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Q: How long is a pole?
A: A pole (or rod) is a unit of measurement equal to 16.5 feet. Early surveyors measured land distances not in feet or yards, but poles. Therefore, 320 poles equals 5,280 feet, or one mile. A plot of land measuring 320 poles by 320 poles equals one square mile, or 640 acres.  Keep in mind also that Tennessee is a 'metes and bounds' state, so land plats are made using trees, rocks and waterways as boundary markers and corners.

Q: What is a "white poll" on a tax record?
A: A white poll is a white male aged 21-50 years. In Stewart County prior to the Civil War, annual taxes were levied on all white polls (white men aged 21-50) and black polls (slave males, aged I think also 21-50 but there may have been different age brackets for black polls). If you didn't report ("return") your list of taxable property to the Sheriff by a certain deadline during the year, you were liable to be taxed double the amount unless the Court exonerated you from that double tax. The poll tax wasn't related to voting like we think nowadays - it was just part of the way to raise operating funds for county expenses each year. Because poll taxes were only levied on men between this certain age range, they can be a very accurate predictor of someone's age, unlike census records.

Ann Evans Alley, retired from TSLA, wrote a great article called "Taxation and Politics: Tennessee's Poll Tax Laws," which appeared in the Fall 1997 issue of the Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History (publication of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society, www.mtgs.org).  

Q: Where can I find Tennessee deaths on microfilm?
A: Death records can be found at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, and at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library, for the periods 1908-1912 and 1914 until 50 years prior to the present year (due to privacy laws). The Mortality Schedules conducted concurrent with the census contain deaths occurring in the 12 months prior to the official census date. For Stewart County, at least the 1850 and 1880 mortality schedules survive. You can view the Mortality Schedules for Stewart County on this site, by clicking Research Links.

Q: What early West Tennessee records are available in Stewart County?
A: Stewart County covered most of modern West Tennessee until the Indian Lands were organized in the early 1820's. Early deed, will and tax records can be reached from the Stewart County Research page.

Q: How do I get a copy of my Civil War veteran's pension application?
A: Mitzi Freeman, one of the TNGenWeb heroes, has prepared a nice guide on this process. Please visit her Tennessee Pension Applications page for help.

Q: Is there a beginner's guide to the U. S. Federal Census?
A: Nancy Cole, another TNGenWeb hero, has prepared just such a guide. Please visit her Beginner's Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses

Q: What Stewart County death records are available?
A: Death records were not required by the State of Tennessee until 1912 (see Death Records info above. Some information is available for Stewart County during the years 1881-1883, when county birth and death records were kept. This information is on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Q: How can I get a copy of a will?
A: Contact the Tennessee State Library and Archives. They're set up to make paper copies of the microfilmed documents and mail them to you at a reasonable cost. The TSLA web site home page is at

Q: What were Road Crews and Overseers used for?
A: Back in those 'frontier' days, the county had to build roads in areas being settled. Men of a certain age (I think as young as 18) were required to serve on road crews in their immediate neighborhood, helping to either clear the roads or keep them in good repair once laid out. Road crews had an overseer assigned to them (someone living near a section of the road), and that overseer could be sued in court for not keeping the road in good repair. The court divided up the roads into sections so that the folks having to work on the road didn't have too far to travel.
You'll also see "John Smith and hands" or "John Smith's hands" as being assigned to road crews. The 'hands' would have included some combination of John's sons or John's slaves. Probably more slave labor helped maintain the roads than we know, since those men got no credit in the court minutes.

Q: What were "year's provisions" for a widow?
A: I'm not sure of the exact law in effect, but a widow was entitled to enough provisions out of a deceased man's estate to sustain her and her children for a year after the man's death. These provisions were set aside before the estate was settled, in case the estate turned out to be insolvent (so the widow and children wouldn't starve, etc.). The widow did not automatically inherit everything if a man died without a will. The Court officially appointed a committee (usually 3 men not related to the family) to go upon the estate, take an inventory, and declare what provisions were to be set aside for the benefit of the widow and/or children. The administrator or executor would then know what provisions were 'out of bounds' when settling the estate over the coming months.