Search Tip: For a comprehensive index to names and places mentioned in Stewart County records, consult the Stewart County Master Index on the TNGenWeb Stewart County Genealogy web site. That index includes many of the records held at the Archives, and more.
Bound Volumes
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The bound records housed at the Stewart County Archives include:
A list of the bound volumes held at the Archives is available here: 
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Loose Records
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The term 'loose records' is meant as a contrast to the records in bound volumes. A lot of paperwork was generated by county government, and not nearly everything was transcribed by a clerk into a bound volume. The loose paperwork was just as much a part of the public record as the bound volumes. Loose records are often the true genealogical gold of a courthouse or Archive.
Examples include petitions, IOUs, summons, depositions, original deeds and wills, divorces, clerks' or attorney's notes. Whereas a bound volume might mention that heirs of an estate were dividing up the estate, the loose papers will usually name the heirs. Loose records at the Stewart County Archives include:
Download a searchable PDF of our Loose Records by clicking the link just below, or click here to view the information in your browser: (last updated February 22, 2025):
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Records by Mail / E-Mail
The Stewart County Archives accepts requests for printed copies or digital scans of the over 10,000 case files (see Loose Records list above) that have been cleaned and organized to date. These case files are in the categories of:
Paper Copies by Mail
The Archives' fee schedule for mailed photocopies is 35 cents per printed page (includes postage). The Inventory link above will indicate how many pages are in each case file, so you'll know the total cost before you place your mail-in request, if you choose printed copies. The Order Form is below. Requests for printed copies, and a check payable to Stewart County Archives, can be mailed to:
Stewart County Archives
P. O. Box 367
Dover, TN 37058
Digital Copies by Email
We will email digital scans of case files at no charge. But we ask that you request specific files from our list of Loose Records linked above, rather that just saying something like, "Please find, scan and email everything you have on John Smith." And we thank you in advance for giving us time to locate and digitize the files you request.
The Archives' staff is all-volunteer, and works 1-2 days per week. Thanks for supporting us.
Questions? Email [email protected]
- Citizenship (Naturalization) petitions (1837-1909) - now online (see Online Records below)
- Circuit Court Civil case files (1808-1949, over 5,000 files)
- Circuit Court Criminal (State) case files (1810-1949, over 5,000 files)
- Justice of the Peace (JP) case files (1860s-1890s, over 2,500 files)
- Divorces (1811-1950, 600 files)
- Inquests (1813-1942)
- Wills (1808-1948, 236 files)
Paper Copies by Mail
The Archives' fee schedule for mailed photocopies is 35 cents per printed page (includes postage). The Inventory link above will indicate how many pages are in each case file, so you'll know the total cost before you place your mail-in request, if you choose printed copies. The Order Form is below. Requests for printed copies, and a check payable to Stewart County Archives, can be mailed to:
Stewart County Archives
P. O. Box 367
Dover, TN 37058
Digital Copies by Email
We will email digital scans of case files at no charge. But we ask that you request specific files from our list of Loose Records linked above, rather that just saying something like, "Please find, scan and email everything you have on John Smith." And we thank you in advance for giving us time to locate and digitize the files you request.
The Archives' staff is all-volunteer, and works 1-2 days per week. Thanks for supporting us.
Questions? Email [email protected]
| Archives Order Form |
Online Records
Time, money and space prevent us from putting anything but a fraction of our holdings online. Listed below are indexes, or digital images, of some of our holdings that are not microfilmed. (Note that almost all of Stewart County's microfilmed courthouse records are now viewable online for free at FamilySearch. Note also that Tennessee residents can view a large amount of county records online for free at Ancestry, simply by accessing the collections via the State Archives' Tennessee Electronic Library link.)
