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 Mars Hill (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 Mars Hill. 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 Mars Hill ...
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.
While the name of this community is Mars Hill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Mars Hill may originally have been Mar's Hill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Mars Hill might be written as Mar Hill.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mars Hill. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mars Hill.
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.
Mars Hill is located in Rhea 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 Rhea County: Bledsoe, Bradley, Cumberland, Meigs & Roane.
Below are the counties that are near Mars Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mars Hill:
- Rhea County (The home county of Mars Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Lakewood Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
- Spring City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Roddy
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Bryan Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bryan Hill is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan Hill
- Cumberland Spring
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Spring is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Spring
- Dayton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ogden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ogden is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Graysville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Graysville is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
- Bledsoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Ninemile
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ninemile is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninemile
- Summer City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Winesap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Winesap is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Pikeville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Brayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brayton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Brockdell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brockdell is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockdell
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Etola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Charleston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Jewett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jewett is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
- Burke
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Burke is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Crab Orchard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Center Ford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Center Ford is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,485 people
- Lake Tansi Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Tansi Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tansi Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,803 people
- Lake Pomeroy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lake Pomeroy is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Pomeroy
- Rogers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,406 people
- Crossville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenbriar Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenbriar Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbriar Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,103 people
- Lantana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lantana is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lantana
- Fairfield Glade
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Hebbertsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Hebbertsburg is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebbertsburg
- Mount Gilead ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gilead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Birchwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lakewood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lakewood is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Estimated population in 2011: 2,336 people
- Sale Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Loudon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Luttrell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Philadelphia
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Loudon City Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Loudon City Park is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudon City Park
- Loudon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- White Wing Ferry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- White Wing Ferry is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Wing Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,550 people
- McMinn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Prigmore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Prigmore is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prigmore
- Niota
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Athens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Spring is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Spring
- Riceville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lamontville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lamontville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamontville
- Manila
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Manila is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manila
- Englewood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Calhoun
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Claxton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Nonaburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nonaburg is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonaburg
- Goodsprings
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Grady
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grady is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Meigs County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Akeman Crossroad
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Akeman Crossroad is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akeman Crossroad
- Cute ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cute is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
- Surprise
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Surprise is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,799 people
- Sewee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sewee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewee
- Calico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Calico is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
- Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
- Decatur
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Goodfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Beta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
- East View
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- East View is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
- Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Sweetwater
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Madisonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Harriman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oakdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Oakdale is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Catoosa ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Catoosa is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoosa
- Deermont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Deermont is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deermont
- Nemo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Nemo is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemo
- Blue Gem ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Gem is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Gem
- Coal Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Hill is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Lancing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wartburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Pioneer Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Glen Alice
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Lakemont Heights
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lakemont Heights is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 12,564 people
- Rockwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisgap ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Morrisgap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
- Postoak
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Postoak is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
- Postoak has also been known as:
- Post Oak Springs
- Cardiff
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cardiff is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- College Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- College Grove is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 10,729 people
- Iron Divide ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Divide is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Divide
- Population from the 2010 Census: 328 people
- Midtown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Midtown is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown
- Midtown Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Midtown Heights is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,360 people
- Emory Gap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Emory Gap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emory Gap
- Kingston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mars Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Mars Hill.
Cemeteries Near Mars Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mars Hill.
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 Mars Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mars Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Marsh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Marsh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Petersburg Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Pyott Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cash - Foust Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ingle Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Long Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Robinson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Leuty Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Rhea Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Stebbins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gilliam Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (844 more) ...
- Treadway Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wasson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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 Mars Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mars Hill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Lorraine
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Lorraine is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine
- Spring City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grandview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rhea Springs ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Rhea Springs is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhea Springs
- Balta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Balta is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
- Roddy
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Euchee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Euchee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euchee
- Jewett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jewett is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
- Glen Alice
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Tanbark ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tanbark is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanbark
- Cute ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cute is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
- Grassy Cove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grassy Cove is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Cove
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Breedenton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Breedenton is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breedenton
- Sewee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sewee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewee
- Surprise
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Surprise is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,799 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mars Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mars Hill.
Newspapers Published in Mars Hill ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mars Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mars Hill, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mars Hill.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Mars Hill:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Rhea County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bledsoe County
- Bradley County
- Cumberland County
- Hamilton County
- Loudon County
- McMinn County
- Meigs County
- Monroe County
- Morgan County
- Roane County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Mars Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Mars Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |