The Putnam County archives on USGenNet have lots of good information, including an index of Putnam County wills uploaded by Mitzi Freeman and 1909-1912 Death Certificates contributed by Bettie Goolsby Doyle. Marriage records from TN Civil War Widow's Pension Applications are also available (also from Mitzi Freeman).
Libraries with Genealogical ResourcesPutnam County Main Library (scheduled to be on-line around the middle of June 2002)
50 E Broad Street; Cookeville, TN 38501
Founded in 1939, the Putnam County Library System consists of the Main Library in Cookeville, with branches in Baxter, Algood and Monterey. The Main Library is open daily. Its Tennessee Room houses many items of interest to those doing research in genealogy.
Note: Courthouses were built in Putnam County in 1856, 1866, and 1900. Courthouses were destroyed by fire in 1864 and 1898, and many records were lost in those fires.
Available court house records include:
This information was provided by Jane Crowley, and is from Tennessee Genealogical Research by George K. Schweitzer, PhD., Sc. D/.
Beth Orsay maintains information on obtaining vital records in the state:
Vital Records Information - Tennessee (http://www.vitalrec.com/tn.html)
For specific county vital records information (http://www.vitalrec.com/tncounties.html#Putnam)
Marriage Records - On TNGenes Genealogy - these transcribed by Bettie Goolsby
Death Records - On TNGenes Genealogy
You may obtain death records for the period from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Those for the time period of 1908-1912 are available on-line. They also have an index of records from 1914-1927.
You can search for death, divorce and marriage records on any county in the state on the Shelby County Register of Deeds web site.
The Tennessee State Library and Archives has extensive Military Records, including results from the WWI Veterans Questionnaire Project.
Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society
Click here for
the MTGS Web Site.
Mitzi Freemen is doing research on several Putnam and Jackson County families. See her website for details.
See the Travel Nostalgiaville Web page for further information about Putnam County. This page has information on airports, attractions, bicycle routes, education, golf, highways, historical, hospitals, media, parks, railroads, and statistics. The Tennessee Regional Directory also has current info on the county. The official Putnam County web site has current information about the county.
History of Monterey - Available for $50 ppd, from Bettie Goolsby-Doyle; 680 Dakota; Cookeville TN 38501. This book along with others dealing with Putnam county are listed on this page created by Mitzi Freeman.
The following literature is available which may aid those doing research on Putnam County (this list is from the Summer 1997 issue of The Upper Cumberland Researcher, the journal of the Upper Cumberland Genealogical Association. A copy of each one should be available at the Putnam County Library (see above); they are also available from the sources listed. Note: Some of these may not be directly related to Putnam County.
Three Quarles Brothers; the Quarles family of White Plains, Putnam County, TN; Maurine Cassity; 305 N. Womack; Cookeville,TN 38501.
Allison Connections; the descendants of John Allison, Sr. and allied families; Ray Connections; descendants of James Ray; and Sliger and Related Families in America; all available from Della P. "Pat" Franklin; 1009 West Cemetery Road; Cookeville, TN 38506.
Stray Leaves from Putnam County and Siftings from Putnam County by Mary Hopson; pictorial histories of Putnam County, TN; soft bound with 296 and 324 pages, respectively; with full name indexes; Maurine E. Patton; 1656 West Broad Street; Cookeville, TN 38501.
Putnam County Tennessee Cemeteries by Maurine E. Patton; Ms. Patton has printed the second edition of this extensive hard bound (certified library binding) volume; 716 pages with full name index and listing over 314 inventoried cemeteries; Maurine E. Patton; 1656 West Broad Street; Cookeville, TN 38501. For more information, see Betty Ensor Thomas' web site: (http://members.aol.com/bettilyn/tombstone.html).
Ledbetters from Virginia; 1600-1800 Prince George Co., VA and up to present; descendants of three Ledbetters; by Roy C. Ledbetter, William R. Ledbetter, Justus R. Moll, and James D. Tellman, Jr.; from Ruby L. Greer; 925 Southgate Dr.; Cookeville, TN 38501; 931-526-3690.
Descendants of Aaron England; from ARF; 202 West Bronson Bend; Sparta, TN 38583.
The Riddles Unraveled; ancestors and descendants of Thomas Riddle, an American patriot; from Lourene Vaden; 45 Gloster Road; Laurenceville, GA 30244.
Spring Creek Church Minutes; from the UCGA; P.O. Box 575; Cookeville, TN 38503-0575.
1870 Putnam County Tennessee Census and 1880 Putnam County Census; both with full name indexes; Norman McGee; 6201 Patton Road; Arrington, TN 37014.
Clay, Jackson, and Putnam Counties, Tennessee by Charles Reeves, Jr.; a spiral bound 314-page index of major landmarks in these three counties as determined from USGS maps and other references, with full color maps; Charles Reeves, Jr.; 10812 Dineen Drive; Knoxville, TN 37922-1809. Out of print.
Miller Times; James Miller from Augusta County, VA to NC and descendants to TN, AR, MS and OK; from C. C. Miller; 107 Overton Road; Natchez, MS 39120-5246.
James Milton Taylor Family 1790-1996; Family histories for the twelve original Taylor children, John Henry, Pierce, Elizabeth, James Jefferson, Samuel, Susannah, David Gillis, Francis King, Sintha, Thomas W., Peyton Graves, and Nancy Taylor; Patricia B. Cox; 90 Settlers Road; Newport News, VA 23606; 804-599-4233.
Draper Families in America, by Thomas Draper; a hardbound book with full name index and over 5000 names; Eleanor D. Mitchell; 739 Buck Mtn Trail; Cookeville, TN 38506.
Book may reveal Your Ancestors in the State Penitentiary!
Chuck Sherrill has published the second volume of Tennessee Convicts: Early Records of the State Penitentiary. This volume covers records from 1850 through 1870, including more than 2,200 prisoners and their family members who are named in the original ledger volumes.
During this period abolitionists, Confederate bushwhackers and Union army soldiers convicted by courts martial were among those who crowded the State Penitentiary. In addition, the regular complement of counterfeiters, horse thieves and murderers from across the state are also represented.
As of 5/5/03 the printing was almost sold out, but you may contact the author by e-mail at: Books4Histry@cs.com
Return to the Putnam County Web Page
This page last updated: