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Using Bedford County, Tennessee deeds and deed indices

Many different types of records were recorded in the deed books of Bedford County, Tennessee. These records contain a wide variety of information of interest to historians, family history researchers, and genealogists.

The deed books of Bedford County, Tennessee are identified by letters or numbers. The earliest books are Books A and B that cover March 1808 through June 1811. Subsequent books C through Z cover the period through 1830. These are followed by a set of books with two letter names AA through TT that cover the period up to 1852. Following those books, three character identifiers were used (DDD through ZZ) up to December 1891. There are a few missing volumes from around the time of the civil war. After 1891 deed books were identified by number beginning with Book 1 and continuing to the present day.

The records recorded in these deed books are indexed in deed indices. For example, Deed Index, Volume 1, of Bedford County, Tennessee covers the period 1807-1840. Volume 2 covers 1840 - December 1875. Volumes 3 and 4 cover the period from December 1875 through 1912. To locate a record recorded in a deed book you must first use the appropriate deed index to look up the deed book and page number of the record.

Deed indices

Using deed indices is essential for identifying records of transactions involving land and other property as well as other types of records recorded in deed books. Each page of a deed index is organized into columns with the following headings (see an example here):

  1. Grantor (seller) (this column is first in the direct index and second in the reverse index)
  2. Grantee (buyer) (this column is second in the direct index and first in the reverse index)
  3. Instrument ( Deed (D.), Trust Deed (T.D.), Grant, Bill of Sale (B.S.), Power of Attorney (P.A.), Mortgage (Mtg.), Agent , Bond)
  4. Year
  5. Deed Book (Books A through JJ in index Volume 1)
  6. Page (the page number of the first page of the instrument).

Deed Index, Volume 1, 1807-1840 of Bedford County, Tennessee contains two indices (one direct and the other reverse). A tutorial on how to use the information in deed books is located here.

Types of records recorded in deed books

The types of records recorded in early deed books include:

  1. deeds (examples),
  2. trust deeds for the sale of land or other property (examples),
  3. deeds and bills of sale for other real property including slaves (who are typically identified by name and age) (examples),
  4. land grants (examples), 
  5. sales of property directed by a court to satisfy a debt (examples), 
  6. mortgages (often listing all of the important real and personal property owned by a debtor) (examples), 
  7. sales of accounts associated with businesses (often with a long list of debtors and amounts) (examples),
  8. bonds (examples),
  9. relinquishments (examples),
  10. powers of attorney and appointment of agents (examples), and 
  11. divisions of land among the heirs of an estate (examples).

The types of information found in the records recorded in deed books include:

  1. the date of the transaction (examples),
  2. relationship(s) (both personal and business) of the grantor (seller) and/or grantee (buyer) to each other or to others (examples),
  3. the name of a spouse (examples),
  4. the names of children (examples),
  5. a partial or full history of previous owners of a parcel of land (examples),
  6. the county and state of residence of the grantor and grantee (examples),
  7. a list of all heirs of a decedent (in case a parcel of land is being divided) (examples),
  8. the location, extent, and value of real property being sold or mortgaged (examples),
  9. the owners or lessees of adjacent parcels (who are often related to the grantor) (examples), and
  10. the names of witnesses (who are often related to the grantor or grantee, their spouses, or their children) (examples).

Obtaining copies of deed indices

The deed indices of Bedford County, Tennessee can be obtained by researchers from several sources:

  1. on microfilm through loan at local LDS Family History Center,
  2. on microfilm interlibrary loan from the Tennessee State Library and Archives,
  3. on CD-ROM from GSC Associates Historical Records Products.

Obtaining copies of deeds

Once a deed of interest is identified in the index, a copy can be ordered (using the deed book and page number from the index) from the Tennessee State Library and Archives or the Bedford County Registrar of Deeds (phone: 931-684-5719).  GSC Associates Historical Records Products provides on-line access to all of the early deeds of Bedford County, Tennessee.

Copyright 2003 GSC Associates. All rights reserved

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