Monday, November 27, 2017

A Hidden Gem: Other State Resources at the Tennessee State Library and Archives

By Dr. Kevin Cason

At the Tennessee State Library and Archives, a researcher can find a wide variety of southeastern state related books that might help with their genealogical and historical research. The southeastern states that the Library and Archives has a strong collection of resources on include: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri.



For genealogical research, the Tennessee State Library and Archives has publications that have been compiled by genealogists and historical societies that can guide researchers to relevant primary sources. The books feature references for deeds, marriages, wills, court records and cemeteries. For example, with Virginia, some of the resources are broader in nature such as the Virginia Genealogist while others are more county specific like Lancaster County, Virginia Marriage References and Family Relationships, 1650 - 1800. Similarly, the North Carolina collection includes state resources such as The Colonial Records of North Carolina and county specific books such as The Heritage of Old Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 1763 - 2003.




Other useful southeastern genealogical books in the collection pertain to land research such as Family Maps of Calhoun County, Alabama and Family Maps of Neshoba, Mississippi. Heritage books on specific counties are also available for southeastern states such as Chester County, South Carolina Heritage and History. In addition, there are a wide variety of books that have cemetery records for a particular county such as Cemeteries of Henry County, Georgia.

In addition to genealogical related books, there are books that provide historical insights about transportation in other states such as A History of Georgia Railroads. Other works appeal to scholars that are interested in cultural and visual studies such as Shot in Alabama: A History of Photography, 1839-1941.

Some books in the Library and Archives southeastern state book collection offer valuable information on women’s history. For example, the Southern Women: Their Lives and Times series features women who are significant for states such as North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky. Furthermore, there are books that offer information about significant historic eras of time in a particular state like Running Mad for Kentucky: Frontier Travel Accounts. There are also resources that can provide general reference to historic people, places and things in a state’s history such as The Mississippi Encyclopedia.




With a wide variety of resources to choose from, the Tennessee State Library and Archives’ southeastern state book collection is a treasure trove for genealogists and historians who want to research outside of the state of Tennessee and connect with the past. For more on the other state resources available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives see the library search catalog: http://tsla.tlcdelivers.com:8080/#section=home


The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett

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