Bledsoe County TNGenWeb

Presenting the very best in resources for Bledsoe County researchers since 1996!

Category: About Bledsoe County Page 5 of 10

Maps at the Tennessee State Library and Archives

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On January 11, 2022

In Civil War History, Maps & Gazetteers, Research Repositories & Contacts

Maps are invaluable components of historical and genealogical research, and documentary records often cannot be fully understood without referring to maps. The Library & Archives has the largest and most significant collection of historical maps in the state available for public use.  TSLA hopes to increase utilization of this tremendous research resource by digitizing original manuscript maps and making them available online. These digitized maps appear in the JPEG2000 format, which means that you may view them in greater detail by using the Zoom tool and Expanded View option to navigate to a particular area of the image. We will continue to add maps to this digital online collection to bring more of them to a wider public.

The collection includes historical maps from a variety of sources, Civil War maps, and interesting collections such as the US Postal Service Rural Free Delivery maps for each county.

Click here to read more about the TSLA map collection.

Click here to search or browse the maps.

Civil War Documents and Photographs at TN State Library & Archives

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On January 11, 2022

In Civil War History, Individuals & Families, Military Records, Photo Albums

Items in the Tennessee Virtual Archive are presented free-of-charge by the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Click here to view a sample of Civil War military records held by TSLA.

Click here to view a sample of muster rolls for Tennessee units during the Civil War held by TSLA.

Click here to view a sample of Civil War soldiers’ photographs held by TSLA.

Click here to view a sample of Civil War visual culture artefacts (images, sheet music, and other items depicting the experience and interpretation of the War) held by TSLA.

Click here to view a sample of civilian life artefacts from the Civil War, described as “personal accounts and related documents detailing the lives of non-combatants during the Civil War.”

Click here to view a sample of documents related to women’s Civil War experiences held by TSLA.

 

East Tennessee History Center, Knoxville

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On January 11, 2022

In Court & Council Records, Research Repositories & Contacts, Searchable Databases

The East Tennessee History Center in downtown Knoxville has a wealth of resources for Bledsoe County researchers.

McClung Collection

The Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection (click here) is Central East Tennessee’s premier research repository with

  • More than 75,000 books
  • More than 3,000 printed genealogies
  • More than 15,000 folders of First Families of Tennessee materials
  • Genealogical manuscript holdings that have been processed for research use — this is an incredible compilation of original documents and research deposited there by individuals over the course of decades
  • More than 19,000 rolls of microfilm including census records, state and local government records, newspapers, and other valuable primary source material
  • Subscriptions to web-based genealogical databases
  • Significant holdings of historic maps, photographs, and manuscripts  

The Special Collections include

  • Manuscripts, photographs, and newspapers — those not on microfilm are NOT available during evening and weekend hours, except by prior arrangement with the manager of the McClung Collection.
  • The McClung Digital Collection (click here) of photographs and documents

Knox County Archives

The archives receive, process, and preserve the non-current, permanent records created by county government since 1792.
 
Click here to visit the Archives’ Web site.

The Knox County Archives provides information on the origins and history of the court systems, court records, genealogy, and history of Knox County, Tennessee. The Archives provides public access to all holdings, with the exception of juvenile records and those restricted by Tennessee laws. It provides local government source material to court officials, genealogists, legal professionals, historians, and the general public.

Hamilton District Superior Court of Law and Equity

Of particular importance to Bledsoe County researchers, the records of the Hamilton District Court are housed in the Knox County Archives.  The early Superior Courts of Law and Equity of Tennessee were tasked with handling criminal matters and cases of relatively high dollar value, generally greater than $50. In this way, they were “superior” to the County Courts that adjudicated matters less than $50. The Superior Court also served as an appellate court. They were held in five districts and existed from 1793–1809 with the Hamilton District Superior Court sitting in Knoxville and serving the middle East Tennessee region. The records of this court are held at the Knox County Archives and the surviving cases are indexed here.
 
Click here to search the index to case files.

Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound

The mission is “Preserving the audio, video, and film history of East Tennessee.”
 
Dating back to 1915, the moving image collection currently contains more than 5,000 reels and videotapes of home movies, documentaries, advertisements, industrial and training films, commercial films, television programming, and newsreels, all with local or regional connections. Its audio collection includes vintage radio programming, sound recordings, and oral histories and field recordings from the region, which date back to the 1930s.
 
