RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Grainger County >> Lea Springs >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Lea Springs (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 Lea Springs. 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 Lea Springs ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lea Springs: Lea Spgs. (or less commonly used: Lea Spngs. or Lea Sprngs.)

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.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Lea Springs is located in Grainger 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 Grainger County: Claiborne, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Knox & Union.

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

  • Grainger County     (The home county of Lea Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Maples ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Maples is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maples
    • Blaine
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Joppa
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Massengill Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Massengill Mill is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massengill Mill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,600 people
    • Lulaville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lulaville is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville
    • Washburn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dyers Ferry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Dyers Ferry is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyers Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 16,839 people
    • Oakland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Oakland is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Estimated population in 2014: 7,316 people
    • Rutledge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wa-Ni Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Wa-Ni Village is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wa-Ni Village
    • Bowen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Thorn Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Andersonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Panther ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Panther is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
    • Bethel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Bethel is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Estimated population in 2014: 719 people
    • Norris
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Claxton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Clinton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Peak
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Rocky Top
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Spring Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Hill is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 16,752 people
    • Fraterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Fraterville is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraterville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 70,612 people
    • Leinarts
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Wildwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Rockford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockford is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 851 people
    • Eagleton Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Eagleton Village is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton Village
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 5,052 people
    • Cowan Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cowan Springs is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan Springs
      • Estimated population in 2014: 9,010 people
    • Alcoa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Alcoa is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcoa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alcoa <1>
  • Campbell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Forkvale ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Forkvale is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkvale
    • Girlton ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Girlton is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girlton
    • Flat Hollow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Boy ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Boy is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boy
    • Victory
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hatmaker ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Hatmaker is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
    • Demory
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Stockville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Stockville is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockville
    • Fincastle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Fincastle is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fincastle
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,618 people
    • Pine Crest
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Pine Crest is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,388 people
    • LaFollette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jacksboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Claiborne County
  • Cocke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Bailey Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bailey Town is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
      • Estimated population in 2014: 428 people
    • Clevenger
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Clevenger is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevenger
      • Estimated population in 2014: 43,182 people
    • Wilsonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bybee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Carson Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jaybird
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jaybird is located in Cocke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaybird
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,299 people
    • Newport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Greene County
  • Hamblen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Collons Ferry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Collons Ferry is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collons Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 986 people
    • Casablanca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Casablanca is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casablanca
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,223 people
    • Morristown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Monte Vista Estates
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Monte Vista Estates is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Vista Estates
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,860 people
    • Bright ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bright is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,942 people
    • East Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • East Village is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Silver City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Silver City is located in Hamblen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
    • Whitesburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Xenophon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Xenophon is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon
    • Yount Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hawkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Mooresburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mooresburg Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mooresburg Springs is located in Hawkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresburg Springs
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 941 people
    • Red Bridge Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Red Bridge Ferry is located in Hawkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bridge Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,135 people
  • Jefferson County
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Zacharytown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Corryton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Skaggston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mascot
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mascot is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mascot
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,411 people
    • Lyonton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Lyonton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonton
    • Highpoint ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Highpoint is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highpoint
    • Maloneyville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgeview Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ridgeview Heights is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeview Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,979 people
    • Thorn Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • McMillan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • McMillan is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillan
    • John Sevier
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mayo ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mayo is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,366 people
  • Sevier County
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs listed first.
    • Luttrell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Plainview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Maynardville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Haynes ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Haynes is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
    • Paulette
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Warwicktown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Warwicktown is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwicktown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 658 people
    • Loo ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Loo is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loo
    • Gabe ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Gabe is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabe
    • Lost Creek ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lost Creek is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
    • Rhodelia ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rhodelia is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodelia
    • Loyston ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Long Hollow ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Bell County (KY)

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

Cemeteries Near Lea Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lea Springs.

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 Lea Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lea Springs, with the one closest to Lea Springs 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Lea Springs had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Maples ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Maples is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maples
  • Agreeable ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Agreeable is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agreeable
  • Luttrell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Corryton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • House Mountain ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • House Mountain is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House Mountain
  • Ambro ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Ambro is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambro
  • Powder Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Powder Springs is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powder Springs
  • Tampico
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Tampico is located in Grainger County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tampico
  • Skaggston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Navehill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Navehill is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navehill
  • Strawberry Plains
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Hodges
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hodges is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Mascot
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mascot is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mascot
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,411 people
    • Mill Spring
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Mill Spring is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Spring
    • Lulaville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lulaville is located in Grainger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville

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

Newspapers Published in Lea Springs ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lea Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lea Springs, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lea Springs.

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 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 Lea Springs:

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>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- Lea Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Lea Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.