County Court
Settlements and Bonds Book "A", 1809-1814 (WPA transcript of pp. 1-174) - added July 10, 2023
Marriage Records, 1838-1848 (WPA transcript) - added July 7, 2023
Death Records (1925-1938) - added March 24, 2020
* please note that Birth and Death records are State, not County records; while we have a few registers of some births and deaths, the original certificates are held either by the Office of Vital Records or the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville.
Stewart County Death Certificates, 1908-1959 (sorted by Name) - link to TNGenWeb site
Stewart County Death Certificates, 1908-1959 (sorted by Year) - link to TNGenWeb site
County Court Minute Book Index, 1831-1844 (PDF) - added October 31, 2018
County Court Trial Docket, 1808-1813 - added July 24, 2019
County Court Appeals to Circuit Court, 1824-1834 - added July 26, 2018
County Court Execution Docket, 1824-1826 - added July 26, 2018
County Court Execution Docket, 1826-1827 (PDF, with index) - added July 29, 2018
1920 Automobile Registration Book
Marriage Records, 1838-1848 (WPA transcript) - added July 7, 2023
Death Records (1925-1938) - added March 24, 2020
* please note that Birth and Death records are State, not County records; while we have a few registers of some births and deaths, the original certificates are held either by the Office of Vital Records or the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville.
Stewart County Death Certificates, 1908-1959 (sorted by Name) - link to TNGenWeb site
Stewart County Death Certificates, 1908-1959 (sorted by Year) - link to TNGenWeb site
County Court Minute Book Index, 1831-1844 (PDF) - added October 31, 2018
County Court Trial Docket, 1808-1813 - added July 24, 2019
County Court Appeals to Circuit Court, 1824-1834 - added July 26, 2018
County Court Execution Docket, 1824-1826 - added July 26, 2018
County Court Execution Docket, 1826-1827 (PDF, with index) - added July 29, 2018
1920 Automobile Registration Book
Circuit Court
Circuit Court Minute Book, 1810-1820 fragment (WPA transcript of pp. 1-9) - added July 10, 2023
Circuit Court Minute Book Index, 1821-1834 (PDF) - added October 31, 2018
Circuit Court Minute Book Index, 1865-1871 (PDF) - added October 31, 2018
Index to Circuit Court Enrolling Book, 1849-1861 - added June 23, 2019
Election Records, 1840-1883 - added April 21, 2023
Index to Election Records
Citizenship Petitions, 1837-1909
Circuit Court Minute Book Index, 1821-1834 (PDF) - added October 31, 2018
Circuit Court Minute Book Index, 1865-1871 (PDF) - added October 31, 2018
Index to Circuit Court Enrolling Book, 1849-1861 - added June 23, 2019
Election Records, 1840-1883 - added April 21, 2023
Index to Election Records
Citizenship Petitions, 1837-1909
Other Records
In addition to the original county records listed above, the Stewart County Archives also has a collection of other research materials to further assist visitors who visit the Archives in person:
Be sure to view our Collections page for descriptions of the many Family collections that supplement the official county records in our care.
- Bible Records
- Cemetery Records (field notes from the 1983 county cemetery book)
- Census Records, 1820-1860
- Church Records (various)
- Deed Book extracts, Deed Books 1-10 (1804-1834)
- Marriages (1804-1910)
- Middle Tennessee Genealogical Journal, nearly all issues 1985-2012
- Military Records
- Newspaper Archive (over 7,800 digital images of Stewart County newspapers), 1859-1960
- School yearbooks, various years/schools
- Store ledgers from various county businesses, including an early 1900's Indian Mound drug store
- Tennessee Historical Quarterly (selected issues)
- Vertical files of compiled family histories
- Family History books
- published research books
Be sure to view our Collections page for descriptions of the many Family collections that supplement the official county records in our care.
The long-running TNGenWeb Stewart County Genealogy website is a great research destination for anyone researching Stewart County families.
Our neighbors at the Stewart County Public Library have a great Genealogy Room with unique books for local research.
Our neighbors at the Stewart County Public Library have a great Genealogy Room with unique books for local research.