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 Spring (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 Spring. 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 Spring ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Spring: Big Spg. (or less commonly used: Big Spng. or Big Sprng.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Spring. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Spring.
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 Spring is located in Meigs 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 Meigs County: Bradley, Hamilton, McMinn, Rhea & Roane.
Below are the counties that are near Big Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Spring:
- Meigs County (The home county of Big Spring)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Beta
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- East View
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- East View is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
- Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
- Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
- Goodfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Calico
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Calico is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
- Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
- Decatur
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cute ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cute is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
- Akeman Crossroad
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Akeman Crossroad is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akeman Crossroad
- Sewee
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Sewee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewee
- Surprise
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Surprise is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,799 people
- Bledsoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Summer City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Brayton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Brayton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Pikeville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ninemile
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ninemile is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninemile
- Pailo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Pailo is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pailo
- Brockdell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Brockdell is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockdell
- Winesap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Winesap is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Etola
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Hopewell Estates
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
- Hopewell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hopewell is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Charleston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Countryside Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
- Bellefounte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellefounte is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefounte
- Bent Tree Acres
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
- Cleveland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- East Cleveland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
- South Cleveland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
- McDonald
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mineral Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Mineral Park is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Park
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Jewett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Jewett is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
- Burke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Burke is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Birchwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lakewood
(7 miles [11.3 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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Soddy Lake Heights
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Soddy Lake Heights is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy Lake Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 13,190 people
- Soddy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Soddy is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy
- Flat Top
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Flat Top is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
- Population from the 2010 Census: 422 people
- Daisy
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Lakesite
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Lakesite is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesite
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
- Soddy - Daisy
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mowbray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mowbray is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowbray
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,615 people
- Caramel Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Caramel Village is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caramel Village
- Crabtree Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Crabtree Hills is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabtree Hills
- Estimated population in 2014: 763 people
- Loudon County
- Luttrell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- McMinn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Lamontville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lamontville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamontville
- Calhoun
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Riceville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Claxton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Luskville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Luskville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luskville
- Athens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Goodsprings
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Etowah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Grady
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Grady is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Niota
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Englewood
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Manila
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Manila is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manila
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Sweetwater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jalapa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Rural Vale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Chestuee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chestuee is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestuee
- Benton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Delano
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ocoee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oldfort
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oldfort is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfort
- Parksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Parksville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksville
- Servilla
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Servilla is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilla
- Archville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Archville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archville
- Ball Play
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Play is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Play
- Chable ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chable is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chable
- Rhea County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Bryan Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bryan Hill is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan Hill
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Graysville
(10 miles [16.1 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
- Cumberland Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Spring is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Spring
- Ogden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ogden is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Lakewood Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
- Spring City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Roddy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Pioneer Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Glen Alice
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Morrisgap ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisgap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
- Sequatchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Center Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Center Point is located in Sequatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Dunlap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Daus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Daus is located in Sequatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daus
- Catoosa County (GA)
- Mount Vernon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Vernon is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,371 people
- Murray County (GA)
- Tennga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Whitfield County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Parrett Crossing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Parrett Crossing is located in Whitfield County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrett Crossing
- Estimated population in 2019: 136 people
- Red Clay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Red Clay is located in Whitfield County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Clay
- Cohutta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Spring, see our County-by-County Page for Big Spring.
Cemeteries Near Big Spring ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Spring.
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 Spring - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Spring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Cowan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lewis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Burketts Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Blankenship Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- McClanahan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ruyan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Erwin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- McKenzie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beta Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Good Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Powell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (781 more) ...
- Clint Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Neeley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Johnson 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Big Spring had a population of 265 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Brittsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Brittsville is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittsville
- Beta
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Pineland ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pineland is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineland
- Etola
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Lamontville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lamontville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamontville
- Folger ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Folger is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folger
- Goodfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Cotton Port ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cotton Port is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Port
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Charleston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Calhoun
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sanford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Sanford is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Decatur
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Graysville
(10 miles [16.1 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
- Riceville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Spring.
Newspapers Published in Big Spring ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Spring.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Spring, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Spring.
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 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 Big Spring:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Meigs County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bledsoe County
- Bradley County
- Cumberland County
- Hamilton County
- Loudon County
- McMinn County
- Monroe County
- Polk County
- Rhea County
- Roane County
- Sequatchie County
- Catoosa County
- Murray County
- Whitfield 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 Big Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Spring) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |