Welcome to the Home Page of the
Lawrence County Archives

524 Gallaher St.
Lawrenceburg, TN 38464

Phone: 931-766-1576
Fax: 931-766-1558
Email:
lcarchives@lorettotel.net
Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Closed for lunch 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
(lunch time could change without notice)

Be sure to call before visiting the archives during our moving process (see below).

Search the archives entire web site here
The book The Heritage of Lawrence County, TN can still be purchased at the post-publication price of $65 if picked up, or $75 if mailed to you. You may contact the Lawrence County Archives, or one of the committee members listed in the link below for further details.

Most likely by the end of May or the first of June, the archives will be moving to a former bank building in Leoma, about 15 minutes south of Lawrenceburg, that was donated to the county for the archives to use. Unfortunately, the money was not appropriated for the needed renovations or the addition, so the building will be a little smaller. We will still have the same records for archives patrons to use for research, but might be a little more cramped.  Be sure to watch for our new address, phone number and possibly new email address also.

    The Lawrence County Archives was formed in 1988 under the supervision of the Lawrence County Public Records Commission. At that time, the records were transferred from the basement of the courthouse to the basement of the post office. In February of 2005, the archives moved to their current temporary location in the east room of the library. We hope everyone will continue to use the archives facility for research since we will house even more records when we move.

    In the beginning, the archives main purpose was to sort, clean, index, and prepare the hundred or so large boxes of old loose original records. The original loose records were the first document in any land transaction, court case, will, etc. This collection of records contains wills; deeds; land grants; land entries; land surveys; estate settlements; administrator and executor bonds and settlements; guardian bonds and settlements; court petitions for both County and Chancery Court; road petitions; marriages; tax and voting lists; Rebel claims against the United States; and much more. These loose records contain the actual signatures of your ancestor provided they could write their name.

    Our county was formed in 1817, with court proceedings and land transactions starting in 1818 when the official government began. We have this treasure trove of valuable information on our ancestors and Lawrence County, since we are fortunate that our courthouse has never burned. It was ransacked slightly during the Civil War, so a few records are missing. The records we have processed for researchers to use cover the time period 1818-1909. As time permits, the time span will continue further into the 1900's. The records processed so far are also available on microfilm. We also have microfilm of the record books from 1818-1996 for some offices, and through the 1960's in others.

    Since the archives inception, we have amassed a vast amount of other sources for researchers to use. Some of these are census 1820-1930 (microfilm and book form, except 1930 is only microfilm and head of house hold index); cemetery records; over 1,600 family file folders; some birth and death information; newspapers 1846-1980 (many issues missing in the 1800's); county, community, church and other histories; Civil War information; Lawrence County Historical Society bulletins for 1953-1996; Lawrence County Genealogical Society Journals 1997-present; early plat maps and other maps; records on Lewis, Wayne, Giles, Maury, Cocke, Perry, and Greene Counties in Tennessee; on Lauderdale, Limestone, St. Clair Counties in Alabama; a large collection of books containing marriages, wills, deeds, etc. for Virginia;  plus much more.

    The archive's staff also offers a service that most people find very valuable for a very modest fee. If you are unable to travel to the archives to do your own research, we will perform the research for you for $5 an hour plus copy and postage fees. (See research policies link above.) We have so many people take advantage of this service that we stay weeks behind in actually finishing the research. So browse around our site and let us know if we can assist you in anyway.

General Information & Research Helps

Archives 2008 Closing Dates Off-Site Research Policy Family File Folders Books for Sale
Archives Holdings
 1820's -1990's
Book Inventory for On-Site Use Goodspeed's History of Lawrence County Surnames of
Researchers on the
Internet 
Reunions Post Queries View Queries Goodspeed's Biographies
Public Records Commission - under construction Rules for On-Site Researchers List of Books on Virginia Counties at the Archives Old Letters From Early Tennessee Settlers
Lookup Volunteers Directions to Law. 
Co. Archives
Cemetery Decoration Days in Law. Co.  Lawrence County
Heritage Book Information

Lawrence County Census Records & Tax Lists

1818 Voters List 1820 Census 1830 Census Heads of Household 1840 Census - under construction.
1850 Census Index  1826 Tax List 1842 Delinquent Tax List 1868 Tax List
1870 People of Color Census 1880 People of Color Census 1910 People of Color - under construction. 1920 People of Color - under construction.
On-Line Census Finder 1850 Slave Census - under construction 1860 Slaves Census - under construction Land Terminology

Military Records and Sources

Lawrence County Veterans
All Wars
Tennessee Civil War
Cemeteries on TNGenWeb
National Park Service
Civil War
Soldiers and Sailors System
Civil War Virtual Cemeteries on TNGenWeb
Son of Confederate Veterans
George H. Nixon Camp No. 214
Daughters of Union Veterans
Tent No. 4
1835 Pension Rolls for TN
1890 Lawrence Co.  Veterans Census  1890 Dickson Co.
Veterans Census
1890 Hardin Co.
 Veterans Census
1890 Hickman Co.
Veterans Census
1890 Giles Co.
Veterans Census
1890 Lewis Co.
Veterans Census
1890 Maury Co. 
Veterans Census
1890 Wayne Co.
Veterans Census
TN Civil War 
Veterans Questionnaires
Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 Tennessee Confederate Soldier's Home Cemetery Known Union Civil War Soldiers Buried in Lawrence Co., TN
Confederate Records on TNGenWeb Mexican War Links   Known Rev. War Soldiers Buried in Lawrence Co., TN Union Records on TNGenWeb

Births, Deaths, Marriages, Wills and Adoptions

Births 1908-1912 Deaths 1908-1938 Marriages 1818-1838 Wills 1829-1847
Deaths Taken from Chancery & County Court Petitions Obituaries From Lawrence County Newspapers Lawrence County Deaths 1881-1882 Lawrence Co. Births 1881-1882
TN Vital Records Office Adoption Rules &
How to Obtain Access
   

Cemeteries In Lawrence County

Cemetery Names and Locations

Surnames Index to
Cemetery Books

Allen Cemetery

John Lay Cemetery
Old City Cemetery Old Ethridge Cemetery Mt. Ararat Cemetery Norwegian (Zion) Cemetery
Simms Cemetery Shiloh/LaFan Cemetery County Farm Cemetery Smith Cemetery #3
Nelson Cemetery Pleasant Garden Cemetery Pictures of Lawrence County, Tennessee Cemeteries Baker Cemetery

Links To Other Sites Of Interest 

Lawrence County Genealogical Society TN State Library & Archives Lawrence Co., TNGenWeb Wayne County, TN
Lewis County, TN Giles County, TN  USGenWeb TNGenWeb
Lauderdale Co., AL Maury County, TN Limestone Co., AL Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society
Giles County, TNGenWeb      

Last Updated April 30, 2008 by Kathy Niedergeses

Webmaster: Kathy Niedergeses