Book Description

Wilson County is a pivotal county in the early settlement of Tennessee and in the subsequent migration of people westward. It is surrounded by the counties of: Cannon, DeKalb, Rutherford, Smith and Sumner. Chancery court records are extremely important to researchers due to the many early settlers who died without leaving a will. These records provide many detailed breakthroughs in family research not found elsewhere. This book is a valuable research and reference tool that often supplies that missing link of the family, frequently naming fathers, mothers, children, grandchildren, brother, sisters, aunts and uncles, considering that these courts heard cases that covered land and inheritance. As these so called friendly suits were heard in Chancery Court, estates were divided and settled in great detail, naming complete families and often naming states where members of the families settled. Many lost or destroyed Wills are reconstructed in great detail herein.