Local History
Records and Genealogy for Lawrence County
The Resources You Need
Our library is an affiliate research center of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, meaning that anyone logged in to their personal FamilySearch account while using our Internet connection is granted access to many of the Family History Library's restricted records collections.
Through funds provided by the Friends of the Library, we are also pleased to offer on-site access to the following genealogy websites:
• Ancestry
• Fold3
• Newspapers.com
• Genealogy Bank
The Birth of Lawrence County
Lawrence County was created by an act of the Tennessee Legislature on October 21, 1817 from lands ceded to the United States government by the Chickasaw Nation. Lawrenceburg, the county seat, was established in 1819. The county and the county seat were both named in honor of Captain James Lawrence, who was at that time a household name for his heroic death in the War of 1812.
Crockett’s Legacy
Among our county's founders was the legendary frontiersman David Crockett, who was an early settler of the area, served as one of Lawrence County's first justices of the peace, the first colonel of the county's militia, one of the founding commissioners of Lawrenceburg, and one of the county's first representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Enduring History
Our courthouse escaped destruction during the Civil War, and Lawrence County has never suffered a major courthouse fire. As a result, most of our county's records are largely intact, and a great number of them are available to you in our Lawrence County Room in the form of microfilm, books, and online databases.
Our Collection
Our Lawrence County Room was established in 1978, and houses a permanent reference collection of more than 900 books pertaining to local history and genealogy. We also have hundreds of family files containing data about local families, as well as more than 500 rolls of microfilm, many of which have not yet been made available on family history web sites.
Our web site contains information about all of our Lawrence County Room books to aid you in your planning and research. None of the materials in our Lawrence County Room may be removed from the room, but staff are pleased to make copies for researchers at the price of ten cents per page for black and white copies, and twenty-five cents per page for color copies. At this time we have no self-service copy machine, and we can accept payment in the form of cash or personal check only.
Genealogy Group
Our Genealogy Group meets each Tuesday in the Lawrence County Room at 1:00 pm.
A special genealogy topic is presented and discussed at each meeting. Whether you are a beginner, novice, or seasoned researcher, our genealogy group will welcome you as a friend. Our group project has been compiling a Lawrence County Civil War Veterans Burial Index.
Research Policy
Our library is pleased to perform a limited number of simple look-ups, at no charge, of obituaries, marriages, or other items for which researchers have definite names and/or dates. For more in-depth questions, researchers are encouraged to schedule a visit to our Lawrence County Room or contact our Genealogy Group or the Lawrence County Genealogical Society.
Digital Resources
Visit Chronicling America, which has a free digital collection of the Lawrence Democrat newspaper from 1884 to 1913
View the index to our school annual/yearbook collection
View a digitized copy of the 1913 Pulaski High School Annual
Visit the Lawrence County Archives website
Visit the Lawrence County Historical Society website
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