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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Blue Gem. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Blue Gem to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Blue Gem, 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 Blue Gem (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 Blue Gem. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Blue Gem is historic, it would have been located within present day Morgan 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 Morgan County: Anderson, Cumberland, Fentress, Roane & Scott.

Below are the counties that are near Blue Gem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blue Gem:

  • Morgan County     (The home county of Blue Gem)
  • Anderson County
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.
    • Kiser
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Friendsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Louisville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • McMullens
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • McMullens is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullens
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13,620 people
    • Big Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloyd Creek ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cloyd Creek is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloyd Creek
    • Alcoa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Alcoa is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alcoa <2>
    • Binfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brick Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairway Estates
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairway Estates is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Estates
      • Estimated population in 2014: 8,224 people
  • Campbell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.
    • Shea
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Silica
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Silica is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silica
      • Estimated population in 2014: 105 people
    • Caryville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Crest
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pine Crest is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,388 people
    • Jacksboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hatmaker ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hatmaker is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.
    • Rogers
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Rogers is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,406 people
    • Hebbertsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Center Ford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Center Ford is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Ford
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,485 people
    • Lake Pomeroy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Crab Orchard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Fairfield Glade
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Woodlands
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Woodlands is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlands
      • Estimated population in 2014: 369 people
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.
    • Volunteer Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Volunteer Village is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volunteer Village
    • Farragut
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Karns
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Belle Aire
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Belle Aire is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Aire
      • Estimated population in 2014: 512 people
    • Boyd
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Virtue
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Virtue is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virtue
      • Estimated population in 2014: 131 people
    • Oak Grove Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Oak Grove Heights is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Heights
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 4,425 people
    • Concord
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ebenezer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Hunting Hills West
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Hunting Hills West is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Hills West
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,970 people
    • Middlebrook Acres
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Middlebrook Acres is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlebrook Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 593 people
    • Heiskell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Kingston Woods
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Kingston Woods is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston Woods
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,790 people
  • Loudon County
  • McMinn County
  • Meigs County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.
    • Sweetwater
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Vonore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rhea County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.
    • Roddy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakewood Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
  • Roane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.
    • Dyllis
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kries
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Kelley Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Kelley Town is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelley Town
    • Bazel Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bazel Town is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazel Town
    • Ethel ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Ethel is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,049 people
    • Wheat ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bear ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Bear is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear
    • Kingston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Laddie Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Laddie Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddie Village
    • Selkirk ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Selkirk is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selkirk
    • Emory Gap
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Midtown Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Midtown Heights is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown Heights
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,360 people
  • Scott County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blue Gem, see our County-by-County Page for Blue Gem.

Cemeteries Near Blue Gem ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Gem.

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 Blue Gem - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blue Gem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.

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 Blue Gem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blue Gem.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Blue Gem, with the one closest to Blue Gem listed first.

  • Elverton
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Elverton is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elverton
  • DeArmond
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • DeArmond is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeArmond
  • Scandlyn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Scandlyn is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandlyn
  • Coalfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Whetstone ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Whetstone is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whetstone
  • Kries
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Crookedfork ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Crookedfork is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crookedfork
  • Oakdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Oakdale is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
  • Wheat ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ethel ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Ethel is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
    • Estimated population in 2014: 2,049 people
  • Oliver Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Harriman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blue Gem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blue Gem.

Newspapers Published in Blue Gem ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Gem.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Gem, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Gem.

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 Blue Gem:

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 Blue Gem, 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blue Gem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.