Guides & digital products

Free tools first—printable cheatsheets and partner databases that fund county research pages. Affiliate links are disclosed; free guides stay free.

Free

TN Genealogy Starter Checklist

Email delivery of our printable research path: jurisdiction → census → land/probate → vitals → places.

Direct download: PDF checklist · HTML

Free digital product

TN Research Cheatsheet Bundle

Multi-page desk reference: jurisdiction rule, free-vs-paid stack, burned-courthouse tactics, and a priority-county quick map. Print or save as PDF.

Open cheatsheet bundle

Pairs with Start here and the full guide library.

Free

African American research pack

Printable starter path for enslaved and free Black Tennessee research.

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Free

Burned-county tactics pack

Substitute sources when the courthouse trail goes cold.

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Coming soon

Priority-county PDF pack

One-pagers for Wake, Mecklenburg, Buncombe, Guilford, Forsyth, and more—built for field research. Join the email list (checklist form) to hear when checkout goes live.

Research desk essentials (Amazon)

A short shelf of method books and state research leads that pair with free archives first. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases (tag tngen04-20)—at no extra cost to you. Always re-check citations on free film before treating a published abstract as proof.

Evidence Explained (Elizabeth Shown Mills)
Citation and analysis standard for courthouse film, newspapers, and online images—use before you trust a tree.
Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790–1920
County boundary change maps for every census year—essential when Tennessee formation churn moves the clerk.
Courthouse Research for Family Historians (Christine Rose)
Practical field craft for deed, probate, and court sessions at the county seat.
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
DNA as a correlation tool after you lock jurisdiction, census decades, and FAN clubs on paper.
Land & Property Research in the United States
Metes-and-bounds and state-land systems that shape Middle and East Tennessee deed chains.
Tennessee genealogy & local history books (browse)
County histories, published abstracts, and place-name studies—leads only; always re-check on TSLA film.

Free stacks still come first for Tennessee: start with our start-here guide, statewide resources, and county hubs—not a shopping cart.

Research partners (affiliates)

We may earn a commission if you subscribe through these links—at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links (research databases and Amazon) are disclosed with rel=sponsored. Free state archives and FamilySearch paths always come first. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Ancestry
Census images, trees, and newspapers—use after you know the correct Tennessee jurisdiction.
MyHeritage
International trees and DNA matching tools.
Findmypast
Useful for British Isles origins of many Tennessee settlers.

Always pair paid databases with free portals: Tennessee State Library & Archives, TeVA, FamilySearch, and our research guides. Societies and sponsors: see Advertising & partnerships. Libraries seeking free reciprocal links: For libraries & societies · HTML snippets: Link to us.

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