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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 Boyds 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 Boyds 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 Boyds 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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Boyds Creek: Boyds Crk. (or less commonly used: Boyds Ck. or Boyds Cr.)
  • While the name of this community is Boyds Creek, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Boyds Creek may originally have been Boyd's Creek.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Boyds Creek might be written as Boyd 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.

Boyds Creek is located in Sevier 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 Sevier County: Haywood (NC), Swain (NC), Blount, Cocke, Jefferson & Knox.

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

  • Sevier County     (The home county of Boyds Creek)
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boyds Creek, with the one closest to Boyds Creek listed first.
    • Panther ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Panther is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
    • Claxton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Spring Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Spring Hill is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 16,752 people
    • Peak
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Andersonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bethel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethel is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Estimated population in 2014: 719 people
    • Clinton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Norris
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boyds Creek, with the one closest to Boyds Creek listed first.
    • Cowan Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cowan Springs is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan Springs
      • Estimated population in 2014: 9,010 people
    • Wildwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockford is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • Rocky Branch
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rocky Branch is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Branch
      • Estimated population in 2014: 5,427 people
    • Walland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Townsend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Eagleton Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Eagleton Village is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton Village
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 5,052 people
    • Miller Cove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Miller Cove is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller Cove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 267 people
    • Seaton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alcoa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Rockgardens
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockgardens is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockgardens
      • Estimated population in 2014: 861 people
    • Chelsey Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Chelsey Village is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsey Village
  • Cocke County
  • Grainger County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boyds Creek, with the one closest to Boyds Creek listed first.
    • Blaine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lea Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Maples ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Maples is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maples
    • Dyers Ferry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Dyers Ferry is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyers Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 16,839 people
    • Oakland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakland is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Estimated population in 2014: 7,316 people
    • Massengill Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Massengill Mill is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massengill Mill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,600 people
    • Joppa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lulaville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lulaville is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville
    • Wa-Ni Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Wa-Ni Village is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wa-Ni Village
    • Rutledge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Washburn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bowen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hamblen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boyds Creek, with the one closest to Boyds Creek listed first.
    • Collons Ferry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Collons Ferry is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collons Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 986 people
    • Monte Vista Estates
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Monte Vista Estates is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Vista Estates
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,860 people
    • Casablanca
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Casablanca is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casablanca
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,223 people
    • Morristown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Jefferson County
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boyds Creek, with the one closest to Boyds Creek listed first.
    • Peters Mill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Thorn Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Kimberlin Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Riverdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyonton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Lyonton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonton
    • Wooddale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Highpoint ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Highpoint is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highpoint
    • Moshina Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Moshina Heights is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshina Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,335 people
    • Shooks
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Mascot
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mascot is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mascot
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,411 people
    • Mayo ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mayo is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,366 people
    • Ramsey Ferry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Ramsey Ferry is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 320 people
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Boyds Creek, with the one closest to Boyds Creek listed first.
    • Luttrell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Plainview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Paulette
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Maynardville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Gabe ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Gabe is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabe
    • Warwicktown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Warwicktown is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwicktown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 658 people
    • Loyston ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Haynes ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Haynes is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
    • Loo ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Loo is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loo
    • Lost Creek ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lost Creek is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek

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

Cemeteries Near Boyds Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Boyds 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 Boyds Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Brabson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Boyds Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Old Boyds Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Arwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Tundle Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Thomas Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Randies Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Hodges Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Henry Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Pollard Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Underwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Robinson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (951 more) ...
    • Thomas Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Zion Hill Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Gists Creek Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Boyds Creek had a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Boyds 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 Boyds Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Boyds Creek, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Boyds Creek.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Boyds Creek:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Boyds Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Boyds Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.