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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 Bristol (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 Bristol. 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 northeast 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 north.

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 north 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.

Bristol is located in 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 Bristol. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bristol:

  • Sullivan County     (The home county of Bristol)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bristol, with the one closest to Bristol listed first.
    • Forest Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
    • Collingwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hunter Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
    • Ruthton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Walnut Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Akard Addition
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Holston Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Cross
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Blountville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Galloway Mill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Galloway Mill is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway Mill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 665 people
    • Beechnut City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Beechnut City is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechnut City
  • Carter County
  • Hawkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bristol, with the one closest to Bristol listed first.
    • Greenvale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Rotherwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Frisco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Waycross
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Waycross is located in Hawkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waycross
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,091 people
    • Mount Carmel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Solitude ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Block City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Block City is located in Hawkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Block City
    • Green Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Green Village is located in Hawkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
    • Church Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bristol, with the one closest to Bristol listed first.
    • Winchester
      (14 miles [22.5 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • High Health ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • High Health is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
    • Fuller
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Mountain City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Shingletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
    • Norris
      (26 miles [41.8 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
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Dowell is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
    • Trade
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Unicoi County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bristol, with the one closest to Bristol 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
    • Flourville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Spurgeon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Gray
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
    • East Ridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • East Ridge is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ridge
      • Estimated population in 2014: 21,317 people
    • Carnegie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Carnegie is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
    • Johnson City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • South Gate Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Village
    • 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
  • Ashe County (NC)
  • Avery County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bristol, with the one closest to Bristol listed first.
    • Mount Gilead
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Gilead is located in Avery County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
    • Whaley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Watauga County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bristol, with the one closest to Bristol listed first.
    • Mabel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Watauga Falls ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Watauga Falls is located in Watauga County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga Falls
    • Zionville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Bristol ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bristol.

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 Bristol - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bristol, with the one closest to Bristol 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bristol had a population of 6,226 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bristol had a population of 27,142 people.

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

  • Paperville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Paperville is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paperville
  • Ruthton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Beidlemans ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Beidlemans is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beidlemans
  • Holston Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Blountville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sumpter ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Sumpter is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
  • Bluff City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Fishdam ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
  • Mill Point
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Lella ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lella is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lella
  • Edgeworth ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Edgeworth is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
  • Sac ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sac is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Lawson ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lawson is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
    • Thom ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Thom is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thom
    • Childress
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bristol ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bristol.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bristol. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bristol and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bristol.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> of Bristol.

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 Bristol:

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>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.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Bristol) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bristol, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.