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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Dean (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Dean. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Dean is located in Macon County.

To see how the shape of North Carolina's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Macon County: Rabun (GA), Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson & Swain.

Below are the counties that are near Dean. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dean:

  • Macon County     (The home county of Dean)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Franklin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellijay
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Ellijay is also located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellijay
    • Leatherman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Leatherman is also located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
    • Riverside
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Riverside is also located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Tellico
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Tellico is also located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tellico
    • Otto
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Lickskillet
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Lickskillet is also located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
    • Orlando
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Orlando is also located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
    • Scaly Mountain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Fairview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Fairview is also located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Topton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Rhodo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Rhodo is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodo
    • Buffalo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Buffalo is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Andrews
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Coalville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Coalville is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Elf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Elf is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
    • Hayesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Graham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Bear Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bear Creek is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
    • Stecoah
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Stecoah is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
    • Cheoah
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Cheoah is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheoah
    • Robbinsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Yellow Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
    • Fontana Dam
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Fontana Dam is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana Dam
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
      • Fontana Dam has also been known as:
      • Fontana Village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fontana Dam <1>
    • Lake Santeetlah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lake Santeetlah is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Santeetlah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
      • Lake Santeetlah has also been known as:
      • Santeetla
      • Santeetlah
      • Santultah
      • Thunderbird Mountain
      • Thunderbird
  • Haywood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Maggie Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hazelwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hazelwood is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
    • Lavinia ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lavinia was located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
    • Waynesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Gay
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Gay is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay
    • Erastus
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Erastus is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erastus
    • Greens Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Greens Creek is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Creek
    • Forest Hills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest Hills is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
      • Forest Hills has also been known as:
      • Forest Hills village
      • Village of Forest Hills
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest Hills <1>
    • Cullowhee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dillsboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Webster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Webster is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 386 people
    • Glenville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Tuckasegee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Wilmot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Wilmot is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
    • East Laport
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • East Laport is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Laport
    • Sylva
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Sylva is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylva
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,739 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sylva <1>
  • Swain County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Unahala
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Unahala is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unahala
    • Bryson City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Almond
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wesser
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Wesser is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesser
    • Judson ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Judson was located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
    • Cherokee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Oconaluftee Indian Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Nantahala
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Nantahala is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
    • Bushnell ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Bushnell was located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
    • Forney ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Forney was located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forney
  • Transylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Sapphire
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Toxaway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Toxaway Falls ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Toxaway Falls was located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxaway Falls
    • Balsam Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Rosman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Rosman is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosman <1>
  • Rabun County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Sky Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Dillard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Mountain City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Antioch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Antioch is located in Rabun County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Germany
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Germany is located in Rabun County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germany
    • Clayton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Clayton is located in Rabun County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,103 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clayton <1>
    • Tiger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Tiger is located in Rabun County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tiger <1>
    • Wiley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lakemont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Towns County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Tate City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Tate City is located in Towns County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate City
    • Hunt ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Hunt was located in Towns County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt
    • Hiawassee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Oconee County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.
    • Mountain Rest
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tamassee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Longcreek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dean, see our County-by-County Page for Dean.

Cemeteries Near Dean ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dean.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Dean - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dean covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>

While we didn't find Dean in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dean.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Dean, with the one closest to Dean listed first.

  • Franklin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Cullasaja
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cullasaja is also located in Macon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullasaja
  • Leatherman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Leatherman is also located in Macon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
  • Ellijay
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Ellijay is also located in Macon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellijay
  • Otto
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Fallcliff
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Fallcliff is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallcliff
  • Cullowhee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Webster
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Webster is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 386 people
  • Dillsboro
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Glenville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Tuckasegee
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • East Laport
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • East Laport is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Laport
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Sylva
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Sylva is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylva
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,739 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sylva <1>
    • Wilmot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Wilmot is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
    • Scaly Mountain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dean. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dean.

Newspapers Published in Dean ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dean.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dean, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dean.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Dean:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Dean, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dean) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.