Some of the iconic programming(link is external) preserved by TAMIS includes the early television shows of Cas Walker(link is external), 1982 World’s Fair(link is external) footage, and Jim Thompson’s 1915 home movies of the Great Smoky Mountains(link is external), which helped spawn the National Park movement. TAMIS recently unearthed early unreleased demo recordings by a young Dolly Parton. For requests or information regarding TAMIS resources, please click here to e-mail TAMIS.

FamilySearch Memories: User-Submitted Photos, Audio Files, and Documents

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On January 11, 2022

In Individuals & Families, Off-Site Links, Photo Albums, Research Repositories & Contacts, Searchable Databases

FamilySearch Memories is a crowd-sourced compilation of photos, audio recordings, stories, and documents attached to persons in the FamilySearch communal tree.

Click here to visit FamilySearch Memories.

Click here for detailed instructions for locating items in the Memories section.

Searching for Bledsoe Tennessee (without quotation marks) returns the maximum of 10,000 hits. Many of those results are connected to individuals with the surname Bledsoe, rather than the location.

Note: Misspellings and other errors in item titles are not corrected or conformed as they are in the FamilySearch Tree.

We recommend you review the search tips below and consider creative searching.

What is searched?

  • The Find feature searches for words contained in a title or description of a memory or album.
  • The Find feature also searches for words contained in the first 250 characters of a story. Currently the entire text of the story is not included in the search.

The following will not display in a text search result:

  • Memories with no person tags
  • Memories with only unlinked person tags
  • Memories linked to living people in the Family Tree

Searching Topic Tags

  • The Find feature in Memories separately searches for topic tags, which are user-contributed words or phrases applied as tags to individual memories.

FamilySearch Research Wiki Pages

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On January 11, 2022

In Off-Site Links, Research Aids, Research Repositories & Contacts

FamilySearch Wiki is a crowd-sourced compilation of resources available on the FamilySearch site, in the FamilySearch Catalogue, FamilySearch (digitized) Books, and items available elsewhere.

Tennessee Wiki

Bledsoe County Wiki

Cumberland County Wiki

Hamilton County Wiki

Marion County Wiki

Rhea County Wiki

Roane County Wiki

Sequatchie County Wiki

Van Buren County Wiki

Bledsoe County Place Names

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On January 11, 2022

In Historic Sites, Local History & Information, Maps & Gazetteers

This list is not exhaustive.  Its source is unknown; it was on the pre-2015 Bledsoe County TNGenWeb site.

Bellview

Brayton

Brockdell

Cold Spring

Cooper Mill

Dill

Emery Mill

Friendship

Gerren Heights

Glade Creek*

Grapevine

Griffith

Hart

Hendon

Herbert Domain

Hickory Grove

Hitchcock

Lee’s Station

Litton

Luminary

Lusk

Melvine

Milo

Mount Crest

New Harmony

Nine Mile

Old Cumberland

Pailo

Pearson*

Pikeville

Rainey*

Sampson

Saratoga Springs

Schoolfield*

Seals*

Sequatchie College

Skiles*

Smithton

Summer City

Tanbark*

Tiptop

West End

Winesap

* places of historical interest

Bledsoe County’s Beginnings

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On January 11, 2022

In About Bledsoe County, Geography & Topography, Historic Sites, Individuals & Families, Local History & Information

from Elizabeth Robnett, Bledsoe County Historian

The first settlers moved into the Sequatchie Valley around 1805, soon after the first treaty was signed with the native people. The valley was, at that time, mostly part of Roane County.  Some of the early settlers bore the surnames Wilson, Oxsheer, Tollett, Standefer, Griffith, and Anderson. Louise Maxwell Anderson is believed to be the first white child born in Sequatchie Valley in September, 1806.

The oldest county in the Sequatchie Valley, Bledsoe was named for a member of the prominent Bledsoe family of Sumner County. The most likely candidate for this honor is Anthony Bledsoe, a practical surveyor and Revolutionary war patriot.

Bledsoe became a county in 1807, during James Sevier’s last term as Governor. James Standefer and John Tollett were appointed in 1811 to select a place for the county seat. Alexander Coulter donated forty acres “to erect the town of Madison.”

Much of the land acquired by early settlers was a result of laws passed by the Tennessee State Legislature 1806-1809, which allowed a settler to claim the land he was living on as well as other unclaimed lands. Some of these early claimants in Bledsoe County were John Billingsley, John Hankins, and John Narramore.

