RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Franklin County >> Estill Springs >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Estill Springs (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 Estill Springs. 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 Estill Springs ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Estill Springs: Estill Spgs. (or less commonly used: Estill Spngs. or Estill Sprngs.)

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.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Estill Springs 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 Estill Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Estill Springs:

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Estill Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs listed first.
    • Winchester Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 southeast)
      • Greenhaw is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhaw
    • Liberty
      (9 miles [14.5 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)
      • Cowan is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowan <1>
    • 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
    • Beans Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Beans Creek is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs 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
    • Normandy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
    • 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
      (25 miles [40.2 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 Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs 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)
    • Ruthledge Ford
      (10 miles [16.1 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
    • 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
    • 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)
    • Manchester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Stephenson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Stephenson is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stephenson
    • Forest Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Forest Mill is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Mill
    • Busy Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Busy Corner is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy Corner
    • New Union
      (18 miles [29 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
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs 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
    • White City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • White City is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • 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
    • 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 Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs 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
      (19 miles [30.6 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Corder Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corder Crossroads
    • Belleville
      (24 miles [38.6 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
    • 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
    • Howell Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
    • Fayetteville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Park City Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 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
      (28 miles [45.1 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)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs listed first.
    • Comfort
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs 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 Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs listed first.
    • Viola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Morrison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Trousdale
      (29 miles [46.7 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 Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs listed first.
    • Francisco
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Francisco is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
    • Greerton ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 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
      (28 miles [45.1 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
    • 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
    • Rash
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rash is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rash
  • Madison County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estill Springs, with the one closest to Estill Springs listed first.
    • Hillsboro
      (28 miles [45.1 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 Estill Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Estill Springs.

Cemeteries Near Estill Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Estill Springs.

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 Estill Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Duncan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Estill Springs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Clemmons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Corn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Gossage Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Beth Page Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Old Grays Mill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Old Bethpage Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Simpson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Hunt Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Acklen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Harris Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (1178 more) ...
    • Blair Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Hart Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Hendon 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Estill Springs had a population of 149 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Estill Springs had a population of 2,040 people.

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

  • Decherd
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Winchester
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Awalt ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 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)
  • Cowan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cowan is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,668 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowan <1>
  • Alto
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Alto is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
  • Ridgeville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ridgeville is located in Moore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
  • Belvidere
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Prairie Plains
    (10 miles [16.1 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
  • Sewanee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Maxwell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Maxwell is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
    • Hillsboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Countyline
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Countyline is located in Moore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countyline

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

Newspapers Published in Estill Springs ...

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 Estill Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Estill Springs, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Estill Springs.

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 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 Estill Springs:

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 Estill Springs, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Estill Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.