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 Cowan (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 Cowan. 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.
Cowan is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Jackson (AL), Madison (AL), Coffee, Grundy, Lincoln, Marion & Moore.
Below are the counties that are near Cowan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cowan:
- Franklin County (The home county of Cowan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Saint Marys
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Saint Marys is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
- Estimated population in 2014: 785 people
- Greenhaw
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Greenhaw is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhaw
- Decherd
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sewanee
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Liberty is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Estimated population in 2014: 318 people
- Winchester
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sal City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sal City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sal City
- Sand Switch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Switch is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Switch
- Estill Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester Springs is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester Springs
- Anderson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Beans Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Beans Creek is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
- Garner Ford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Garner Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 309 people
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Cascade Hollow
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cascade Hollow is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Hollow
- Raus
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Raus is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raus
- Normandy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Grove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Cortner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cortner is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortner
- Haley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Haley is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haley
- Wartrace
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coffee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Ruthledge Ford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ruthledge Ford is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthledge Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,116 people
- Stephenson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Stephenson is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stephenson
- Southgate Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Southgate Park is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate Park
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,284 people
- Hillsboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Tullahoma
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Belmont is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Homaway Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Homaway Village is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homaway Village
- Royal Oaks
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Royal Oaks is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Oaks
- Manchester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Winton Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Winton Town is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton Town
- Forest Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Forest Mill is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Mill
- New Union
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- New Union is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Union
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,431 people
- Busy Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Busy Corner is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy Corner
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Monteagle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pelham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sartain Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sartain Springs is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartain Springs
- Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
- Lankford Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lankford Town is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Town
- Tracy City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- White City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- White City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Coalmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coalmont is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
- Altamont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gruetli
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gruetli is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruetli
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,775 people
- Gruetli - Laager
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beersheba Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beersheba Springs is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beersheba Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Palmer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Gattistown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Gattistown is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gattistown
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,158 people
- Flintville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Flintville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 627 people
- Booneville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Booneville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booneville
- Corder Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Corder Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corder Crossroads
- Clarks Ferry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clarks Ferry is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
- Howell Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Comfort
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Comfort is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comfort
- Orme
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Orme is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orme
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Ketchall ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Ketchall is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchall
- Kimball
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Richard City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Richard City is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richard City
- South Pittsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Greentown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Greentown is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentown
- Jasper
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- New Hope
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- Whitwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Powells Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Powells Crossroads is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powells Crossroads
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,352 people
- Vulcan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Vulcan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
- Moore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Ridgeville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Lynchburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Countyline
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Countyline is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countyline
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Viola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Morrison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jackson County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Greerton ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Greerton is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greerton
- Narrows ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Narrows is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrows
- Francisco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Francisco is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
- Hytop
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hytop is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hytop
- Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
- Estillfork
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Estillfork is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estillfork
- Copenhagen ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Copenhagen is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
- Rash
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Rash is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rash
- Baileytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Baileytown is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Bridgeport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bridgeport is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
- Former name for Bridgeport:
- Jonesville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <1>
- Browns Valley ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Browns Valley is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
- Haynes Crossing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Haynes Crossing is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossing
- New Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Town is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Stevenson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Madison County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Hillsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsboro is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- New Market
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dade County (GA)
- Cole City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
- Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cowan, see our County-by-County Page for Cowan.
Cemeteries Near Cowan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cowan.
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 Cowan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cowan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Hawkins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Montgomery Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mullikin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- McIlheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- McLlheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Stevens Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jackson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Holder Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Austell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Garner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Continue List (1010 more) ...
- Steele Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Carter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Keith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Cowan had a population of 624 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cowan had a population of 1,668 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cowan, with the one closest to Cowan listed first.
- Decherd
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sewanee
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Winchester
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sherwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Estill Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Belvidere
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Monteagle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Maxwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maxwell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Pelham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Prairie Plains
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Prairie Plains is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Plains
- Anderson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Beans Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Beans Creek is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
- Comfort
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Comfort is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comfort
- Awalt ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Awalt is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Awalt
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cowan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cowan.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Cowan ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cowan.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Cowan. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Cowan and those printed in the larger area surrounding Cowan.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> of Cowan.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Cowan:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Coffee County
- Grundy County
- Lincoln County
- Marion County
- Moore County
- Warren County
- Jackson County
- Madison County
- Dade County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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 Cowan, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cowan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |