Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles last week announced the steps he has taken to preserve and make public historic records maintained by his office.
One hundred fifty years of County marriage records have been transferred from deteriorating hard-bound books to online-accessible format for genealogists and other interested citizens. The records date back to 1857.
These historic marriage accounts may be researched by accessing countyclerkanytime.com. When on the site, click Online Services, then Marriage Search & Reports.
“This project has been a tedious process and opens a new door to help citizens and public agencies conduct marriage license research around the clock,” Knowles said.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Public Library and local genealogists have praised the project.
Knowles’s office also is nearing completion on another research effort that will make available the county’s legislative history dating back to 1879. The aging volumes are being scanned and posted online.
During the Quarterly Court era, officials served as general government authority, the same as today’s County Commission. In 1941, state legislative action created the County Council under the Council-Manager form of government. The Council assumed most functions performed by the Quarterly Court, with the exception of naming the superintendent of Hamilton County’s schools, members of the school board, and the county coroner.
In 1978, Tennessee voters approved a plan to modernize county government by adopting recommendations of the State Constitutional Convention held a year earlier. This referendum eliminated the Council-Manager government in favor of the present Commission form of government. The county judge was replaced by a county executive, and the county court clerk became the county clerk. In 2003, the Legislature gave the title of mayor to the county executive.
Knowles, who serves as secretary to the Commission, said his office has made significant improvements in minute-keeping procedures. Changes include custom digital recording and searchable PDF documents relating to County Commission discussions and actions. Audio recordings are also available online to the public, and MP3 files of each meeting are made available to news media and government officials immediately after each session.
“While the clerk’s professional staff utilizes today’s technology to produce high quality records, the preservation of all source documents continues to be stored in safekeeping for future generations to review,” said Knowles.