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 Jefferson (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 Jefferson. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Jefferson is located in DeKalb 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 DeKalb County: Cannon, Putnam, Smith, Warren, White & Wilson.
Below are the counties that are near Jefferson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jefferson:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Jefferson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Young Bend
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Young Bend is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Bend
- Estimated population in 2014: 279 people
- Bear Branch ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Branch is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch
- Johnsons Chapel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Johnsons Chapel is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Chapel
- Philippi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Philippi is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philippi
- Smithville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Youngblood ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Youngblood is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngblood
- Dowelltown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 330 people
- Temperance Hall
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Temperance Hall is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temperance Hall
- Population from the 2010 Census: 5,791 people
- Alexandria
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cannon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Woods
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Woods is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
- Thomas Town ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thomas Town is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Town
- Gassaway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gassaway is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gassaway
- Bluewing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bluewing is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluewing
- Manus Town ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Manus Town is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manus Town
- Woodbury
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Auburntown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Auburntown is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Burt
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Burt is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
- Burgen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burgen is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgen
- Bradyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bradyville is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradyville
- Hollow Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hollow Springs is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow Springs
- Estimated population in 2014: 706 people
- Coffee County
- Naola ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Naola is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naola
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Neverfail ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Neverfail is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neverfail
- Todd Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Todd Town is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Town
- Newton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- 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
- Erasmus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Erasmus is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erasmus
- Pleasant Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 558 people
- Mount Gilead ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Gilead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Grundy County
- Beersheba Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Beersheba Springs is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beersheba Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Nameless
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Nameless is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameless
- Mayfield ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mayfield is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Dodson Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dodson Branch is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson Branch
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,074 people
- Overton County
- Duncan's Chapel ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Duncan's Chapel is located in Overton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan's Chapel
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Burton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Burton is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton
- Boiling Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Boiling Springs is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
- Ditty
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ditty is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ditty
- Boma
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Boma is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boma
- Burgess
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Burgess is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
- Huntland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Huntland is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntland
- Estimated population in 2014: 860 people
- Baxter
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pekin ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pekin is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,114 people
- Southtown Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Southtown Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southtown Village
- Lafayette
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lafayette is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,962 people
- Burnett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Burnett is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Estimated population in 2014: 418 people
- Cookeville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Milton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Milton is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
- Readyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kittrell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Kittrell is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittrell
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Hickman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hickman is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Chestnut Mound
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Chestnut Mound is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Mound
- Gordonsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brush Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Brush Creek is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
- Bluff Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Creek is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,734 people
- Shaver Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shaver Town is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaver Town
- South Carthage
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Carthage is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Carthage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,406 people
- Carthage
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Bone Cave
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bone Cave is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bone Cave
- Laurelburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Laurelburg is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelburg
- Meade ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Meade is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meade
- Cummingsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cummingsville is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummingsville
- Spencer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sweetgum
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sweetgum is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetgum
- Sopha ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sopha is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopha
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,104 people
- Chalybeate
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chalybeate is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Horseshoe Falls ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Horseshoe Falls is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Falls
- Fall City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fall City is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall City
- Dibrell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dibrell is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dibrell
- Gath
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gath is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gath
- Campaign
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Campaign is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campaign
- Lucky
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lucky is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
- Rowland Station ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rowland Station is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland Station
- Rowland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rowland is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
- Hillis ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hillis is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillis
- Daylight
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Daylight is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daylight
- McMinnville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Shellsford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Shellsford is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsford
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Drop ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Drop is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drop
- Pollard ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pollard is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
- Peeled Chestnut
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Peeled Chestnut is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peeled Chestnut
- Darkey Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Darkey Springs is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darkey Springs
- Fanchers Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fanchers Mills is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanchers Mills
- Quebeck
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Doyle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Doyle is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
- Methodist ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Methodist is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methodist
- Sparta
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Macedonia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Macedonia is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Cherry Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cherry Creek is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Clarktown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Clarktown is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 146,806 people
- Wilson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Cottage Home
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cottage Home is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Home
- Estimated population in 2014: 88 people
- Round Top
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Round Top is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Top
- Statesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Statesville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statesville
- Commerce
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Commerce is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Watertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Saulsbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saulsbury is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saulsbury
- Estimated population in 2014: 96 people
- Cainsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cainsville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cainsville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jefferson, see our County-by-County Page for Jefferson.
Cemeteries Near Jefferson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jefferson.
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 Jefferson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jefferson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Jaco Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- George - Estes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Lander Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- White Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bain Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Vaughn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Adcock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Walker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Petty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Martin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wright Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pollard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (629 more) ...
- Adcock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aaron Cantrell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cantrell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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 Jefferson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jefferson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jefferson, with the one closest to Jefferson listed first.
- Keltonburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Keltonburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keltonburg
- Drop ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Drop is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drop
- Horseshoe Falls ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Horseshoe Falls is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Falls
- Pollard ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pollard is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
- Peeled Chestnut
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Peeled Chestnut is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peeled Chestnut
- Mount Sterling ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mount Sterling is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Yateston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Yateston is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yateston
- Darkey Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Darkey Springs is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darkey Springs
- Dibrell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dibrell is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dibrell
- Cassville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cassville is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Smithville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gath
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gath is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gath
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Rock Island
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Walling
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grace ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Grace is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jefferson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jefferson.
Newspapers Published in Jefferson ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jefferson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jefferson, 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 Jefferson.
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 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 Jefferson:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cannon County
- Coffee County
- Cumberland County
- Grundy County
- Jackson County
- Overton County
- Putnam County
- Rutherford County
- Smith County
- Van Buren County
- Warren County
- White County
- Wilson 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 Jefferson, 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' (or 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- Jefferson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |