The Tennessee Legislature required counties to enumerate households with children of school age (varied at different times) and make reports to the State regarding the number of children, the amount of money expended for education, and the amount of income collected locally.

These records are part of the County Court minutes for most years. Some original enumerators' lists are available in separate volumes at the Archives in Dandridge.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Names of children were not usually listed.

The Tennessee State Library & Archives has a detailed explanation of scholastic censuses. TSLA offers limited look-up services by mail for a fee. Click here to view details.