Source Information
Fulcher, Richard Carlton. 1770–1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements. Davidson, Sumner and Tennessee Counties (In What is Now Tennessee). Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.
About Davidson, Sumner, and Tennessee Counties, U.S., Census of the Cumberland Settlements, 1770-1790
This database contains a census substitute for early inhabitants of the Cumberland region of what would become Tennessee.
Historical Background
This census substitute, created by Richard Fulcher, attempts to fill in some of the blanks in Federal census records for the early settlement of the Cumberland region. Fulcher’s introduction states that
- the purpose of this compilation is to identify as many families as possible in the western North Carolina settlements along the Cumberland River, through which ran the many trails of western expansion. Originally, this area was a part of Washington County, North Carolina, from which Davidson County was formed in 1783, to encompass all the area between the western slopes of the Cumberland Mountains to the Tennessee and Duck Rivers. Subsequently, two counties were carved from Davidson County—Sumner and Tennessee Counties. Today, this area represents all or part of some 40 counties in Tennessee.
Fulcher divided the records into three sections: Davidson, Sumner, and Tennessee counties.
What You May Find in the Records
The book imaged and indexed in this database is a census substitute created from a variety of documents, including deed books, tax rolls, court minutes, marriage records, probate records, and county histories. Entries typically include a name, date, residence, and a reference to the source of the information. Expanded references to the sources are included in the back of the book.