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 Allen (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 Allen. 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.
Allen is located in Meigs County.
To see how the shape of Tennessee's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Meigs County: Bradley, Hamilton, McMinn, Rhea & Roane.
Below are the counties that are near Allen. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Allen:
- Meigs County (The home county of Allen)
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Beta
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Goodfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Calico
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Calico is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
- Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
- Decatur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
- East View
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- East View is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
- Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
- Cute ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cute is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
- Akeman Crossroad
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Akeman Crossroad is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akeman Crossroad
- Sewee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sewee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewee
- Surprise
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Surprise is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,799 people
- Bledsoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Summer City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Brayton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Brayton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Ninemile
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ninemile is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninemile
- Pikeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pailo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pailo is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pailo
- Brockdell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Brockdell is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockdell
- Winesap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Winesap is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Etola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Charleston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellefounte
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bellefounte is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefounte
- Hopewell Estates
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
- Hopewell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hopewell is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Countryside Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
- Bent Tree Acres
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
- East Cleveland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
- Cleveland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- South Cleveland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
- McDonald
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wildwood Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Jewett
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Jewett is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
- Burke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Burke is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Birchwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lakewood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lakewood is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Estimated population in 2011: 2,336 people
- Sale Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Soddy Lake Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Soddy Lake Heights is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy Lake Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 13,190 people
- Soddy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Soddy is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy
- Flat Top
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Flat Top is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
- Population from the 2010 Census: 422 people
- Soddy - Daisy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Lakesite
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lakesite is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesite
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
- Mowbray
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mowbray is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowbray
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,615 people
- Caramel Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Caramel Village is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caramel Village
- Crabtree Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Crabtree Hills is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabtree Hills
- Estimated population in 2014: 763 people
- Loudon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Luttrell
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Philadelphia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- McMinn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Lamontville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lamontville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamontville
- Riceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Calhoun
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Athens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Claxton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Luskville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Luskville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luskville
- Niota
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Goodsprings
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Etowah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Grady
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Grady is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Englewood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Prigmore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Prigmore is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prigmore
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Sweetwater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Jalapa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Madisonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Rural Vale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Chestuee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chestuee is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestuee
- Delano
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Benton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ocoee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Parksville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Parksville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksville
- Servilla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Servilla is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilla
- Oldfort
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Oldfort is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfort
- Archville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Archville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archville
- Ball Play
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Ball Play is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Play
- Chable ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chable is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chable
- Rhea County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Bryan Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bryan Hill is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan Hill
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Spring
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Spring is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Spring
- Graysville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Graysville is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
- Ogden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ogden is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Lakewood Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
- Spring City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Roddy
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Pioneer Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Glen Alice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Morrisgap ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisgap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
- Lakemont Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lakemont Heights is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 12,564 people
- Sequatchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Center Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Center Point is located in Sequatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Dunlap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Allen, see our County-by-County Page for Allen.
Cemeteries Near Allen ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Allen.
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 Allen - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Allen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Beta Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Howser Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- McKenzie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sewell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Short Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Perry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bethsadia Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cox Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Burketts Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (822 more) ...
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Melton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coffman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Allen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Allen.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Beta
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Goodfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Pineland ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pineland is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineland
- Big Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Big Spring is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Cotton Port ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cotton Port is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Port
- Folger ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Folger is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folger
- Lamontville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lamontville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamontville
- Brittsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brittsville is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittsville
- Decatur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Etola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Breedenton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Breedenton is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breedenton
- Sanford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sanford is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Riceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fiketon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fiketon is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiketon
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Allen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Allen.
Newspapers Published in Allen ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Allen.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Allen, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Allen.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Allen:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Meigs County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bledsoe County
- Bradley County
- Cumberland County
- Hamilton County
- Loudon County
- McMinn County
- Monroe County
- Polk County
- Rhea County
- Roane County
- Sequatchie County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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> | 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 Allen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Allen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |