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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 Ditty (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 Ditty. 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.

Ditty is located in Putnam 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 Putnam County: Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Overton, Smith & White.

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

  • Putnam County     (The home county of Ditty)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ditty, with the one closest to Ditty listed first.
    • Burgess
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Huntland
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Huntland is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntland
      • Estimated population in 2014: 860 people
    • Boiling Springs
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Southtown Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Southtown Village is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southtown Village
    • Burton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Baxter
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cookeville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Boma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Park Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Park Village is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
    • White Plains
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • White Plains is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,231 people
    • Burnett
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Burnett is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
      • Estimated population in 2014: 418 people
    • Shennon Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Shennon Village is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shennon Village
    • Lafayette
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lafayette is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,962 people
  • Cannon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ditty, with the one closest to Ditty listed first.
    • Gassaway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Woods
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Thomas Town ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Thomas Town is located in Cannon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Town
    • Auburntown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Auburntown is located in Cannon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburntown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
  • Clay County
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ditty, with the one closest to Ditty listed first.
    • Neverfail ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Todd Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Todd Town is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Town
    • Erasmus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Creston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Dykes Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Dykes Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykes Crossroads
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,281 people
    • Woody
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Mount Gilead ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Gilead is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
    • Howard Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Newton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 Ditty to Newton
    • Lantana
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • DeKalb County
  • Fentress County
  • Jackson County
  • Macon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ditty, with the one closest to Ditty listed first.
    • Gibbs Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mill Town is located in Macon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
  • Overton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ditty, with the one closest to Ditty listed first.
    • Duncan's Chapel ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Beaver Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Bushing ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bushing is located in Overton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushing
    • Lovejoy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Obey City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Obey City is located in Overton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obey City
    • Livingston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanging Limb
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Qualls ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Qualls is located in Overton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Qualls
    • Garretts Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Grey ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Grey is located in Overton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grey
    • Poteet ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Poteet is located in Overton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poteet
    • Oak Dale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Dale is located in Overton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Dale
      • Estimated population in 2014: 222 people
  • Smith County
  • Van Buren County
  • Warren County
  • White County
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ditty, with the one closest to Ditty listed first.
    • Cottage Home
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Cottage Home is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Home
      • Estimated population in 2014: 88 people
    • Round Top
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Commerce
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Saulsbury
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Saulsbury is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saulsbury
      • Estimated population in 2014: 96 people
    • Statesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Watertown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Ditty ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ditty.

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

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

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

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 in 1895, Ditty had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Burton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Double Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Double Springs is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Springs
  • Bakers Crossroads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bakers Crossroads is located in White County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Crossroads
  • Fanchers Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Cookeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Boma
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Goffton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Goffton is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goffton
  • Dry Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Dry Valley is located in Putnam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Valley
  • Grace ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Grace is located in White County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
  • Silver Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Peeled Chestnut
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Cassville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cassville is located in White County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Elijah ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Elijah is located in White County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elijah
    • Cherry Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Selby ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Selby is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selby

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

Newspapers Published in Ditty ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ditty.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ditty, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ditty.

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 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 Ditty:

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 Ditty, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ditty) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.