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 Sweetgum (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 Sweetgum. 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.
Name Variations for Sweetgum ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
Another variation: Sweet Gum.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sweetgum. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sweetgum.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Sweetgum is located in Graham 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 Graham County: Cherokee, Macon, Swain, Blount (TN) & Monroe (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Sweetgum. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sweetgum:
- Graham County (The home county of Sweetgum)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Robbinsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cheoah
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cheoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheoah
- Bear Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Stecoah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stecoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
- Lake Santeetlah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Yellow Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Fontana Dam
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Topton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rhodo
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rhodo is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodo
- Buffalo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Buffalo is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Andrews
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coalville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coalville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Marble
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
- Murphy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grape Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Grape Creek is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
- Unaka
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Unaka is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unaka
- Ogreeta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ogreeta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogreeta
- Hiwassee Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hiwassee Village is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee Village
- Vests
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Vests is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vests
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Hayesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Elf
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Elf is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
- Brasstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Warne
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pine Log Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Log Village is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Log Village
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Whittier
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wilmot
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Wilmot is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Gay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Gay is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay
- Greens Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greens Creek is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Creek
- Dillsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Paint Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Paint Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Town
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Fairview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairview is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Tellico
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Tellico is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tellico
- Leatherman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Leatherman is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
- Franklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Otto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Ellijay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ellijay is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellijay
- Orlando
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orlando is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- Swain County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Nantahala
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Nantahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
- Wesser
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wesser is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesser
- Almond
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Judson ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Judson is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Bushnell ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bushnell is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Forney ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forney is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forney
- Unahala
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Unahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unahala
- Bryson City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cherokee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Oconaluftee Indian Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rabun County (GA)
- Dillard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Towns County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Hunt ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hunt is located in Towns County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt
- Hiawassee
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Young Harris
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Tate City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tate City is located in Towns County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate City
- Jacksonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jacksonville is located in Towns County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Estimated population in 2019: 5,239 people
- Union County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Blairsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Canal Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Canal Lake is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canal Lake
- Population from the 2010 Census: 23,025 people
- Blount County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Chilhowee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chilhowee is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
- 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
- Happy Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Happy Valley is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Townsend
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sixmile
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sixmile is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
- 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
- Seaton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Seaton is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaton
- Walland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Walnut Hill Estates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Hill Estates is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,394 people
- Monroe County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Ipe ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ipe is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
- Halfway Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Halfway Town is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway Town
- Ballplay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ballplay is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Acorn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Acorn is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Belltown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Belltown is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Coker Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Jacktown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Jacktown is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 67,319 people
- Tellico Plains
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Toqua ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Toqua is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toqua
- Sevier County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Elkmont ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elkmont is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont
- Wear Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wear Valley is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wear Valley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sweetgum, see our County-by-County Page for Sweetgum.
Cemeteries Near Sweetgum ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sweetgum.
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 Sweetgum - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sweetgum covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Wiggins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Holloway Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rice Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Massey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Valleytown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- West Buffalo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Valley River Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Edwards Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Randolph Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Hill MB Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (323 more) ...
- Grant Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Sawyer Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Breedlove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
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 Sweetgum in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sweetgum.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sweetgum, with the one closest to Sweetgum listed first.
- Robbinsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nantahala
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Nantahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
- Andrews
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hewitt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hewitt is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
- Stecoah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stecoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
- Tuskeegee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Tuskeegee is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuskeegee
- Coalville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coalville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Yellow Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Aquone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aquone is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquone
- Marble
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfax
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Fairfax is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Proctor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Proctor is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Judson ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Judson is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Tusquitee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tusquitee is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusquitee
- Bushnell ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bushnell is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sweetgum. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sweetgum.
Newspapers Published in Sweetgum ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sweetgum.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sweetgum, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sweetgum.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Sweetgum:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Graham County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Jackson County
- Macon County
- Swain County
- Rabun County
- Towns County
- Union County
- Blount County
- Monroe County
- Sevier County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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 Sweetgum, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sweetgum) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |