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Phone
(731) 300-3980
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MID - WEST TENNESSEE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
MONTHLY MEETINGS REGULARLY!
When: Every 2nd Tuesday of the Month Starting at 5:30PM
Where: JMCL Program Center
This Month's Meeting : Tuesday April, 8th 2024
Show & Tell Annual Program! Everyone is encouraged to bring something special to share; such as a family story, a family item, a genealogical experience, etc. This program is one of our favorites. Anyone interested in genealogy is invited to attend the meeting. Annual membership dues are $20 and include quarterly issues of “Family Findings” with West Tennessee genealogical stories and research tips. Questions should be sent to mwtgs1968@gmail.com
MONTHLY MEETINGS REGULARLY!
When: Every 2nd Tuesday of the Month Starting at 5:30PM
Where: JMCL Program Center
This Month's Meeting : Tuesday April, 8th 2024
Show & Tell Annual Program! Everyone is encouraged to bring something special to share; such as a family story, a family item, a genealogical experience, etc. This program is one of our favorites. Anyone interested in genealogy is invited to attend the meeting. Annual membership dues are $20 and include quarterly issues of “Family Findings” with West Tennessee genealogical stories and research tips. Questions should be sent to mwtgs1968@gmail.com
About Us
The Tennessee Room houses a non-circulating special collection devoted to genealogical and local historical research.
In addition to over 5,000 books, there are over 1,945 microfilm rolls containing Madison County Records, Tennessee Census schedules (1810-1930), Jackson, TN newspapers (various dates beginning in 1823), Tennessee Death Indexes (1908-1957), Tennessee Death Certificates (1908-1957), and other records .
The collection includes maps, Jackson city directories, funeral records, vertical files, special collections, and photographs.
The Tennessee Room also serves to pay tribute to Emma Inman Williams (1906-1992), teacher, writer, editor, historian, and the first Tennessee Room librarian (1972-1986). "Miss Emmy", as she was often called, served as Madison County historian for many years. Her book, Historic Madison was published in three editions (1946, 1972, 1986) and still serves as the primary introduction to Madison County's early history.
The Tennessee Room maintains a close working relationship with the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society and has a complete set of back issues of their publication, Family Findings.
In addition to over 5,000 books, there are over 1,945 microfilm rolls containing Madison County Records, Tennessee Census schedules (1810-1930), Jackson, TN newspapers (various dates beginning in 1823), Tennessee Death Indexes (1908-1957), Tennessee Death Certificates (1908-1957), and other records .
The collection includes maps, Jackson city directories, funeral records, vertical files, special collections, and photographs.
The Tennessee Room also serves to pay tribute to Emma Inman Williams (1906-1992), teacher, writer, editor, historian, and the first Tennessee Room librarian (1972-1986). "Miss Emmy", as she was often called, served as Madison County historian for many years. Her book, Historic Madison was published in three editions (1946, 1972, 1986) and still serves as the primary introduction to Madison County's early history.
The Tennessee Room maintains a close working relationship with the Mid-West Tennessee Genealogical Society and has a complete set of back issues of their publication, Family Findings.
New Book Arrival in the Tennessee Room!
Are you tracing your family back to the early days of New England? We’ve just added a major new resource for genealogists and history buffs: The Winthrop Fleet: Massachusetts Bay Company Immigrants to New England, 1629–1630 by Robert Charles Anderson.
This book details the passengers who sailed with Governor John Winthrop during the Puritan Great Migration to New Engalnd—many of whom became the founders of colonial Massachusetts.
Come explore your roots in the Tennessee Room! This is a must-read for anyone researching early colonial ancestors!
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory #TennesseeRoom #WinthropFleet #NewEnglandAncestors #LibraryFinds #HeritageResearch
This book details the passengers who sailed with Governor John Winthrop during the Puritan Great Migration to New Engalnd—many of whom became the founders of colonial Massachusetts.
Come explore your roots in the Tennessee Room! This is a must-read for anyone researching early colonial ancestors!
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory #TennesseeRoom #WinthropFleet #NewEnglandAncestors #LibraryFinds #HeritageResearch
Tennessee Room Vault - Past Blogs
In Memoriam: Sandra Kay Kely
April 11th, 2025
My heart sunk very low at this news. For most of my 38 years managing the Tennessee Room at Jackson-Madison County Library, Sandra Kelly was a vibrant part of our genealogy and history world. Her dedicated volunteer work was just one of the many dimensions she brought to our library and our community.I especially cherish her sense of humor—perhaps more than anything else. She had a gift for del...
