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 Loretto (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 Loretto. 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 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.
Loretto is located in 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 Lawrence County: Lauderdale (AL), Giles, Lewis, Maury & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near Loretto. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Loretto:
- Lawrence County (The home county of Loretto)
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Busby
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Liberty Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Saint Joseph
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rascal Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Westpoint
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Leoma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Appleton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Lawrenceburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fall River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- New Prospect
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Flatwoods
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Flatwoods is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Minor Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Anthony Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Bodenham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bodenham is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodenham
- Weakley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Weakley is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weakley
- Stella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Stella is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Green Field
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Green Field is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Liberty Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Gordon
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gordon is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,192 people
- Wales
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wales is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,031 people
- Pulaski
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Campbellsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Campbellsville is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbellsville
- Prospect
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lewis County
- Voorhies
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Voorhies is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voorhies
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,476 people
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Screamer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Screamer is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamer
- Enterprise
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Enterprise is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Corning ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Corning is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Collinwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Collinwood is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
- Cypress Inn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Waynesboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland Ford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland Ford is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,674 people
- Lutts
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Slickrock Ford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Slickrock Ford is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickrock Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 179 people
- Sorby ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sorby is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorby
- Colbert County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Ford City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Davidsons Cross Roads is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsons Cross Roads
- Wilson Dam
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Nitrate City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- South Florence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Muscle Shoals
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Leighton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Sheffield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tuscumbia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Spring Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Lauderdale County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Belew ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Slabtown ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Slabtown is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
- Arkdell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Arkdell is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkdell
- Lexington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Green Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Comer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Pruitton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pruitton is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitton
- Atlas ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Atlas is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Bethel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Corum ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Arnot
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Arnot is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnot
- Anderson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Lawrence County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Wheeler Dam Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Red Bank
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Town Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- North Courtland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Courtland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Edmond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Limestone County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Lester
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lester is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Cairo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lentzville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Poplar Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Elkmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ripley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Pettusville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Hay's Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Loretto, see our County-by-County Page for Loretto.
Cemeteries Near Loretto ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Loretto.
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 Loretto - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Loretto covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Loretto Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Loretto Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Restview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hall Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Clack Branch Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Blue Water Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hensley Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (833 more) ...
- St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- McDougal Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Liberty Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Loretto had a population of 102 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Loretto had a population of 1,781 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Loretto, with the one closest to Loretto listed first.
- Busby
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Saint Joseph
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Point is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Point
- Belew ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Westpoint
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Knob Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Knob Creek is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob Creek
- Pinkney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pinkney is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney
- Wayland Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wayland Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland Springs
- Iron City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Green Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Lexington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dustin ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dustin is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dustin
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Comer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Pruitton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pruitton is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitton
- Light ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Light is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Loretto. See our List of 1890's Communities around Loretto.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Loretto ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Loretto.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Loretto. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Loretto and those printed in the larger area surrounding Loretto.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3> of Loretto.
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 Loretto:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Giles County
- Lewis County
- Maury County
- Wayne County
- Colbert County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence 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> | 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 Loretto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Loretto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |