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 Benjestown (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 Benjestown. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Benjestown is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Crittenden (AR), DeSoto (MS), Marshall (MS), Fayette & Tipton.
Below are the counties that are near Benjestown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Benjestown:
- Shelby County (The home county of Benjestown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Ramsey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Woodstock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Woodstock is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Giles Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Giles Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles Town
- Hunt Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hunt Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,234 people
- Memphis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cuba
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cuba is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Lucy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lucy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Binghampton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Binghampton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghampton
- Spring Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Spring Lake is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Estimated population in 2014: 34,269 people
- Millington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- The Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- The Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
- Bartlett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Gallaway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Canadaville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Canadaville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadaville
- Hickory Withe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Hickory Withe is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Withe
- Braden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elba
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elba is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Piperton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Piperton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piperton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,128 people
- Oakland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Oakland is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,669 people
- Lauderdale County
- Fulton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fulton is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Tipton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Corona
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Corona is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Wilkinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkinsville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinsville
- Drummonds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Atoka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Munford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Randolph
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Randolph is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Idaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Idaville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Brighton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gilt Edge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gilt Edge is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilt Edge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Clopton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Clopton is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clopton
- Estimated population in 2014: 9,889 people
- Burlison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Detroit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Detroit is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Crittenden County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Mound City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mound City is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Marion is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>
- Sunset
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sunset is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- James Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- James Mill is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Mill
- Jericho
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Jericho is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- West Memphis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clarkedale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Clarkedale is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Hulbert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hulbert is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulbert
- Turrell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Amanca
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Amanca is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanca
- Crawfordsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Gilmore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gilmore is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Cross County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Twist
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Twist is located in Cross County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twist
- Parkin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mississippi County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Frenchmans Bayou
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Frenchmans Bayou is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchmans Bayou
- Joiner
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Joiner is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
- Birdsong
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Birdsong is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Denwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Denwood is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denwood
- Bardstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bardstown is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardstown
- Bassett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bassett is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Wilson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 803 people
- Whitton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Whitton is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitton
- Dyess
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dyess is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyess
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dyess <1>
- Marie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Marie is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Driver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Driver is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driver
- Keiser
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Keiser is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keiser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
- Poinsett County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Tyronza
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Black Oak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Black Oak is located in Poinsett County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Alto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Alto is located in Poinsett County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Marked Tree
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lepanto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Francis County (AR)
- Heth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- DeSoto County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Southhaven
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Southhaven is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southhaven
- Horn Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lynchburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lynchburg is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
- De Soto Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- De Soto Village is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto Village
- Southaven
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Walls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Walls is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,441 people
- Former name for Walls:
- Alpika
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walls <1>
- Aldens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Aldens is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldens
- Glover
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Glover is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Olive Branch
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Norfolk
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Norfolk is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk
- Lake Cormorant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Memphis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Memphis is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
- Marshall County (MS)
- Barton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Barton is located in Marshall County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Tunica County (MS)
- Banks
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Banks is located in Tunica County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Benjestown, see our County-by-County Page for Benjestown.
Cemeteries Near Benjestown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Benjestown.
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 Benjestown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Benjestown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Benjestown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pt. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Potters Field
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Island Forty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Little John Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Matthew Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (321 more) ...
- Barton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Embury Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Egypt Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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 Benjestown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Benjestown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Benjestown, with the one closest to Benjestown listed first.
- Frayser
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frayser is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frayser
- Ramsey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Woodstock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Woodstock is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Mound City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mound City is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Hopefield ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hopefield is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopefield
- Memphis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cuba
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cuba is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Marion is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>
- Almont ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Almont is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almont
- Raleigh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Raleigh is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Lucy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lucy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Jericho
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Jericho is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- James Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- James Mill is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Mill
- Gavin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gavin is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gavin
- West Memphis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Benjestown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Benjestown.
Newspapers Published in Benjestown ...
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 219 newspapers that have been published in the area around Benjestown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Benjestown, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Benjestown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Benjestown:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Lauderdale County
- Tipton County
- Crittenden County
- Cross County
- Mississippi County
- Poinsett County
- Saint Francis County
- DeSoto County
- Marshall County
- Tunica 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 Benjestown, 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- Benjestown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |