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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 Jasper (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 Jasper. 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 Jasper ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Jasper was referred to as Jasper Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Jasper. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Jasper.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Jasper is located in Marion County and is the County Seat.

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 Marion County: Jackson (AL), Dade (GA), Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton & Sequatchie.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Jasper)
  • Coffee County
  • Franklin County
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jasper, with the one closest to Jasper listed first.
    • White City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • White City is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Lankford Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Lankford Town is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Town
    • Tracy City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Monteagle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sartain Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sartain Springs is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartain Springs
      • Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
    • Coalmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Coalmont is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
    • Palmer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Gruetli - Laager
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Gruetli
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Gruetli is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruetli
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,775 people
    • Pelham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Altamont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Beersheba Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Beersheba Springs is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beersheba Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
  • Hamilton County
  • Sequatchie County
  • DeKalb County (AL)
  • Jackson County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jasper, with the one closest to Jasper listed first.
    • Long Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Copenhagen ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Copenhagen is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
    • Bryant
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Bridgeport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
      • Former name for Bridgeport:
      • Jonesville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <1>
    • Eliza
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Browns Valley ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Browns Valley is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
    • Higdon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Haynes Crossing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • New Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • New Town is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Stevenson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Rash
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Flat Rock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Catoosa County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jasper, with the one closest to Jasper listed first.
    • Lakeview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Lakeview is located in Catoosa County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Midway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Newnan Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Newnan Springs is located in Catoosa County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newnan Springs
      • Estimated population in 2019: 41,581 people
    • Fort Oglethorpe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dafron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Dafron is located in Catoosa County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dafron
      • Estimated population in 2019: 7,294 people
    • Blue Spring
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Boynton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Indian Springs is located in Catoosa County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
    • Ellie Spring
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Ellie Spring is located in Catoosa County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellie Spring
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,714 people
    • Graysville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Poplar Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dade County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jasper, with the one closest to Jasper listed first.
    • Cole City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
    • Morganville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Morganville is located in Dade County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,835 people
    • Wildwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Trenton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Stewart Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Stewart Town is located in Dade County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart Town
    • Rising Fawn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Walker County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jasper, with the one closest to Jasper listed first.
    • Lookout Mountain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock City is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
    • Chattanooga Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Chattanooga Valley is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga Valley
    • Durham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Durham is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,257 people
    • Flintstone
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Moons
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Fantasy Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Fantasy Hills is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fantasy Hills
      • Estimated population in 2019: 316 people
    • Happy Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Happy Valley is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
      • Estimated population in 2019: 192 people
    • Thompsonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Thompsonville is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 6,528 people
    • John Ross Estates
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • John Ross Estates is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John Ross Estates
      • Estimated population in 2018: 84,310 people
    • Rossville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Dewberry Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dewberry Town is located in Walker County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewberry Town

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

Cemeteries Near Jasper ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jasper.

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

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

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

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Jasper had a population of 902 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Jasper had a population of 3,412 people.

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

  • Kimball
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sequatchie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sequatchie is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sequatchie
  • Ketchall ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ketchall is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchall
  • Inman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Inman is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
  • South Pittsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Shellmound ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Shellmound is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellmound
  • Victoria
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Victoria is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Long Island
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Vulcan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Vulcan is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
  • Comfort
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Cole City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
  • Whiteside
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Bridgeport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
      • Former name for Bridgeport:
      • Jonesville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <1>
    • Whitwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hooker
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hooker is located in Dade County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Jasper ...

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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jasper.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Jasper. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Jasper and those printed in the larger area surrounding Jasper.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4> of Jasper.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Jasper:

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