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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 Cosby (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 Cosby. 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 doctors and 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.

Cosby is located in Cocke 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 Cocke County: Haywood (NC), Madison (NC), Greene, Hamblen, Jefferson & Sevier.

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

  • Cocke County     (The home county of Cosby)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cosby, with the one closest to Cosby listed first.
    • Birdsville ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Birdsville is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsville
    • Hartford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Wilton Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carson Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Edwina
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Naillon ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Naillon is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naillon
    • Bailey Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Bailey Town is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
      • Estimated population in 2014: 428 people
    • Clevenger
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Clevenger is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevenger
      • Estimated population in 2014: 43,182 people
    • Jaybird
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jaybird is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaybird
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,299 people
    • Newport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Wilsonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Bridgeport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Blount County
  • Grainger County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cosby, with the one closest to Cosby listed first.
    • Dyers Ferry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Dyers Ferry is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyers Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 16,839 people
    • Oakland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakland is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Estimated population in 2014: 7,316 people
    • Wa-Ni Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wa-Ni Village is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wa-Ni Village
  • Greene County
  • Hamblen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cosby, with the one closest to Cosby listed first.
    • Monte Vista Estates
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Monte Vista Estates is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Vista Estates
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,860 people
    • Morristown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Casablanca
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Casablanca is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casablanca
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,223 people
    • East Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • East Village is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Silver City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Silver City is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
    • Collons Ferry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Collons Ferry is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collons Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 986 people
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cosby, with the one closest to Cosby listed first.
    • Baneberry
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Dandridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Leadvale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • White Pine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Edna
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Cook Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cook Mill is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook Mill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 31,335 people
    • Dumplin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Flat Gap
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Piedmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Alena ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Alena is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alena
    • Rocky Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Valley is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Valley
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,771 people
    • Jefferson City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Knox County
  • Sevier County
  • Buncombe County (NC)
  • Haywood County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cosby, with the one closest to Cosby listed first.
    • Mount Sterling
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Teague ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Teague is located in Haywood County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
    • Maggie Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Junaluska
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Waynesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Clyde
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hazelwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hazelwood is located in Haywood County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
    • West Canton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bethel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bethel is located in Haywood County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Canton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County (NC)
  • Madison County (NC)
  • Swain County (NC)

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

Cemeteries Near Cosby ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cosby.

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

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

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

  • McMahan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Valentine Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Shultz Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Denton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Hartsell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Proffitt Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fowler Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Gunter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Tritt Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bryant Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Huff Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (661 more) ...
    • Williams Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Stinnett Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Rolen 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 Cosby in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cosby.

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

  • Birdsville ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Birdsville is located in Cocke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsville
  • Jones Cove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jones Cove is located in Sevier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Cove
  • Wilton Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Edwina
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Carson Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Mount Sterling
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Naillon ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Naillon is located in Cocke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naillon
  • Chestnut Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hill is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
  • East Fork
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Newport
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Fox ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox is located in Sevier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox
  • Bridgeport
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Oldtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Oldtown is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldtown
    • Sandy Ridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandy Ridge is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
    • Harrisburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Harrisburg is located in Sevier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
      • Estimated population in 2014: 6,219 people

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

Newspapers Published in Cosby ...

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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cosby.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cosby, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cosby.

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 Cosby:

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 Cosby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cosby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.