Exploring Black History Part II: Exploring Our Roots
April 4th, 2025
This month, we are introducing a series that focuses on the history of African-Americans in observance of Black History Month. Looking back on the past leads to both celebratory benchmarks and painful ones. There will be more Black History Month blog posts to come throughout February, even featuring some guest bloggers. We hope to shine a light on figures and systems that may seem far forgotten, ...
Exploring Black History Part I: Sallie Lackey and the Post-War Struggle for Equality
February 18th, 2025
From the Vault - Tennessee Room Blog......
Genealogy & Local History Holdings
Photographs
The Tennessee Room has a collection of photographs and postcards pertaining to Jackson's past. The photographs are mostly copy prints provided by various donors.
A selection of photographs from the Jackson Business History Collection can be viewed here.
A selection of photographs from the Jackson Business History Collection can be viewed here.
Obituary Index
The index, beginning with 1936, follows the most consistent sequence of The Jackson Sun publication dates. Issues prior to 1936 have been indexed in other sources.
This index was conceived by Jimmy Wilkins, Tennessee Room volunteer and part-time employee, who spent countless hours reading The Jackson Sun over many years.
This index was conceived by Jimmy Wilkins, Tennessee Room volunteer and part-time employee, who spent countless hours reading The Jackson Sun over many years.
NEWSPAPERS
Once there, you can search for a certain year or newspaper by pressing Ctrl + F on your keyboard to bring up a search box. Once you have the search box you are able to type in the year or title of the newspaper you are looking for.
Genealogy Related Websites
Full Access Genealogy Sites Available for Free Use in the Tennessee Room
- Ancestry Library Edition: Unlock centuries of history with Ancestry Library Edition, available without a subscription inside the Tennessee Room Enjoy full, free access to billions of records, including census data, military records, immigration documents, and more—right from our private reading room!
- FamilySearch: Looking for a completely free way to explore your ancestry? One of the oldest cooperative databases available, FamilySearch began as the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1894. It has gorwn to become the largest of its kind and offers access to millions of historical records, family trees, and genealogy resources—all with no subscription required. Start building your family history today in the Tennessee Room today.
- TNGenWeb Project
- We, the volunteers of the TNGenWeb Project, are committed to maintaining and enhancing this FREE online genealogy project for the benefit of the public good. All Tennessee counties will have an area for you to post queries and to access county information. Additionally, we will offer related Tennessee historical information and also, some historical information relative to adjoining states.
- US GenWeb Project
- We are a group of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone. Organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to all the state genealogy websites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this website provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well.
- World GenWeb Project
- The WorldGenWeb Project is divided into 11 World Regions. Each region is divided up by countries and each country is divided into individual provinces, states, or counties (terms vary depending on administrative divisions).
- RootsWeb
- More than 10 billion historical records and more than 136 million photographs, scanned documents and written stories have been uploaded
- Family Search
- Records span billions of names across hundreds of collections—including birth, marriage, death, probate, land, military, IGI extracted, and more.
- Cyndi's List
- Cyndi's List has been a trusted genealogy research site for more than 15 years. Cyndi's List is free for everyone to use and it is meant to be your starting point when researching online.
- GenForum
- Over 14,000 online forums devoted to genealogy, including surnames, U.S. states, countries, and general topics.
- Steven Morse's One Step Portal for Genealogy Searching
- In the “old days” genealogical research was done by traveling great distances and then going through dusty archives or using microfilm readers. But the advent of the World Wide Web has changed that. Today much of the data useful to genealogists has been put on websites and can be accessed from the comfort of home.
- Tennessee Vital Records
- The Shelby County Register of Deeds website provides indexes to Tennessee vital records, including a death records index 1949-2014, a divorce records index 1980-2014, and a marriage records index 1980-2014.
- Helm's Genealogy Toolbox
- Helm's Genealogy Toolbox is the oldest comprehensive genealogy and local history index, first appearing in 1994. The links on this site point to other resources available on the World Wide Web to assist your research.
Military
- Fold3!
- Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System
- Military Records (National Archives and Records Administration)
- Military Aviation Accidents
- Navy Deck Logs & Rosters
- American Battle Monuments Commission
- WWII Registry
- Vietnam - The Wall
- Aviation Archaelogical Investigation & Research
- On Eternal Patrol - Men lost on Submarines
- Vet Center
Libraries and Archives