Sometime between 1816 and 1818, the county seat was moved to Pikeville.

Bledsoe County was and is comprised of many small communities often bearing the name of a church, store, or post office. These are very often family names.

In 1832, Matthew Rhea listed four place names on his map: Pikeville, Big Springs, Madison and Rainey.

In 1836, by an act of the Tennessee State Assembly, Bledsoe County was divided into 10 Civil Districts. The gentlemen responsible for the districting were Isaac Stephens, Samuel McReynolds and Samuel L. Story.

In 1856, the northern part of Bledsoe County became part of Cumberland County; in 1858, portions of southern Bledsoe County were given up to form Sequatchie County.

Important Dates – Chronology of Early Bledsoe County

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On January 11, 2022

In About Bledsoe County, Civil War History, Local History & Information, Research Aids

from Elizabeth Robnett, Bledsoe County Historian

Date Event
1795 John McClellan and Charles McClung explore the northern part of Sequatchie Valley.
1796 Tennessee becomes the 16th state
1801 Roane County, which contained most of Bledsoe, is created.
1805 Cherokee Nation surrenders claims to the area that is now Bledsoe County
1807 Bledsoe County established
1811 Madison becomes the county seat
1812 War of 1812
1816 Town of Pikeville established; county seat relocated
1821 First Bledsoe Courthouse
1830 Pikeville incorporated as a town
1838 Trail of Tears crossed Bledsoe County about 5 miles south of Pikeville
1856 1st, 2nd, and 3rd civil districts taken from Bledsoe County to become part of Cumberland County
1857 10th Civil District taken from Bledsoe to become part of Sequatchie County
1861 – 1865 Civil War. Tennessee secedes from the Union, and joins the Confederate States of America
1866 Tennessee re-admitted to the Union
1891 Pikeville-Banner begins publication
1909 Courthouse fire destroys some records

Bledsoe County in the Civil War

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On January 11, 2022

In About Bledsoe County, Civil War History, Historic Sites, Local History & Information

from Elizabeth Robnett, Bledsoe County Historian

This time period created much confusion and dissension among the citizens. Bledsoe County voted against withdrawal from the Union and while the state itself voted for secession, much of the eastern part of Tennessee remained loyal to the Union.

Despite the fact that Bledsoe voted against secession, several Confederate companies were organized. The Tulloss Rangers were organized by John Bridgeman in July 1861 and named to honor James A. Tulloss of Pikeville for his contributions to the company. In August, 1861, Weatherston S. Greer also organized a company with men from Bledsoe, Rhea and Roane Counties. Other Confederate units were organized by William J. Hill, Alexander H. Roberson and Oliver P. Schoolfield.

Most of the Bledsoe men who joined the Union forces enlisted in upper east Tennessee, Huntsville, Athens and at Camp Dick Robinson in Kentucky.

During the Civil War the men of Bledsoe County were found fighting for both Confederate and Union units. While no complete list of participants exists, a partial list of Civil War soldiers from Bledsoe county is included here. You can also view the 1890 Veteran’s and Widow’s Census of Bledsoe County, which happily includes some Confederate entries.

Click here to visit the TNGenWeb special project, Tennessee and the Civil War.

Early History of Pikeville

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On January 11, 2022

In About Bledsoe County, Historic Sites, Local History & Information

from Elizabeth Robnett, Bledsoe County Historian

Pikeville had its beginning as a small frontier village that grew up around a large spring. It was known as Thurmans and, although Madison was the county seat at that time, court was held at Thurmans. In 1816, Charles Love of Virginia sold 30 acres of land on Sequatchie — or Crow — Creek for the town of Pikeville.

There are two stories about the naming of Pikeville, one is that it was named for General Zebulon Pike, an American soldier and explorer. The other is that it was named by John Bridgeman who came from North Carolina, naming the settlement Pikeville, in honor of his native home: Pike, NC.

Sometime between 1816 and 1818 the county seat was moved from Madison to Pikeville. Its central location and access to the stage stop on the route from Knoxville to Huntsville, Alabama probably contributed to the growth of the village. Pikeville was incorporated as a town in 1830 and remains the only incorporated are in Bledsoe County. By 1860 Pikeville boasted a population of 200 folks.

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