Where do I find early Tennessee land grants?

Early land may involve North Carolina grants, Tennessee land offices, and later county deed books. TSLA and FamilySearch hold major entry and grant materials.

Why can’t I find a deed in the modern county?

The land may have been in a parent county when the deed was recorded, or in a daughter county after a split. Map the event year to the courthouse that existed then.

records · Reviewed Aug 3, 2026

Land & Property Records

Edited by Avery J. Parker · Tennessee Genealogy · Last reviewed August 3, 2026 · Continuously operated research hub (1997-origin site)

Grants, entries, plats, deeds, and boundary language that place families on the ground.

Land records are often the most continuous Tennessee family evidence: North Carolina grants in early periods, Tennessee land offices and entries, later deeds in county Register of Deeds offices, mortgages, and plats attached to estates.

Tips

Abstract every name in a deed—grantor, grantee, witnesses, adjoining owners.
Follow metes-and-bounds neighbors across decades.
Watch for county name changes in the legal description when parents split.
Women’s dower releases can prove marriages and survival.
East Tennessee / western North Carolina land history may require multi-state searching.

TSLA (land and manuscript collections)
FamilySearch — Tennessee Land & Property