View 1795-1930 Chancery Court Index by Plaintiff:  Chancery Court Index

Hawkins County Archivist, Jack Goins retired from AFG Industries in 1999 after 37 years of service.  In 2000 he published a book “Melungeons and Other Pioneer Families” and was presented the Research Excellence Award from East Tennessee Historical Society for researching the Melungeons and East Tennessee history.  In 2004, Goins was appointed County Genealogist on Records Commission by the Hawkins County Commission.  In 2005 he was appointed County Archivist and formed a group of volunteers known as Friends of Hawkins County Archive Project.  This group was organized to restore the old county records.  In 2006 “Friends” was chartered by the State as a non-profit organization and was awarded “Society Of The Year” by the East Tennessee Historical Society.

A public record is a document in any medium that is used to do the work of government.  It belongs to the people, and it is held in trust by a municipal, county, state or national government.

Permanent records are records that must be kept intact, in their original form and medium, as long as possible (for centuries rather than decades) for public inspection.  Inactive permanent records are usually kept in archives.  Tennessee has an open public records law, which applies to county and municipal records as well as to state records.

Public records are instruments of government, kept to
• Protect the rights of citizens
• Assure the continuity of government
• Account for official actions
• Document state and local historical experience
Public records must be open to the public with the exception of confidential records.

Call or write the archives for additional information not listed on this web site.

Address:

951 East McKinney Avenue, Suite A
Rogersville, TN  37857

Phone: 423-921-0904

VOLUNTEER WORKERS
Peggy Cook
Elsie Crawford
Don Farquhar
Betty Goins
Judy Jenkins
Regina Koger
Albert Parker
Noreeda Parker
Fred Sensabaugh
Ann Sensabaugh
Shirley Watson

Hours:

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Monday - Thursday

Friday is for resesrved appointments.  Call 423-921-0904 any time for appointments.  If no one is available to take your call, leave a message on the answering machine and we will return your call ASAP.

This office provides a safe home for the records and provides a cost-effective way to make inactive records open to the public for inspection according to law.

Tennessee State Library and Archives Website

The following court cases and indexes are in the archive.  Circuit Court records are also available on microfilm.  

1795-1930  Circuit Court records - 6,156 cases
1795-1930  Circuit Court Criminal records - 7,032 cases
1820-1915  Hawkins County Elections - 484
1795-1927  Chancery Court records - 5,180 cases
1804-1950  Chancery Court records - 356 cases
1868          Civil War Rebel claims - 81
1788-1930  Various Hawkins County Court records - 4,107 cases
1794-1930  Miscellaneous and misplaced court records - 1,154 cases
1789-1964  Marriages, indexed by both bride and groom - 16,548
1832-1912  Hawkins County road orders - 906
1812-1930  Grand Jury lists - 323
1865-1973  Hawkins County Tax Assessments - 3,572
1813-1930  Hawkins County oaths and bonds - 1,570
1931-1950  Hawkins County Court - 630 cases
1931-1950  Hawkins County Circuit Criminal - 1,541 cases
1787-1974  Hawkins County Wills
1926-1939  Hawkins County School records - 530