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 Bethsalem (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 Bethsalem. 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.
Bethsalem is located in McMinn 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 McMinn County: Bradley, Loudon, Meigs, Monroe, Polk & Roane.
Below are the counties that are near Bethsalem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethsalem:
- McMinn County (The home county of Bethsalem)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Goodsprings
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Englewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Athens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grady
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grady is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Etowah
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Nonaburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Nonaburg is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonaburg
- Manila
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Manila is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manila
- Claxton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Riceville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mecca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mecca is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
- Niota
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Luskville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Luskville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luskville
- Bell Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bell Spring is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Spring
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Charleston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bellefounte
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bellefounte is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefounte
- Etola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Countryside Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
- Hopewell Estates
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
- Hopewell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- East Cleveland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
- Cleveland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- South Cleveland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
- Bent Tree Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
- Wildwood Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
- McDonald
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Birchwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lakewood
(26 miles [41.8 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Loudon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Luttrell
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Philadelphia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Loudon City Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Loudon City Park is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudon City Park
- Morganton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Morganton is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganton
- Trigonia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trigonia is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigonia
- Loudon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghany ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghany is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghany
- Estimated population in 2014: 630 people
- Greenback
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jena
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jena is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jena
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,279 people
- Centersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Centersville is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centersville
- Meigs County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Cute ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cute is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
- Decatur
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sewee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sewee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewee
- Goodfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Calico
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Calico is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
- Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
- Beta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Surprise
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Surprise is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,799 people
- Akeman Crossroad
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Akeman Crossroad is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akeman Crossroad
- East View
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- East View is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
- Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
- Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Jalapa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Rural Vale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
- Madisonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tellico Plains
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Sweetwater
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Epperson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Epperson is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Jacktown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jacktown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 67,319 people
- Coker Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Belltown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Belltown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Acorn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Acorn is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Ballplay
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ballplay is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Vonore
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Toqua ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Toqua is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toqua
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Delano
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Chestuee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chestuee is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestuee
- Servilla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Servilla is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilla
- Benton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Archville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Archville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archville
- Rymers ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rymers is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rymers
- Parksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Parksville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksville
- Ocoee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chable ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Chable is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chable
- Oldfort
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Oldfort is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfort
- Ball Play
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ball Play is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Play
- Chanceytown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chanceytown is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chanceytown
- Ducktown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rhea County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Lakewood Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
- Bryan Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bryan Hill is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan Hill
- Spring City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Roddy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Cumberland Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Spring is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Spring
- Graysville
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Morrisgap ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Morrisgap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
- Pioneer Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Iron Divide ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Iron Divide is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Divide
- Population from the 2010 Census: 328 people
- Cave Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Cave Creek is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Creek
- Glen Alice
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Fannin County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Fry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fry is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fry
- McCaysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pantertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pantertown is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pantertown
- Population from the 2010 Census: 9,749 people
- Murray County (GA)
- Tennga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cherokee County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Pleasant Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Burger Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burger Town is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burger Town
- Hiwassee Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hiwassee Village is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee Village
- Unaka
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Unaka is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unaka
- Vests
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vests is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vests
- Postell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Postell is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postell
- Ogreeta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ogreeta is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogreeta
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethsalem, see our County-by-County Page for Bethsalem.
Cemeteries Near Bethsalem ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethsalem.
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 Bethsalem - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethsalem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Simpson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bethsalem Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- McMinn County Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wesleyanna Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Long Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mt. Cumberland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- McMinn Memory Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Piney Grove UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Reynolds Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Zion Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Thompson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- New Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (710 more) ...
- Goodsprings Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cunningham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
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 Bethsalem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethsalem.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethsalem, with the one closest to Bethsalem listed first.
- Williamsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Williamsburg is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Grady
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grady is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Athens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carlock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Carlock is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlock
- Mount Verd
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Verd is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Verd
- Nonaburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Nonaburg is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonaburg
- Riceville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mecca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mecca is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
- Sanford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sanford is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
- Luskville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Luskville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luskville
- Gudger
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gudger is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gudger
- Fiketon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fiketon is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiketon
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Calhoun
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Patty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Patty is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patty
- Jalapa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethsalem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethsalem.
Newspapers Published in Bethsalem ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethsalem.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethsalem, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethsalem.
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 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 Bethsalem:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to McMinn County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradley County
- Hamilton County
- Loudon County
- Meigs County
- Monroe County
- Polk County
- Rhea County
- Roane County
- Fannin County
- Murray County
- Cherokee 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> | 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 Bethsalem, 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 from Point A (ie- Bethsalem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |