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 Independence (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 Independence. 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 hospitals 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.
Independence is located in Henderson 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 Henderson County: Carroll, Chester, Decatur, Hardin & Madison.
Below are the counties that are near Independence. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Independence:
- Henderson County (The home county of Independence)
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Atkins ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Atkins is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
- Estimated population in 2014: 13,664 people
- McHaney ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- McHaney is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHaney
- White Fern
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White Fern is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fern
- Union Cross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Union Cross is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cross
- Estimated population in 2014: 10,666 people
- Huron
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Huron is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
- Parkers Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lexington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Middle Fork
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Middle Fork is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Fork
- Farmville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Farmville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmville
- Rhodes Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rhodes Town is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes Town
- Chesterfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Chesterfield is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Population from the 2010 Census: 469 people
- Reagan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Darden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Darden is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darden
- Population from the 2010 Census: 399 people
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Chaseville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Chaseville is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseville
- Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crossroads is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,728 people
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Cedar Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cedar Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Lavinia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Whitthorne
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Whitthorne is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitthorne
- Clarksburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Clarksburg is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
- Anark
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Anark is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anark
- Atwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Atwood is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 915 people
- McLemoresville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- McLemoresville is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLemoresville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
- Concord
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Trezevant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Huntingdon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wingo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wingo is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo
- Buena Vista
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Hico
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hico is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Mifflin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Mifflin is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Jacks Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Henderson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Sweet Lips
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sweet Lips is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Lips
- Montezuma
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Montezuma is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Enville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Enville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Deanburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Deanburg is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanburg
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,395 people
- Milledgeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Milledgeville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 267 people
- Silerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Silerton is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Masseyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Masseyville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyville
- Crockett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Gadsden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Gadsden is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gadsden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Fruitvale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fruitvale is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
- Bells
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Alamo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Decatur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Sulphur Springs ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Scotts Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Decaturville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jeannette
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Jeannette is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeannette
- Pleasant Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 566 people
- Dunbar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dunbar is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
- Gibson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Goat City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Goat City is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goat City
- Graball
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Graball is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graball
- Population from the 2010 Census: 236 people
- Medina
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sitka
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sitka is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Ledbetter
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ledbetter is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledbetter
- Estimated population in 2014: 29,427 people
- Milan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gibson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gibson is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 384 people
- Union Central
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Union Central is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Central
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,574 people
- Whitway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Whitway is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitway
- Humboldt
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Concord
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Concord is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Trenton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bradford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hardeman County
- Teague
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Teague is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,181 people
- Haywood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Wellwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wellwood is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellwood
- Woodland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Woodland is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Claybrook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Claybrook is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claybrook
- Spring Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Oakfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Oakfield is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakfield
- Lawrence
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Estimated population in 2014: 10,498 people
- Jackson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Three Way
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Three Way is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Way
- Cisco Indian Village ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cisco Indian Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco Indian Village
- Malesus
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Malesus is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malesus
- Pinson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Windy City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Windy City is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
- Parkburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Parkburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkburg
- Estimated population in 2014: 10,156 people
- Huntersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Huntersville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- Medon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- McNairy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Finger
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Leapwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Leapwood is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leapwood
- Weakley County
- Pillowville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pillowville is located in Weakley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillowville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,625 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Independence, see our County-by-County Page for Independence.
Cemeteries Near Independence ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Independence.
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 Independence - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Independence covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Independence Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Anderson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hamlet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wood Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Caffey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Spain Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Douglass Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Browns Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Browns Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<2> to the northeast of Jackson.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2171357 <3>
- Continue List (505 more) ...
- Union Hill Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Providence Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Holly Springs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
While we didn't find Independence in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Independence.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
- Claybrook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Claybrook is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claybrook
- Law
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Law is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Law
- Atkins ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Atkins is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
- Estimated population in 2014: 13,664 people
- Juno
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Juno is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juno
- McHaney ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- McHaney is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHaney
- Crucifer
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Crucifer is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crucifer
- Bargerton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bargerton is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargerton
- Spring Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- White Fern
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White Fern is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fern
- Spain ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Spain is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
- Cedar Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cedar Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Beech Bluff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Luray
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Luray is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Life
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Life is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Life
- Lavinia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Independence. See our List of 1890's Communities around Independence.
Newspapers Published in Independence ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Independence.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Independence, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Independence.
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 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 Independence:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Henderson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Carroll County
- Chester County
- Crockett County
- Decatur County
- Gibson County
- Hardeman County
- Haywood County
- Madison County
- McNairy County
- Weakley 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> | 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- Independence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Independence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |