Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Colby. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Colby to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Colby, 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 Colby (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 Colby. 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 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 Colby is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Colby. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colby:
- Sullivan County (The home county of Colby)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Wahoo ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wahoo is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
- Thom ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Thom is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thom
- Sac ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sac is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac
- Colonial Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fordtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fordtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordtown
- Lella ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lella is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lella
- Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kendrick Creek is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick Creek
- Galloway Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Galloway Mill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 665 people
- Harrtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Harrtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrtown
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,365 people
- Rock City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rock City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Blountville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beechwood Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beechwood Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood Village
- Orebank
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Orebank is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orebank
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Watauga
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Watauga is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Biltmore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Biltmore is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Central
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Central is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Pine Crest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Crest is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
- Elizabethton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Siam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Gap Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gap Run is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Run
- Hampton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Woodby Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Woodby Hill is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodby Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,730 people
- Buladeen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Fish Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Tolley Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tolley Town is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolley Town
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Milburnton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Milburnton is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnton
- Jearoldstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jearoldstown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jearoldstown
- Centersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Centersville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centersville
- Rheatown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rheatown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rheatown
- Baileyton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Horse Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Horse Creek is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 284 people
- Afton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,251 people
- Tusculum
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tusculum is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusculum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,669 people
- Bolton Estates
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bolton Estates is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,152 people
- Henshaw ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Henshaw is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henshaw
- Estimated population in 2014: 470 people
- Ottway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ottway is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottway
- Hawkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Rotherwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rotherwood is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rotherwood
- Greenvale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Greenvale is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale
- Frisco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Frisco is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Mount Carmel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Solitude ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Solitude is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solitude
- Waycross
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Waycross is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waycross
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,091 people
- Block City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Block City is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Block City
- Green Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Green Village is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Church Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Blossom
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Blossom is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossom
- Chimneytop ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Chimneytop is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimneytop
- New Canton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- New Canton is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
- Greenland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Greenland is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Butler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Winchester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Norris
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Norris is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Unicoi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Whispering Pines
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whispering Pines is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Unicoi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Limestone Cove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Cove
- Bumpus Cove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bumpus Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumpus Cove
- Estimated population in 2014: 729 people
- Erwin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Banner Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Banner Hill is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner Hill
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,497 people
- Indian Creek ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Indian Creek is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
- Ernestville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ernestville is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernestville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,311 people
- Clear Branch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Clear Branch is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Branch
- Former name for Clear Branch:
- Kittyton
- Loganton ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Loganton is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganton
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Spurgeon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spurgeon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,957 people
- Oak Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Gray
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Flourville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Flourville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flourville
- Austin Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Austin Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin Village
- Wheelocktown ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wheelocktown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelocktown
- Camelot Two
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Camelot Two is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Two
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,582 people
- North Johnson City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- North Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johnson City
- Oakland Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Oakland Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Village
- Harmony
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harmony is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Johnson City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67,142 people
- Former names for Johnson City:
- Blue Plum Station
- Haynesville
- Johnsons Depot
- Johnsons Tank
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnson City <2>
- Carnegie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Carnegie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- East Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Ridge is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,317 people
- Mitchell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Richlands
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Richlands is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richlands
- Buladean
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buladean is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladean
- Bailey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bailey is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Herrell ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Herrell is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrell
- Relief
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Relief is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relief
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colby, see our County-by-County Page for Colby.
Cemeteries Near Colby ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colby.
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 Colby - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Colby covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Wheeler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Deck Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- East Tennessee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tennessee Cemetery
- The East Tennessee Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens
- Tri-Cities Memory Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #549219 <3>
- Sanders Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Goodman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hamilton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Barnes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Muddy Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Isley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bowery Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (884 more) ...
- McCulley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- King Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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.
Colby itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Boring
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Boring is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boring
- Hilton ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hilton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton
- Wahoo ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wahoo is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
- Thom ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Thom is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thom
- Lawson ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lawson is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Samuel ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Samuel is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samuel
- Sac ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sac is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac
- Fordtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fordtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordtown
- Hemlock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hemlock is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
- Flourville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Flourville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flourville
- Lella ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lella is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lella
- Edgeworth ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Edgeworth is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kendrick Creek is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick Creek
- Orebank
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Orebank is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orebank
- Blountville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colby. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colby.
Newspapers Published in Colby ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colby.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colby, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colby.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Colby:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Sullivan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carter County
- Greene County
- Hawkins County
- Johnson County
- Unicoi County
- Washington County
- Mitchell County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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 Colby, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Colby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |