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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Big Creek is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Claiborne, Grainger, Hawkins, Lee (VA) & Scott (VA).
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:
- Hancock 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.
- Xenophon
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Xenophon is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon
- Alanthus Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
- Duck Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Duck Creek is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Creek
- Yount Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Yount Town is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount Town
- Sneedville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Trent Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Trent Valley is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent Valley
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,157 people
- Kyles Ford
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Willis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Willis is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
- Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
- Claiborne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Caney Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caney Valley is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Valley
- Evans Ferry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Evans Ferry is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Ferry
- Population from the 2010 Census: 293 people
- Raven Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Raven Hill is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Hill
- Springdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Springdale is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Tazewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lone Mountain
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lone Mountain is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Mountain
- New Tazewell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Head of Barren
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Head of Barren is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Head of Barren
- Shawanee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Shawanee is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawanee
- Harrogate
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Minton Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Minton Mill is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minton Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 527 people
- Grainger County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Thorn Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Thorn Hill is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
- Bean Station
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Beans
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Beans is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,084 people
- Wyatt Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Wyatt Village is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt Village
- Bowen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bowen is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Marshalls Ferry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Marshalls Ferry is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalls Ferry
- Rutledge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wa-Ni Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wa-Ni Village is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wa-Ni Village
- Washburn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Washburn is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Lulaville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lulaville is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville
- Joppa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Joppa is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Massengill Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Massengill Mill is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massengill Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,600 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Marvin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Marvin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
- Beulah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beulah is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Romeo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Romeo is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo
- Morelock ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Morelock is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morelock
- Warrensburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Warrensburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrensburg
- Midway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Baileyton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Albany
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Albany is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
- Mosheim
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hamblen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Bright ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bright is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,942 people
- Casablanca
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Casablanca is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casablanca
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,223 people
- East Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- East Village is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Morristown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Whitesburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Collons Ferry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Collons Ferry is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collons Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 986 people
- Silver City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Silver City is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Monte Vista Estates
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Monte Vista Estates is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Vista Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,860 people
- Hawkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Mooresburg Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mooresburg Springs is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresburg Springs
- Population from the 2010 Census: 941 people
- Galbraith Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Galbraith Springs is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galbraith Springs
- Mooresburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Red Bridge Ferry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Red Bridge Ferry is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bridge Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,135 people
- Eidson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Eidson is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eidson
- Rogersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Amis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Amis is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amis
- Bulls Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Persia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Persia is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Strahl
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Strahl is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strahl
- Kepler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kepler is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepler
- Surgoinsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Talbott
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Rock Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Rock Town is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Town
- Edna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Edna is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
- Jefferson City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- White Pine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Leadvale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leadvale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadvale
- Alena ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Alena is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alena
- New Market
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Baneberry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Flat Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Flat Gap is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Gap
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Haynes ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Haynes is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
- Loo ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Loo is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loo
- Luttrell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Luttrell is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luttrell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,088 people
- Braden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Braden is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braden
- Estimated population in 2014: 277 people
- Phebe ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Phebe is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phebe
- Maynardville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bell County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Calvin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Calvin is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
- Varilla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Varilla is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varilla
- Middlesboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Miracle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Miracle is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle
- Callaway
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Callaway is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaway
- Premier
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Premier is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Premier
- Stony Fork Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Stony Fork Junction is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork Junction
- Jenson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jenson is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenson
- Kettle Island
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kettle Island is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle Island
- Yellow Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Yellow Creek is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Stoney Fork
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stoney Fork is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Fork
- Edgewood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Edgewood is located in Bell County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
- Harlan County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Pathfork
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pathfork is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pathfork
- Twila
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Twila is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twila
- Mary Alice
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mary Alice is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Alice
- Bobs Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bobs Creek is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bobs Creek
- Cawood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cawood is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cawood
- Cranks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cranks is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranks
- South Wallins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- South Wallins is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wallins
- Coldiron
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Wallins Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Wallins Creek is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallins Creek
- Estimated population in 2016: 146 people
- Harlan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Loyall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Loyall is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
- Ages
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ages is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ages
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.
- Winkler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Moles Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Burke Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Brooks Seals Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Barnard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lawson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Overton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Spradling Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Turner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Howardton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (874 more) ...
- Clark Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Helton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Seal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
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 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.
- Xenophon
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Xenophon is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon
- Yellow Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Yellow Springs is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Springs
- Alanthus Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
- Luther
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Luther is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- Ritchie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ritchie is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritchie
- Sneedville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Thorn Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Thorn Hill is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
- Springdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Springdale is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Tate Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tate Springs is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tate Springs
- Bean Station
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Lee Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lee Valley is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Valley
- Tazewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Mooresburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Galbraith Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Galbraith Springs is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galbraith Springs
- Bowen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bowen is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
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 15 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 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. 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 first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Claiborne County
- Grainger County
- Greene County
- Hamblen County
- Hawkins County
- Jefferson County
- Union County
- Bell County
- Harlan 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 Big Creek, 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 obstructions 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'. |