Vital Records of Shelby, Tennessee



Shelby TennesseeIn Shelby County, Tennessee there are cities of Memphis, Germantown, Collerville, Lakeland, Arlington, Bartlett and Millington and many others in-between. All the locations have had families reside within the county for decades.

The county has placed online many of its vital records. They include birth records 1874 to 1906, marriage records (including images and indexes on some) for 1820 to 1989, death records 1848 to 1960, divorce index from 1945 to 1998, naturalization records 1856 to 1906, circuit court indexes 1893 to 2000, probate court index 1820 to 1900 and records for the City of Memphis with city directories for 1859 to 1918 and the 1865 census for Memphis.

Such a treasure chest of great resources for those with ancestors from Shelby County. For each of the categories, the researcher just clicks on the area of interest, such as ‘death records’ and a search engine assists in narrowing down the search. A list of names matching the request appear. Using the approximate death date helps limits the search.

To view the scanned image click on ‘Tiff’ or ‘PDF’ format. The information provided include the full name, age, sex, race, martial status, where they were born, how long they had lived in their present residence, the cause of death and the doctor’s name. It offers some wonderful information not easily obtained. The marriage index has names hand-written of the bride and groom within a given time frame. There is also the receipt of the marriage license in Shelby providing names and dates.

The divorce records are certificates of divorce providing the date of the decree, both individual’s names and docket number. They are hand-written going from 1945 to 1997 and sorted by the surname.

Not sure if an ancestor lived in Memphis, the city directories cover 1859 to 1918, a good place to first check names. There are many naturalization records in Shelby County and much to be learned in those records which cover 1856 to 1906.

There are a few added features including the Shelby Schools (along with images) for 1922 and milk production 1920 to 1958 in Memphis (with images).

The site is easy to navigate and to save images of documents. A good online resource for those with ancestors of Shelby County.

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