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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 Etowah (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 Etowah. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Etowah is located in McMinn 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 McMinn County: Bradley, Loudon, Meigs, Monroe, Polk & Roane.

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

  • McMinn County     (The home county of Etowah)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etowah, with the one closest to Etowah listed first.
    • Grady
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Grady is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
    • Goodsprings
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Mecca
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Nonaburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Claxton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Englewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Luskville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Manila
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Athens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Riceville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Calhoun
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Niota
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Bradley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etowah, with the one closest to Etowah listed first.
    • Charleston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Bellefounte
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Etola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • East Cleveland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
    • Countryside Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
    • Hopewell Estates
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
    • Hopewell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Hopewell is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Cleveland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • South Cleveland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
    • Wildwood Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
    • Bent Tree Acres
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
    • Earnest ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Earnest is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earnest
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etowah, with the one closest to Etowah listed first.
    • Birchwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Lakewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Lakewood is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Estimated population in 2011: 2,336 people
  • Loudon County
  • Meigs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etowah, with the one closest to Etowah listed first.
    • Decatur
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Goodfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cute ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cute is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
    • Sewee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Beta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Calico
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Calico is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
      • Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
    • Surprise
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • East View
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • East View is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
      • Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
    • Akeman Crossroad
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
  • Monroe County
  • Polk County
  • Rhea County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etowah, with the one closest to Etowah listed first.
    • Lakewood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
    • Bryan Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dayton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Roane County
    • Morrisgap ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Morrisgap is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
  • Fannin County (GA)
  • Murray County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Etowah, with the one closest to Etowah listed first.
    • Tennga
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cisco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Gregory
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Gregory is located in Murray County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 7,432 people
    • Temple Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Temple Grove is located in Murray County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Grove
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,795 people
  • Cherokee County (NC)

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

Cemeteries Near Etowah ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Etowah.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Etowah, with the one closest to Etowah 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>

While we didn't find Etowah in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Etowah.

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

  • Grady
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Grady is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
  • Carlock
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlock is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlock
  • Williamsburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Williamsburg is located in McMinn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
  • Mecca
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Nonaburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Servilla
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Luskville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Patty
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Patty is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patty
  • Reliance
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Rural Vale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Athens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Jalapa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mount Vernon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Vernon is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
    • Riceville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Verd
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Verd is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Verd

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Etowah ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Etowah.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Etowah:

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