in what was then known as Sumner County.

2. Jackson County was not created until 1801. Therefore you will need to look in the 1800 census of Smith County, Jackson County's parent county, to find 1800 records for the area that became Jackson County.

3. Smith County was not created until 1799. Therefore you will need to look in Sumner County, Smith's parent county, for records before that time.

4. Federal censuses for 1790 for all counties in the area that became Tennessee are LOST for all counties.

5. The 1800 Federal Census for all Tennessee counties was lost.

6. The 1810 Federal Census for all Tennessee counties EXCEPT Rutherford and some of Grainger was lost.

7. The 1820 Federal Census for Jackson County does exist and is the earliest available Federal Census for Jackson County, but the census for all counties of the marshal's district of East Tennessee were lost.

8. All federal censuses since the 1820 census for Jackson County do exist except for the 1890 Census which was lost.

9. In 1890, a special census of UNION veterans of the Civil War was taken. The Tennessee list survived and have been published as the 1890 Civil War Veterans Census by Sistler and Associates. Remember, this was primarily a listing of UNION veterans. Your ancestor may have been alive at that time and not appeared in that census due to that fact.

The following PRINTED Censuses (some are indexes ONLY) are available. There may be others as well:

1820:
1820 Jackson County, Tennessee census by James Douthat. Published by Mountain Press.

Tennessee census reports, No. 10, Jackson County, 1820, compiled by Martha Lou Houston, available in some libraries

1840:
Lee, Ramona Hudson., Jackson County, Tennessee, 1840 U.S. census; includes special index to pensioners for Revolutionary or military services and surname index, 1984. Available from Ramona Lee, 492 County Road, 457, Mountain Home, AR 72653-8150; $7.00.

1850:
Sister, Byron, 1850 census Tennessee Jackson County, 1986. Available from Byron Sistler and Associates

Schunk, John F., 1850 U.S. Census, Jackson County, Tennessee, 1989. This book is a photocopy of the handwritten records, copied from the microfilm (plus there is a typed index in the back of the book). Available from S-K Publications.

Jones, Christine Spivey, Jackson County, Tennessee 1850 census, 1982.

Lee, Ramona Hudson., Jackson County, Tennessee, 1850 United States census. Available from Ramona Lee, 492 County Road, 457, Mountain Home, AR 72653-8150; $12.00.

1860:
McComb, Joyce Bradley., Jackson County, Tennessee, 1860 federal census, c 1992. Reprints are available from Ridge Runner Publications.

1870:
Cason, Mildred Coons., Jackson County, Tennessee, 1870 census, 1998. Available from Mildred Coons Cason, 3701 Ackerman Court, Nashville, TN 37204-3201; $39.95 plus $3.95 s/h (TN residents must add $2.80 sales tax).

1880:
Sistler, Byron., 1880 census, Jackson County, Tennessee, 1990. Available from Byron Sistler and Associates, publication #376, $14.00.

1891: Reed, Sue. S., Enumeration of male inhabitants of twenty-one years of age and upwards, citizens of Tennessee, January, 1891 County group # 15.

1910:
The United States thirteenth census of Jackson County Tennessee,1910/, transcribed from microfilm by Edward & Lila (Knight) Ligon; compiled and published by Reda (Knight) Bilbrey; indexed by Mitzi Freeman.

Note: It is always a wonderful convenience to find a printed or photocopied version of a census or census index. However, it is always advisable to obtain and photocopy for yourself the actual microfilm of any entry that is pertinent to your research, being sure to study the data found in ALL columns of the census. For example, the 1900 census asked for the "number of years married" and "mother of how many children", clues that might prove invaluable to your research.

Many thanks to David Johnson for transcribing the 1820 census and providing a copy.

The 1840 census. This has an Index, and listings of the census itself by Districts. Unfortunately however, the District for a given listing isn't shown in the Index, so we didn't see any other way to find them except by looking through all the District pages. Regardless, we certainly do appreciate this information being on-line.

The 1850 census (Index only).

The 1860 census (thanks to Phyllis Morgan for sending this link).

Census Online - Links to Jackson County on-line sites.

An Index of all available on-line Tennessee census records (thanks to Brenda Hay for this one).