Genealogy

Dr Bunch
Metro Archives Fall Intern Jamie Erwin processed a standout collection for her internship—the Dr. Ray C. Bunch Collection. Few, if any, medical collections in our repository are this thorough. Jamie shares Dr. Bunch’s story in her own words.
Book cover of hardbound volume features map of Tennessee divided by five lines.
First written in March 2018, this post explores why genealogy research spikes in late winter—something that resurfaced during quarantine. We welcome the interest! Here’s a guide to our most-used genealogy resources, research tips, and updates, including Ancestry Library Edition.
Portrait of Genevieve Baird Farris
This edition of the Metro Archives' intern blog post series comes to you from summer intern, Sabrina Austin, who processed the Genevieve Baird Farris Collection for her internship project. While processing, Sabrina learned about the strong affection the Harris family had for each other, as well as how active they were in Nashville social life. Learn about them from Sabrina herself!
Tennessean clipping from May, 1950
The 1950 U.S. Census was released on April 1, 2022, offering new information for family researchers. It also introduced new search tools—which can be tricky at first—so here are a few tips to help guide your research.
James Estes' voter registration card, 1945
Since most of this year has seemed like an episode out of a sci-fi novel, and it's not lost on anyone that we're living through a major historical event, here are some suggestions of important things you might consider keeping for posterity's sake. 
aerial view of downtown nashville.
When people visit Metro Archives, I like to say we’re more than a repository of city records. While we preserve historic documents, it’s the photographs from across Nashville that best tell the city’s story. In honor of National Photography Month, explore some of our favorite images from the past.
Black and white photo of a man in a suit.
Something about old Bibles has always intrigued me. The "family pages" carefully chronicle the story of those who create the records the Archives carefully protects. Stories of beginnings, births, baptisms, and deaths comprising the framework of lives well lived.