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 Big Creek (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 Big Creek. 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 Big Creek ...
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: Bigcreek.
- A typical abbreviation for Big Creek: Big Crk. (or less commonly used: Big Ck. or Big Cr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Creek.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Big Creek is located in Giles 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 Giles County: Limestone (AL), Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall & Maury.
Below are the counties that are near Big Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Creek:
- Giles County (The home county of Big Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Campbellsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Campbellsville is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbellsville
- Lynnville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bufords
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bufords is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bufords
- Liberty Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Olivet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Olivet is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,350 people
- Weakley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Weakley is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weakley
- Wales
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wales is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,031 people
- Bodenham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bodenham is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodenham
- Gordon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Gordon is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,192 people
- Powell Chapel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Powell Chapel is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell Chapel
- Pulaski
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Trigg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Trigg is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigg
- Estimated population in 2014: 851 people
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Palmetto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Palmetto is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
- Estimated population in 2014: 661 people
- Whitaker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Whitaker is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Hickman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Duck River
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Duck River is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck River
- Aetna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Aetna is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
- Swan Bluff
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Swan Bluff is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Bluff
- Littlelot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Littlelot is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlelot
- Primm Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Primm Springs is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primm Springs
- Tottys Bend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Tottys Bend is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tottys Bend
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Webber City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Webber City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber City
- Ethridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Prospect
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Flatwoods
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Flatwoods is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Lawrenceburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Park Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Park Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Grove
- Henryville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Henryville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henryville
- Fall River
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Leoma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Busby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Appleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Liberty Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Voorhies
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Voorhies is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,476 people
- Hohenwald
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmins is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmins
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Boonshill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Boonshill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonshill
- Dellrose
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hughey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hughey is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughey
- Pearl City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pearl City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Coldwater
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Globe
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Globe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- New Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Cornersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- South Berlin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin
- Cochran
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cochran is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran
- Yell
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Yell is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yell
- Lewisburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Berlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Verona
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Verona is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
- Orrs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Orrs is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrs
- Estimated population in 2014: 123 people
- Belfast
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Belfast is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
- Anes
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Anes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anes
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Screamer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Screamer is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamer
- Southport
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Southport is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,110 people
- Enterprise
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Enterprise is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Broadview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Broadview is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadview
- Scotts Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Scotts Mill is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 983 people
- Frierson Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Frierson Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frierson Town
- Estimated population in 2014: 923 people
- Culleoka
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesboro ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,238 people
- Mount Pleasant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ashwood is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashwood
- Scribner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Scribner is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scribner
- Graymere Manor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Graymere Manor is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graymere Manor
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,222 people
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Spring Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkes ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Wilkes is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkes
- Burwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Burwood is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burwood
- Duplex
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Duplex is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplex
- Thompson's Station
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson's Station is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson's Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,973 people
- Former name for Thompson's Station:
- Littlebury
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson's Station <1>
- Lauderdale County (AL)
- Bethel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Limestone County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Lester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lester is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Big Creek.
Cemeteries Near Big Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Creek.
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 Big Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Gipsonville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Briar Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Joines Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Petty Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lucy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Parker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rhea Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Yokley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Yokley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Carvell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cook Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (1323 more) ...
- Gooch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gooch Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Gooch Cemetery is located 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the south of Columbia.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #12471 <3>
- New Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Elk Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Big Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Yokley
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Yokley is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yokley
- Campbellsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Campbellsville is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbellsville
- Stiversville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Stiversville is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stiversville
- Southport
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Southport is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,110 people
- Bufords
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bufords is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bufords
- Lynnville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Broadview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Broadview is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadview
- Bigbyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bigbyville is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigbyville
- Sandy Hook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Hook is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
- Weakley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Weakley is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weakley
- Frierson Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Frierson Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frierson Town
- Estimated population in 2014: 923 people
- Bivens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bivens is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bivens
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Culleoka
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Rockdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rockdale is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Creek.
Newspapers Published in Big Creek ...
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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Creek, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Creek.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Big Creek:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Giles County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Hickman County
- Lawrence County
- Lewis County
- Lincoln County
- Marshall County
- Maury County
- Williamson County
- Lauderdale County
- Limestone 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> | 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- Big Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Big Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |