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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 Claxton (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 Claxton. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Claxton is located in McMinn 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 McMinn County: Bradley, Loudon, Meigs, Monroe, Polk & Roane.

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

  • McMinn County     (The home county of Claxton)
  • Bradley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claxton, with the one closest to Claxton listed first.
    • Charleston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bellefounte
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Etola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Countryside Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
    • Hopewell Estates
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
    • Hopewell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Hopewell is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • East Cleveland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
    • Cleveland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • South Cleveland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
    • Bent Tree Acres
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
    • Wildwood Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
    • Earnest ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Earnest was located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earnest
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claxton, with the one closest to Claxton listed first.
    • Birchwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Lakewood
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Soddy Lake Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Soddy Lake Heights is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy Lake Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13,190 people
    • Apison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Collegedale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Howardville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakesite
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lakesite is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesite
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
    • Soddy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Ooltewah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Harrison Ferry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Harrison Ferry is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Ferry
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 7,769 people
    • Lake Dweller
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Loudon County
  • Meigs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claxton, with the one closest to Claxton listed first.
    • Beta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Goodfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Decatur
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • East View
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • East View is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
      • Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
    • Calico
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Calico is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
      • Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
    • Cute ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Cute was located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
    • Sewee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Cayuga Town was located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
    • Akeman Crossroad
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Surprise
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Monroe County
  • Polk County
  • Rhea County
  • Roane County
    • Morrisgap ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Morrisgap was located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
  • Catoosa County (GA)
    • Mount Vernon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Vernon is located in Catoosa County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,371 people
  • Fannin County (GA)
  • Murray County (GA)
  • Whitfield County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claxton, with the one closest to Claxton listed first.
    • Red Clay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Parrett Crossing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Parrett Crossing is located in Whitfield County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrett Crossing
      • Estimated population in 2019: 136 people
    • Cohutta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cherokee County (NC)

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

Cemeteries Near Claxton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Claxton.

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

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

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

  • Williams Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Crabtree Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Jones Chapel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Pickens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Double Springs Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Hanks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Swafford Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Prater Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Clark Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Simpson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Trew Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Swafford Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (686 more) ...
    • Clear Springs Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Love Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Womack Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 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.<2>

While we didn't find Claxton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Claxton.

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

  • Luskville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Patty
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Patty is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patty
  • Sanford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Sanford is also located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
  • Carlock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Carlock is also located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlock
  • Calhoun
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Charleston
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Riceville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Grady
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Grady is also located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
  • Williamsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Williamsburg is also located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
  • Benton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Folger ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Folger was located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folger
  • Tasso
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tasso is located in Bradley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tasso
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Climer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Climer is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climer
    • Athens
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Athens is also located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Athens <1>
    • Lamontville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Claxton ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Claxton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Claxton, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Claxton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Claxton:

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 Claxton, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Claxton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.