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 Elkins (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 Elkins. 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 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.
Elkins 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 Elkins. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elkins:
- Franklin County (The home county of Elkins)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Estill Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Winchester Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Winchester Springs is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester Springs
- Decherd
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Greenhaw
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Greenhaw is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhaw
- Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Liberty is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Estimated population in 2014: 318 people
- Cowan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Garner Ford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Garner Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 309 people
- Sewanee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Saint Marys
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Marys is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
- Estimated population in 2014: 785 people
- Lexie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lexie is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexie
- Sand Switch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sand Switch is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Switch
- Sal City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Sal City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sal City
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Cascade Hollow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cascade Hollow is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Hollow
- Raus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Raus is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raus
- Willow Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Grove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Normandy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cortner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cortner is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortner
- Haley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Haley is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haley
- Wartrace
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shelbyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bell Buckle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anchor Mill ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Anchor Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor Mill
- Whitaker
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Whitaker is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Cannon County
- Hollow Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hollow Springs is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow Springs
- Estimated population in 2014: 706 people
- Coffee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Southgate Park
(6 miles [9.7 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
- Tullahoma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Homaway Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Homaway Village is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homaway Village
- Ruthledge Ford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ruthledge Ford is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthledge Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,116 people
- Belmont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Belmont is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Royal Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Royal Oaks is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Oaks
- Hillsboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Stephenson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stephenson is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stephenson
- Manchester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Busy Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Busy Corner is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy Corner
- Forest Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Forest Mill is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Mill
- New Union
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Winton Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Winton Town is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton Town
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Pelham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Monteagle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sartain Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sartain Springs is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartain Springs
- Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
- Tracy City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lankford Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lankford Town is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Town
- Coalmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Coalmont is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
- White City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- White City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Altamont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gruetli
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Gruetli is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruetli
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,775 people
- Gruetli - Laager
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Beersheba Springs
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Gattistown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Gattistown is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gattistown
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,158 people
- Booneville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Booneville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booneville
- Flintville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Flintville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 627 people
- Corder Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Corder Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corder Crossroads
- Belleville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Belleville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
- Clarks Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Elk Mill Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Elk Mill Village is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mill Village
- Fayetteville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Park City Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Petersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Comfort
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Comfort is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comfort
- Orme
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Orme is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orme
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Greentown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Greentown is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentown
- Ketchall ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ketchall is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchall
- Kimball
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Richard City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Richard City is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richard City
- South Pittsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Ridgeville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ridgeville is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Countyline
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Countyline is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countyline
- Lynchburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Viola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Morrison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trousdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Trousdale is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trousdale
- Jackson County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Francisco
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Francisco is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
- Greerton ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Greerton is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greerton
- Estillfork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Estillfork is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estillfork
- Hytop
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Narrows ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Narrows is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrows
- Baileytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Baileytown is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Beachboro ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Beachboro is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachboro
- Princeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Copenhagen ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Copenhagen is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
- Rash
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rash is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rash
- Mud Creek ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mud Creek is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Creek
- Skyline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Skyline is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
- Madison County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins 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)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elkins, see our County-by-County Page for Elkins.
Cemeteries Near Elkins ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elkins.
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 Elkins - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elkins covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Clemmons Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Duncan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hunt Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Simpson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Acklen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Corn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Gossage Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Beth Page Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Old Bethpage Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Estill Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Winchester Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (1189 more) ...
- Harris Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Blair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Elkins in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Elkins.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elkins, with the one closest to Elkins listed first.
- Estill Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Decherd
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Awalt ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Awalt is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Awalt
- Tullahoma
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Belvidere
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cowan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ridgeville is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Alto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Alto is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Prairie Plains
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Prairie Plains is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Plains
- Belmont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Belmont is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Lexie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lexie is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexie
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Maxwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maxwell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Sewanee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hillsboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elkins. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elkins.
Newspapers Published in Elkins ...
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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elkins.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elkins, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elkins.
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 Elkins:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Cannon County
- Coffee County
- Grundy County
- Lincoln County
- Marion County
- Moore County
- Warren County
- Jackson County
- Madison 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> | 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 Elkins, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Elkins) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |