Event Education- On Solid Ground: Finding Your Ancestors in TN Land Records

On Solid Ground: Finding Your Ancestors in Tennessee Land Records by Chuck Sherrill

From about 1780 to 1840 Tennessee was at the crossroads of the nation. Millions of Americans streamed from the eastern coast states into Tennessee and beyond. Land records contain names and information about many of these settlers, but they can be difficult to locate and understand. In this lecture we will use maps to help understand why people settled where and when they did. Using original documents as examples we will discuss the records created and mine the information they can provide. Guidance for finding records online and at the State Archives will be provided.

Charles A. Sherrill (M.A., M.L.S.) is State Librarian and Archivist of Tennessee. His education includes master’s degrees in History and Library Science from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He has been active in genealogical research and publishing since he was a teenager. Among his works are books on several Tennessee counties, particularly Grundy County where most of his ancestors lived. He is the author of the National Genealogical Society’s Guide to Research in Tennessee, two family genealogies, the two-volume Tennessee Convicts, and The Reconstructed 1810 Tennessee Census. He is a national conference speaker and has edited the Middle Tenn. Journal of Genealogy and History for the past fifteen years.

Access will be through GoToWebinar. Instructions and Connectivity Link will be forwarded via email to all registrants upon registration, six days prior and again 1 hour prior to the event. Making the connection is quick and easy only requiring a computer and Internet connectivity from wherever you chose to watch the event. Your questions help drive the meetings, and we will be there to help each other.