The Special Collections Department contains over 1,000 books, census records, family histories, historical sources, maps and periodicals. The emphasis of this collection is Williamson County, but we also have access to genealogical materials for surrounding counties, the State of Tennessee, and surrounding states.

• Family File
• Census Records
• County Records
• Edythe Rucker Whitley Manuscript Collection
• Periodicals
• Microforms Collection
• Military Records
• Thelma Battle Grassroots Study of Local African-American History
• Richard Fulcher's African American Genealogy Records

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The library's staff and volunteers are available to help you in guiding your research and in locating materials. Please feel free to ask for assistance while visiting, call for assistance at 595-1246, or send an email.

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1. by country (England, United States)
2. the State of Tennessee
3. Tennessee counties in alphabetical order
4. all other states alphabetically by their two-letter abbreviation
5. family histories

Within these broad categories are divisions such as: Bible records, bibliography, cemetery record, emigration, history, immigration, military records, pension records, and wills. Many of these divisions and place names are used as headings in the subject card catalog.

The majority of the books in this collection do not circulate and must be used only in the library. Books on the circulating shelves (marked with red dots) may be checked out for three weeks with a valid Williamson County Public Library card.

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All correspondence directed to the library will be answered. A list of local genealogical researchers who work for a fee is available upon request.

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The first thing you must remember in beginning your family lineage is to begin with yourself and work backwards. Gather all the information you can from relatives and family friends. Ask their names, dates of birth, deaths, marriages, places of residence, and church affiliations. Gather data from family Bibles, letters, photographs, obituaries, and make note of name variations. Some of the information you might receive may not be fact, just "family tradition," but at least you have a starting point.

Organize the information you have gathered into charts and files to clarify relations and to indicate omissions. When a generation is omitted, it is vary easy to get off on the wrong line. Because you find information on a particular surname does not mean, necessarily, that it is your own line. A chart or pedigree is one method of having basic data at your fingertips.

Be sure to keep a record of every source you use, even though you may find nothing in it. This will save duplication of research. Always record the source of your information by photocopying the title page or writing down the exact title, author's name, publisher, publication date and page where the information appears.

The library's family vertical file contains material organized by surname. These files are arranged alphabetically in vertical file cabinets in the Manuscript Room.

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Federal

• The first federal census taken in 1790 is available in book form for the states in existence at that time.
• Census records from 1790-1840 contain only the names of the head of each household with other members of the family listed by sex in age groupings.
• Beginning with 1850, all persons in a household are listed by name with age and sex noted.
• Census information after 1930 has not been released to the public yet.
• All publicly released census are available at the Library on Internet Databases: Heritage Quest and Ancestry Plus.

Tennessee

• Census records from 1790 and 1800 are missing.
• The 1810 census is only available from Grainger and Rutherford counties.
• The 1820 census is available for 26 out of 46 counties.
• Census records for the entire state are available from 1830 through 1880.
• The 1890 census records were destroyed by fire except for a very few counties.
• The 1900-1930 Census records are available electronically via the Internet and in several other formats: 1900 & 1910 CD, 1900 Soundex--microfilm.

This library retains indices for Tennessee census records from 1830-1880, county census records (check the online catalog for specific counties and years), and all Williamson County census records in print or on microfilm from 1820-1930.

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Most published genealogical materials cover a county area, not the entire state. For this reason, it is important to determine if your county was formed from another county before you begin your search. For example, if your ancestor lived in Williamson County before 1799, you should search Davidson County records for documentation on this ancestor. General guides and state guides for genealogy are helpful in determining the formation date of the county, the county seat, the parent county, and may list libraries that serve that county.

County records may consist of deeds, court minutes, marriages, tombstone inscriptions, wills, etc. County holdings of such records will vary in scope and dates. Many records such as births and deaths were not kept on a regular basis until the twentieth century. Again, the general guides will be of help in determining which types of records are available for a particular county.

