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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 Kingsport (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 Kingsport. 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 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.

Kingsport is primarily located in Sullivan County. A portion of Kingsport extends into Hawkins 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 Sullivan County: Carter, Hawkins, Johnson, Washington, Bristol City (VA), Scott (VA) & Washington (VA).

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

  • Sullivan County     (The home county of Kingsport)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsport, with the one closest to Kingsport listed first.
    • Horace ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Horace is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
    • Borden Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Borden Village is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Village
    • Cherokee Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Cherokee Village is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Village
    • Beechwood Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Beechwood Village is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood Village
    • Beartown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Morrison City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Morrison City is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison City
    • Orebank
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Bloomingdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Colonial Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Rock City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Rock City is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
    • Fordtown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Wahoo ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wahoo is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
  • Carter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsport, with the one closest to Kingsport listed first.
    • Watauga
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Central
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Central is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
    • Pine Crest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Crest is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
    • Biltmore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Elizabethton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hunter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Hunter is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
    • Siam
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Gap Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hampton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodby Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodby Hill is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodby Hill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,730 people
    • Buladeen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Fish Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Tolley Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tolley Town is located in Carter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolley Town
  • Greene County
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsport, with the one closest to Kingsport listed first.
    • Willis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Willis is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
      • Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
    • Kyles Ford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Hawkins County
  • Unicoi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsport, with the one closest to Kingsport listed first.
    • Whispering Pines
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bumpus Cove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Bumpus Cove is located in Unicoi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumpus Cove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 729 people
    • Unicoi
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Erwin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Banner Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Banner Hill is located in Unicoi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner Hill
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,497 people
    • Limestone Cove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Creek ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Indian Creek is located in Unicoi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kingsport, with the one closest to Kingsport listed first.
    • Spurgeon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheelocktown ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Gray
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fall Branch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Harmony
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Oak Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Locust Mount
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Flourville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Ducktown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Ducktown is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ducktown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 457 people
    • Austin Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Austin Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin Village
    • Big Sandy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Big Sandy is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
      • Estimated population in 2014: 542 people
    • Bowmantown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Camelot Two
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Camelot Two is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Two
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,582 people

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

Cemeteries Near Kingsport ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kingsport.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kingsport, with the one closest to Kingsport 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 Kingsport had a population of 69 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Kingsport had a population of 54,112 people.

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

  • Horace ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Horace is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
  • Eden Ridge ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Eden Ridge is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Ridge
  • Hemlock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hemlock is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
  • Orebank
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Bloomingdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Rotherwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Butterfly ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Butterfly is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfly
  • Cloverbottom ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cloverbottom is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverbottom
  • Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Arcadia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Arcadia is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
  • Slaughter ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Slaughter is located in Sullivan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter
  • Fordtown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Wahoo ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wahoo is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
    • Samuel ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Samuel is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samuel
    • Solitude ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Kingsport ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kingsport.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Kingsport. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Kingsport and those printed in the larger area surrounding Kingsport.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> of Kingsport.

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 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 Kingsport:

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