Smith County was formed in 1799 from part of Sumner County and most of the early settlers were from North Carolina and Virginia via East Tennessee. In these abstracts, one will find local office holders being appointed, the levying and expenditure of local taxes, selecting & summoning of juries, Licenses being granted to operators of taverns, as well as deeds & bills of sell being acknowledged by the grantor. The court also oversaw a wide range of matters involving estates, including probate of wills, settlements of estates, and appraisements, as well as matters dealing with bastardy and many other valuable bits of information.