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Military service records are another source of useful genealogical information. These are of special interest to individuals who wish to join various patriotic organizations connected with the many colonial wars, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, etc.

Records of this nature are generally set up by state and are often in the form of state rosters which list men from a particular state who served in a particular war. Our collection contains many of these rosters, as well as pension lists and related records. For individual service records on should write the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives (call number U.S. Genealogy) describes the types of records available from the National Archives.

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The library retains cemetery, census, church and county records for Williamson County on microfilm. Microfilm is also available for the 1860 free schedules for Davidson County, the 1860 slave schedules, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, and private papers. A microfiche reader, microfilm reader, and microforms reader/printer is available for patron use. The fee for microfilm/fiche copies is $.25 per page.

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Magazines are sometimes overlooked as a genealogical source. It is well worth the researcher's time to go through these publications to find records of a particular county which are not available in any other form. Magazines are often indexed in the last issue of each volume, or in separate indexing publications, such as the Genealogical Periodical Annual Index. Advertisements for recently published works keep the researcher informed of current publications. Query sections may put the research in contact with persons working on the same lineage.

The library currently subscribes to: "Ansearchin News", "Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine", "East Tennessee Roots", "Genealogical Helper", "Kentucky Ancestors", "Middle Tennessee Genealogy", "North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal", "Virginia Genealogist", and retains many other titles.

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Patrons may inter-library loan genealogical publications through the library. The fee is determined by the lending institution.  All inter-library loaned items must be used only in the Special Collections Department. Contact the Special Collections Department for additional details.

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Materials from this area may be photocopied, but must be handled with care. If photocopying from notebooks, do not remove pages from their original order until you are actually copying the material. Be sure to replace pages in the order as filed in the notebooks. The fee for photocopying is $.10 per page. Please plan ahead and bring change with you. Change for small bills is available upon request.

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Gifts of books, periodicals, family histories, and money for the Special Collections Department are appreciated. These donations will be used to improve the library's collection. Please let us know of any publications that would be of value to the collection.

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If you enjoy working with the public and are interested in genealogy, please consider donating your time to the library. Volunteers are needed to help staff the library on a regular basis and to assist with special projects.

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• Williamson County Public Library Annual History Lectures
• Other publications for sale

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The Thelma Battle Collection consists of historical information compiled by Ms. Battle over her lifetime. She has conducted grassroots research on earlier African-American families of Williamson County, Tennessee. Ms. Battle specializes in genealogical research as a means of promoting unity among a community, and as a healing process to those whose families were split during slavery. This material has generated public awareness and appreciation of African-American history.

This collection consists of two vertical files of print information, and a database which indexes the following: bank records - freedmen’s savings and trust - bills of sales – cemetery – census – churches - communities and streets – cross references – death – deeds – divorces – employers and landlords – estate – freedmen – funeral programs – labor contracts – marriage – military pedigree charts – personal notes.- physicians, dentists, and nurses - politicians – schools – skilled craftsmen – social and civic organizations – wills – and photographs.

The library sponsors an annual historical photograph exhibit of African-Americans of Williamson County. Ms. Battle has combed the communities of Williamson County and surrounding counties to gather family photographs for these exhibits. Approximately 2,000 photographs have been exhibited in the last five years.  Indices are available to identify persons in the photographs.

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The Whitley Collection consists of over 2,300 notebooks of genealogical research compiled by Mrs. Edythe Rucker Whitley during her lifetime. She conducted extensive research on pioneer families of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and other states. She also compiled data on many prominent men of Tennessee and the United States. Mrs. Whitley specialized in genealogical research for certification in patriotic/historic organizations, and legal cases involving the inheritance of large sums of money. This manuscript collection is organized by surname and accessed through the online catalog by subject. Please note the use of this manuscript material is limited to three boxes at a time. In addition, a valid Williamson County Public Library card or a temporary card is required to access this collection.

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