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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 Decaturville (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 Decaturville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Decaturville is located in Decatur 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 Decatur County: Benton, Carroll, Hardin, Henderson, Perry & Wayne.

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

  • Decatur County     (The home county of Decaturville)
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decaturville, with the one closest to Decaturville listed first.
    • Chaseville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Coxburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Wildlife Cove Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Crossroads is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,728 people
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decaturville, with the one closest to Decaturville listed first.
    • Clarksburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Clarksburg is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
    • Anark
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Concord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Buena Vista
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Chester County
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decaturville, with the one closest to Decaturville listed first.
    • Johnson Ford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Johnson Ford is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Ford
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65,813 people
    • Saltillo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Swift
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Swift is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
      • Estimated population in 2014: 5,874 people
    • Centerview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Centerview is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
      • Estimated population in 2014: 244 people
    • Sibley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Paulks ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Paulks is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paulks
    • Smiths Fork ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Smiths Fork is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Fork
    • New Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • New Town is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Belle Meade
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Belle Meade is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Meade
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,017 people
    • Savannah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Crump
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Henderson County
  • Hickman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decaturville, with the one closest to Decaturville listed first.
    • Pleasantville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Pleasantville is located in Hickman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
    • Hornertown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Hornertown is located in Hickman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornertown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 412 people
    • Only
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Humphreys County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decaturville, with the one closest to Decaturville listed first.
    • Buffalo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hustburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Bakerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Grandmother Ford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Grandmother Ford is located in Humphreys County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandmother Ford
      • Estimated population in 2014: 307 people
    • New Johnsonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Madison County
  • McNairy County
  • Perry County
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decaturville, with the one closest to Decaturville listed first.
    • Clifton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Slickrock Ford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Slickrock Ford is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickrock Ford
      • Estimated population in 2014: 179 people
    • Sorby ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Sorby is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorby
    • Ashland Ford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Ashland Ford is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Ford
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,674 people
    • Waynesboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Decaturville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decaturville.

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

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

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

  • Houston Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • White Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Yarbro Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Rosson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Fisher Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wallace Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Tolley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Houston Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Herndon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Harrington Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Graves Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Wallace Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (802 more) ...

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Decaturville had a population of 249 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Decaturville had a population of 857 people.

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

  • Parsons
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Beacon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Beacon is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon
  • Perryville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Perryville is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perryville
  • Darden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Darden is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darden
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 399 people
  • Pope
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Pope is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope
  • Scotts Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Dunbar
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Sulphur Springs ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Bible Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Bible Hill is located in Decatur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bible Hill
  • New Era ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • New Era is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
  • Mousetail ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mousetail is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mousetail
  • Chesterfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Decaturville ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decaturville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Decaturville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Decaturville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Decaturville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Decaturville.

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 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 Decaturville:

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>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.
<3>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 Decaturville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Decaturville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.