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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 Hewitt (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 Hewitt. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Hewitt is located in Swain 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 Swain County: Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Blount (TN) & Sevier (TN).

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

  • Swain County     (The home county of Hewitt)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Nantahala
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Nantahala is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
    • Wesser
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Wesser is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesser
    • Almond
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Judson ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Judson is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
    • Bushnell ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Bushnell is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
    • Forney ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Forney is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forney
    • Unahala
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Unahala is located in Swain County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unahala
    • Bryson City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherokee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Oconaluftee Indian Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Topton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rhodo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Rhodo is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodo
    • Buffalo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Buffalo is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Andrews
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Coalville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Coalville is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
    • Marble
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Boiling Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Boiling Springs is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
    • Murphy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Grape Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Grape Creek is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
    • Unaka
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Unaka is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unaka
    • Ogreeta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ogreeta is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogreeta
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Elf
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Elf is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
    • Hayesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Brasstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Warne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Log Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pine Log Village is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Log Village
  • Graham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Stecoah
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Stecoah is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
    • Bear Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bear Creek is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
    • Cheoah
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Cheoah is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheoah
    • Robbinsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Yellow Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
    • Lake Santeetlah
      (12 miles [19.3 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
    • Fontana Dam
      (13 miles [20.9 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>
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Whittier
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilmot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Wilmot is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
    • Gay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Gay is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay
    • Greens Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Greens Creek is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Creek
    • Dillsboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Paint Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Paint Town is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Town
    • Sylva
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Webster
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Webster is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 386 people
    • Forest Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Erastus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Erastus is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erastus
    • Addie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Addie is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addie
    • East Laport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • East Laport is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Laport
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Fairview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairview is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Tellico
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Tellico is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tellico
    • Leatherman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Leatherman is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
    • Franklin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Riverside
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Riverside is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Ellijay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ellijay is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellijay
    • Otto
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Orlando
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Orlando is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
    • Lickskillet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Lickskillet is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
    • Scaly Mountain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Rabun County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Dillard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sky Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Germany
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Germany is located in Rabun County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germany
    • Mountain City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Towns County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Tate City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Tate City is located in Towns County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate City
    • Hunt ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Hunt is located in Towns County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt
    • Hiawassee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Young Harris
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jacksonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jacksonville is located in Towns County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,239 people
  • Blount County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Red Bank
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Red Bank is located in Blount County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
    • Townsend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Chilhowee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Chilhowee is located in Blount County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
    • Happy Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Happy Valley is located in Blount County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
    • Miller Cove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Miller Cove is located in Blount County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller Cove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 267 people
    • Sixmile
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sixmile is located in Blount County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
    • Walland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Monroe County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Ipe ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ipe is located in Monroe County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
    • Halfway Town ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Halfway Town is located in Monroe County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway Town
  • Sevier County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hewitt, with the one closest to Hewitt listed first.
    • Elkmont ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Elkmont is located in Sevier County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont
    • Wear Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Wear Valley is located in Sevier County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wear Valley
    • Chalet Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Chalet Village is located in Sevier County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalet Village
    • Gatlinburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Starkeytown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Starkeytown is located in Sevier County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkeytown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 431 people

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

Cemeteries Near Hewitt ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hewitt.

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 Hewitt - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Grant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Bethel Hill MB Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Edwards Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Randolph Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Jenkins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Wesser Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Cable Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Ledbetter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Round Top Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Aquone Baptist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Grave Gap Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Windy Gap Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (288 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Hewitt had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Nantahala
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Nantahala is located in Swain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
  • Stecoah
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Stecoah is located in Graham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
  • Aquone
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Aquone is located in Macon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquone
  • Tuskeegee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Tuskeegee is located in Graham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuskeegee
  • Judson ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Judson is located in Swain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
  • Bushnell ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Bushnell is located in Swain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
  • Robbinsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Andrews
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Proctor
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Proctor is located in Swain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
  • Yellow Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
  • Bryson City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairfax
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairfax is located in Swain County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Coalville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Coalville is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
    • Leatherman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Leatherman is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
    • Tusquitee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Tusquitee is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusquitee

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

Newspapers Published in Hewitt ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hewitt.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hewitt, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hewitt.

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 Hewitt:

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 Hewitt, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hewitt) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.