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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 Decatur (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 Decatur. 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.

Name Variations for Decatur ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

In past government published Postal Guides, Decatur was referred to as Decatur Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Decatur. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Decatur.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 and hospitals 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.

Decatur is located in Meigs County and is the County Seat.

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 Meigs County: Bradley, Hamilton, McMinn, Rhea & Roane.

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

  • Meigs County     (The home county of Decatur)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • Calico
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Calico is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
      • Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
    • Goodfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cute ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cute is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
    • Akeman Crossroad
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Beta
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sewee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Surprise
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
    • East View
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • East View is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
      • Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
  • Bledsoe County
  • Bradley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • Charleston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Etola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bellefounte
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Countryside Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
    • Hopewell Estates
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
    • Hopewell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Hopewell is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Bent Tree Acres
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
    • East Cleveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
    • Cleveland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • South Cleveland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
    • McDonald
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Wildwood Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • Jewett
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Burke
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Crab Orchard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Lake Tansi Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Center Ford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Center Ford is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Ford
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,485 people
    • Lantana
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,968 people
      • Newton has also been known as:
      • Peay
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newton
      • From Decatur to Newton
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • Birchwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakewood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakewood is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Estimated population in 2011: 2,336 people
    • Sale Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Flat Top
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Soddy Lake Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Soddy Lake Heights is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy Lake Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13,190 people
    • Soddy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Daisy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Daisy is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
    • Soddy - Daisy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakesite
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakesite is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesite
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
    • Mowbray
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Caramel Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Caramel Village is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caramel Village
    • Lake Dweller
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Loudon County
  • McMinn County
  • Monroe County
  • Polk County
  • Rhea County
  • Roane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • Pioneer Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
    • Glen Alice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Morrisgap ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Morrisgap is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
    • Lakemont Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lakemont Heights is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 12,564 people
    • Rockwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Iron Divide ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Iron Divide is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Divide
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 328 people
    • Postoak
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Cardiff
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • College Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • College Grove is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Grove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 10,729 people
    • Midtown Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Midtown Heights is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown Heights
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,360 people
    • Midtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Midtown is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown
    • Kingston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Laddie Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Laddie Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddie Village

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

Cemeteries Near Decatur ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decatur.

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

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

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

  • Decatur Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Old Goodfield Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Stewart Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Correll Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Ingle Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Goodfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethsadia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Watkins Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ball Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (849 more) ...
    • Concord Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Poe Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Burttram 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Decatur had a population of 223 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Decatur had a population of 1,663 people.

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

  • Breedenton
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Breedenton is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breedenton
  • Goodfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Cotton Port ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cotton Port is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Port
  • Fiketon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Fiketon is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiketon
  • Cute ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cute is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
  • Pineland ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pineland is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineland
  • Beta
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sewee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Folger ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Folger is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folger
  • Evensville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Evensville is located in Rhea County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evensville
  • Big Spring
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Spring is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
  • Riceville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mount Verd
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Mount Verd is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Verd
    • Rhea Springs ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Rhea Springs is located in Rhea County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhea Springs
    • Lamontville
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Decatur. See our List of 1890's Communities around Decatur.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Decatur ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decatur.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Decatur. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Decatur and those printed in the larger area surrounding Decatur.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3> of Decatur.

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 Decatur:

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