Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Big Creek. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Big Creek to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Big Creek, please Contact Us.
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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Big Creek is historic, it would have been located within present day Sullivan 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 Sullivan County: Carter, Hawkins, Johnson, Washington, Bristol City (VA), Scott (VA) & Washington (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:
- Sullivan 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.
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Holston Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Ruthton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Hunter Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
- Forest Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Cedar Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Bristol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Collingwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bluff City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,672 people
- Former name for Bluff City:
- Zollicoffer
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bluff City <2>
- Walnut Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Walnut Hill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Childress
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Childress is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Akard Addition
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Akard Addition is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akard Addition
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Buladeen
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Hunter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hunter is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Siam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Fish Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Biltmore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Biltmore is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Elizabethton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Watauga
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Watauga is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Hampton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Central
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Central is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Gap Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gap Run is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Run
- Pine Crest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Crest is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
- Roan Mountain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hawkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Rotherwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rotherwood is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rotherwood
- Greenvale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Greenvale is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Winchester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Butler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Fuller
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Mountain City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Shingletown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Norris
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Norris is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Trade
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Unicoi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Whispering Pines
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Whispering Pines is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Limestone Cove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Limestone Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Cove
- Unicoi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Austin Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Austin Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin Village
- Carnegie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Carnegie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- East Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- East Ridge is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,317 people
- Flourville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Flourville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flourville
- Oakland Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Village
- Johnson City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67,142 people
- Former names for Johnson City:
- Blue Plum Station
- Haynesville
- Johnsons Depot
- Johnsons Tank
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnson City <2>
- North Johnson City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johnson City
- South Gate Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- South Gate Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Village
- Oak Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Camelot Two
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Camelot Two is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Two
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,582 people
- Spurgeon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Spurgeon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,957 people
- Gray
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Grayson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Ashland
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ashland is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Roten
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Roten is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roten
- Creston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Apple Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Comet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Comet is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Todd
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Avery County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Mount Gilead
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Whaley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whaley is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Beech Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Elk Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Banner Elk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Minneapolis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Minneapolis is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minneapolis
- Seven Devils
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Mountain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Newland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Vale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Vale is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Mitchell County (NC)
- Buladean
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Buladean is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladean
- Watauga County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Creek, with the one closest to Big Creek listed first.
- Mabel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Watauga Falls ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Watauga Falls is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga Falls
- Zionville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rominger
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rominger is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rominger
- Sugar Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Vilas
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Matney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Matney is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Valle Crucis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Norris ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Norris is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Boone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Boone is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,003 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boone <2>
- Foscoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Moretz
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
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.
- Stophel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Browns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Chapman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shipley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Trivett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hopkins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rust Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blevins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Crumley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Stophel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (928 more) ...
- Hurley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rogers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers Cemetery
(5 miles [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.
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.
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Beidlemans ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Beidlemans is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beidlemans
- Holston Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Ruthton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Paperville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Paperville is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paperville
- Bristol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bluff City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,672 people
- Former name for Bluff City:
- Zollicoffer
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bluff City <2>
- Doeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Doeville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doeville
- Pandora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pandora is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Childress
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Childress is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Butler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Sumpter ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sumpter is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Keenburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Keenburg is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keenburg
- Siam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
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 30 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]<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 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 Big Creek:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Sullivan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carter County
- Hawkins County
- Johnson County
- Unicoi County
- Washington County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Mitchell County
- Watauga County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | 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'. |