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 Jonestown (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 Jonestown. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Jonestown is primarily located in Giles County. A portion of Jonestown extends into Lawrence 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 Giles County: Limestone (AL), Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall & Maury.
Below are the counties that are near Jonestown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jonestown:
- Giles County (The home county of Jonestown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Liberty Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Liberty Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Campbellsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Campbellsville is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbellsville
- Weakley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Weakley is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weakley
- Lynnville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bodenham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bodenham is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodenham
- Bufords
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bufords is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bufords
- Olivet
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Olivet is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,350 people
- Wales
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wales is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,031 people
- Gordon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gordon is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,192 people
- Pulaski
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Powell Chapel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Powell Chapel is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell Chapel
- Anthony Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Hickman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Duck River
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Duck River is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck River
- Aetna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Aetna is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aetna
- Swan Bluff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Swan Bluff is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Bluff
- Littlelot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Littlelot is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlelot
- Hornertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hornertown is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornertown
- Estimated population in 2014: 412 people
- Tottys Bend
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tottys Bend is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tottys Bend
- Graytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Graytown is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,528 people
- Primm Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Primm Springs is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primm Springs
- Centerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Webber City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Webber City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber City
- Ethridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Flatwoods
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Flatwoods is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Park Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Park Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Grove
- Henryville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Henryville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henryville
- New Prospect
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Lawrenceburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fall River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Leoma
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Busby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Appleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Loretto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Voorhies
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Voorhies is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,476 people
- Hohenwald
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmins
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kimmins is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmins
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Boonshill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Boonshill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonshill
- Dellrose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Globe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Globe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Cornersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- South Berlin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- South Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin
- Cochran
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cochran is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran
- Berlin
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Lewisburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Yell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Yell is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yell
- Verona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Verona is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
- Orrs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Orrs is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrs
- Estimated population in 2014: 123 people
- Belfast
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Belfast is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
- Anes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Anes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anes
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Screamer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Screamer is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamer
- Enterprise
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Enterprise is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Scotts Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts Mill is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 983 people
- Southport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Southport is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,110 people
- Frierson Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Frierson Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frierson Town
- Estimated population in 2014: 923 people
- Jonesboro ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jonesboro is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,238 people
- Mount Pleasant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Broadview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Broadview is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadview
- Ashwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Ashwood is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashwood
- Hampshire
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Zion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Zion is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
- Culleoka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Ashland Ford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ashland Ford is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,674 people
- Slickrock Ford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Slickrock Ford is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickrock Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 179 people
- Corning ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Corning is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Waynesboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Spring Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkes ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkes is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkes
- Lauderdale County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Bethel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Lexington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Belew ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Limestone County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Lester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lester is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jonestown, see our County-by-County Page for Jonestown.
Cemeteries Near Jonestown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jonestown.
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 Jonestown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jonestown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Anderson Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Horeb Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Baker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Marcella Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Chapel Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Alexander Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mint Spring Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Parker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lucy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Powell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Watts Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watts Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Watts Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<2> to the south of Mount Pleasant.
- The Watts Cemetery has also been known as:
- Watts Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #20001 <3>
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (1208 more) ...
- Rhea Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Spencer Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blowing Spring Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blowing Spring Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Blowing Spring Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the south of Mount Pleasant.
- The Blowing Spring Cemetery has also been known as:
- Blowing Rock Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #9417 <3>
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 Jonestown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jonestown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Carpenters ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carpenters is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenters
- Brace
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Brace is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brace
- Rockdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Rockdale is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Crestview
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Crestview is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestview
- Sandy Hook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sandy Hook is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
- Campbellsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Campbellsville is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbellsville
- Yokley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Yokley is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yokley
- Summertown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ethridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seven ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Seven is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven
- Southport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Southport is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,110 people
- Weakley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Weakley is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weakley
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Broadview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Broadview is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadview
- Frierson Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Frierson Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frierson Town
- Estimated population in 2014: 923 people
- Mount Pleasant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jonestown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jonestown.
Newspapers Published in Jonestown ...
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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jonestown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jonestown, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jonestown.
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 helpful 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 Jonestown:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Giles County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hickman County
- Lawrence County
- Lewis County
- Lincoln County
- Marshall County
- Maury County
- Wayne County
- Williamson County
- Lauderdale County
- Limestone 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jonestown) 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 Jonestown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |