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 Ideal Valley (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 Ideal Valley. 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 Ideal Valley ...
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 Ideal Valley: Ideal Vly. (or less commonly used: Ideal Vally. or Ideal Vlly.)
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 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.
Ideal Valley is located in Rhea 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 Rhea County: Bledsoe, Bradley, Cumberland, Meigs & Roane.
Below are the counties that are near Ideal Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ideal Valley:
- Rhea County (The home county of Ideal Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Spring City
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lakewood Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
- Roddy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Cumberland Spring
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Spring is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Spring
- Bryan Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bryan Hill is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan Hill
- Dayton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ogden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ogden is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Graysville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Graysville is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
- Bledsoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Ninemile
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ninemile is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninemile
- Summer City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Winesap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Winesap is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Pikeville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Brayton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brayton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Brockdell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brockdell is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockdell
- Pailo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pailo is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pailo
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Etola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Charleston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Jewett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jewett is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
- Burke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burke is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Crab Orchard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lake Tansi Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Tansi Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tansi Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,803 people
- Center Ford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Center Ford is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,485 people
- Lantana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lantana is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lantana
- Greenbriar Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Greenbriar Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbriar Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,103 people
- Crossville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gilead ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gilead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Newton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- 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
- Lake Pomeroy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lake Pomeroy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Pomeroy
- Fairfield Glade
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Erasmus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Erasmus is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erasmus
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Birchwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lakewood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lakewood is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Estimated population in 2011: 2,336 people
- Sale Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Top
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Top is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
- Population from the 2010 Census: 422 people
- Loudon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Luttrell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Philadelphia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Loudon City Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Loudon City Park is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudon City Park
- Loudon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- McMinn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Prigmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Prigmore is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prigmore
- Athens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Niota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lamontville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lamontville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamontville
- Riceville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Spring is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Spring
- Manila
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Manila is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manila
- Calhoun
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Englewood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Claxton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Goodsprings
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Nonaburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Nonaburg is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonaburg
- Meigs County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Akeman Crossroad
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Akeman Crossroad is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akeman Crossroad
- Cute ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cute is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
- Calico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Calico is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
- Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
- Decatur
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sewee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sewee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewee
- Surprise
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Surprise is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,799 people
- Goodfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Beta
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
- East View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- East View is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
- Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
- Monroe County
- Sweetwater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Harriman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Catoosa ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Catoosa is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoosa
- Oakdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Oakdale is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Deermont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Deermont is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deermont
- Nemo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Nemo is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemo
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Glen Alice
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Pioneer Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Lakemont Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lakemont Heights is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 12,564 people
- Rockwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisgap ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Morrisgap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
- Postoak
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Postoak is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
- Postoak has also been known as:
- Post Oak Springs
- Cardiff
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cardiff is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- College Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- College Grove is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 10,729 people
- Iron Divide ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Divide is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Divide
- Population from the 2010 Census: 328 people
- Midtown Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Midtown Heights is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,360 people
- Midtown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Midtown is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown
- Emory Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Emory Gap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emory Gap
- Kingston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Van Buren County
- Sweetgum
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sweetgum is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetgum
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Clarktown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clarktown is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 146,806 people
- Ravenscroft
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ravenscroft is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenscroft
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ideal Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Ideal Valley.
Cemeteries Near Ideal Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ideal Valley.
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 Ideal Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ideal Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Wassom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Wasson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Marsh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Miller Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Spring City Memory Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- McClendon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Leuty Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- DeVaney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Godbehere Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Marsh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McCabe Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (817 more) ...
- Rhea Springs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pyott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cash - Foust Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
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 Ideal Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ideal Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ideal Valley, with the one closest to Ideal Valley listed first.
- Spring City
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Rhea Springs ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rhea Springs is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhea Springs
- Lorraine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lorraine is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
- Grandview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Balta
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Balta is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
- Jewett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jewett is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
- Tanbark ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Tanbark is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanbark
- Roddy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Euchee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Euchee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euchee
- Burke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burke is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Litton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Litton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litton
- Grassy Cove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Grassy Cove is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Cove
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Evensville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Evensville is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evensville
- Glen Alice
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Breedenton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Breedenton is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breedenton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ideal Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ideal Valley.
Newspapers Published in Ideal Valley ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ideal Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ideal Valley, 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 Ideal Valley.
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 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 Ideal Valley:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Rhea County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bledsoe County
- Bradley County
- Cumberland County
- Hamilton County
- Loudon County
- McMinn County
- Meigs County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Roane County
- Van Buren County
- White 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 Ideal Valley, 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- Ideal Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |