Bedford County, Tennessee Court Records

Other online transcriptions

Published Court Records Resources

Copies of available microfilmed court records may be obtained from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Please click here for information. The most commonly used early court records are also available on CD-ROM in the series of GSC Associates Historical Records Publications.

Also, it is most helpful to know in which court a case may have been tried. An excellent article is available here on Courts Where TN Court Cases Were Tried.

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The County and Chancery Court Records

These contain a wealth of information, including the following (thanks to Steve Carson for this information).

County Court Records:

• The presentation of wills for probate,
• Appointments of administrators for estates,
• Presentation of the results of estate sales, 
• Approval of powers of attorney for recording, 
• Appointments of commissioners for matters such as to lay out roads, serve at elections, and set aside a year's provisions from an estate for a widow,relief granted for taxation issues (such as excess valuation or double taxation),
• Appointments of overseers for roads, and
• Appointments of and payments to guardians for taking care of orphan children.

Chancery Court Records:

• Complete lists of heirs of decedents,
• Records of the property belonging to estates including lists of debtors to the estate,
• Records of the division of property among the heirs of estates,
• Case records of disputes among heirs concerning the division of property in estates,
• Considerable detail concerning the property owned by individuals, and
• Maps documenting the division of the land of a decedent among the heirs upon order of the court.

The resources listed below on Bedford County Court Records are available for purchase or in libraries. Check library catalogs for availability and interlibrary loan. Some may also be available on microfilm from the LDS Library so that you may order it into your nearest LDS Family History Center

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Record Collection from Judy Henley Phillips and Linda Shanklin Jackson

These records were in a private collection, over 5500 documents involving Bedford County people from 1808 to 1900. Phillips and Jackson have abstracted and indexed the records--there are thousands of names. They are the collection of two specific Bedford Co. families, but these families were involved in many of the affairs around Bedford County.

One owner of the records was Garrett Phillips, an early Bedford Co. sheriff. His warrants are in this collection, and there are many of them--one example:

ADCOCK, Jesse VS Wm. B. HARRISON - Summons for Wm. B. HARRISON, John SUTTON, J.P. 25 Dec. 1834. Receipt $5 William B. HARRISON to Jesse ADCOCK promise for A. RICE bargain in a trade. Henry EVANS witness for the Plaintiff. Judgment for Defdt. for cost of suit. Nathan H. SCHOOLER, J.P.

The records of Garrett's father are also included; he was a Justice of the Peace. These men were active in the El Bethel Church with records of people from other states coming in and others being dismissed: Slaves, list of letters left in the Post Office, ads, Sheriff sales, estates, early newspapers, Civil War times, tax records, many promissory notes, depositions, etc.

A limited number of books have been printed, and it should become a collector's item for those interested in Bedford County history. Although this book deals predominately with Bedford County, it gives genealogical clues to Wilson Co. and other counties and states. The full name indexed book has 207 pages, softcover. It can be ordered for $25 from Judy Henley Phillips, P.O. Box 853, Tullahoma, TN 37388.

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The following court records transcriptions are available on line.

Thomas Lipscomb Petition to Sell Slaves

Archibald Yell & Jonathan Webster vs. Jane Meddows

Return to Bedford County TN Gen Main Page

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This page last updated: Sunday, July 22, 2007

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