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 Boston (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 Boston. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Boston is located in Williamson 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 Williamson County: Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Marshall, Maury & Rutherford.
Below are the counties that are near Boston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Boston:
- Williamson County (The home county of Boston)
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Burwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Burwood is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burwood
- Leipers Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Southall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Southall is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southall
- Thompson's Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Wilkes ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wilkes is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkes
- Parry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Parry is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parry
- Estimated population in 2014: 262 people
- Fernvale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fernvale is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernvale
- Spring Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Harpeth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Harpeth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpeth
- Forest Home
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Home is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Home
- Franklin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bedford County
- Unionville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cheatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Kingston Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pegram
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pegram is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pegram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,056 people
- Bell Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bell Town is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
- Doziers ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Doziers is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doziers
- Estimated population in 2014: 543 people
- Lillamay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lillamay is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillamay
- Marrowbone
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Marrowbone is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone
- Ashland City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ashland City is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,748 people
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Linton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Linton is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linton
- Bellevue
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Tennessee Towne ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Tennessee Towne is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennessee Towne
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,347 people
- Forest Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,721 people
- Watkins ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Watkins is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
- Belle Meade
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Belle Meade is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Meade
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,788 people
- Green Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,618 people
- Oak Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,432 people
- Wrencoe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wrencoe is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrencoe
- Whispering Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whispering Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Hills
- Paragon Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Paragon Mills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paragon Mills
- Berry Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Berry Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Dickson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Spencers Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Spencers Mill is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencers Mill
- Abiff
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Abiff is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abiff
- White Bluff
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tidwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tidwell is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
- Burns
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Dickson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Water Valley ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Water Valley is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,516 people
- Charlotte
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pond is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond
- White Oak Flat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- White Oak Flat is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Flat
- Hickman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Primm Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Primm Springs is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primm Springs
- Duck River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Duck River is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck River
- Bon Aqua Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bon Aqua Junction is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Aqua Junction
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,230 people
- Littlelot
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Littlelot is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlelot
- Lyles
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wrigley
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wrigley is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrigley
- Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
- Tottys Bend
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tottys Bend is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tottys Bend
- Graytown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Graytown is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,528 people
- Swan Bluff
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Swan Bluff is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Bluff
- Centerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Graham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Graham is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Nunnelly
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Nunnelly is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnelly
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Caney Spring
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Caney Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Spring
- Holts Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Holts Corner is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holts Corner
- Berlin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Chapel Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Anes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Anes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anes
- South Berlin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- South Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin
- Verona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Verona is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
- Globe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Globe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Lewisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Theta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Theta is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theta
- Jameson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jameson is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jameson
- Fly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fly is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fly
- Hill Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hill Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Town
- Carters Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carters Creek is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Creek
- Mowd ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mowd is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowd
- New Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- New Hope is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,070 people
- New Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- New Flys Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Flys Village is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Flys Village
- Santa Fe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ben ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ben is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben
- Arkland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arkland is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkland
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Allisona
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Allisona is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allisona
- Eagleville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Patterson
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Patterson is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Concord
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Snell ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Snell is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snell
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,361 people
- La Vergne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson Pike
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Jefferson Pike is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Pike
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,370 people
- Morrow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Morrow is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrow
- Estimated population in 2014: 29,304 people
- Smyrna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Boston, see our County-by-County Page for Boston.
Cemeteries Near Boston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Boston.
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 Boston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Boston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Sparkman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Marlin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tidwell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Holt Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wall Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sedberry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Johnson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Garrison Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carlisle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Potts Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sedberry Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jones Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (1461 more) ...
- McKee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hunter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lynn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Boston had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Boston, with the one closest to Boston listed first.
- Theta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Theta is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theta
- Leipers Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Loco ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Loco is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loco
- Southall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Southall is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southall
- Whiteoak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Whiteoak is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteoak
- Fly
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fly is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fly
- Thompson's Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- West Harpeth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- West Harpeth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harpeth
- Bingham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bingham is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
- Mowd ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mowd is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowd
- Fernvale Springs ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fernvale Springs is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernvale Springs
- Fernvale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fernvale is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernvale
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Carters Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carters Creek is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Creek
- Spring Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Santa Fe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Boston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Boston.
Newspapers Published in Boston ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Boston.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Boston, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Boston.
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 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 Boston:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Williamson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Cheatham County
- Davidson County
- Dickson County
- Hickman County
- Marshall County
- Maury County
- Rutherford 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Boston) 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 Boston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |