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 Morgantown (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 Morgantown. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Morgantown 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 Morgantown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Morgantown:
- Rhea County (The home county of Morgantown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Bryan Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bryan Hill is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan Hill
- Cumberland Spring
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Cumberland Spring is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Spring
- Dayton
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Graysville
(4 miles [6.4 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
- Ogden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ogden is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Spring City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lakewood Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
- Roddy
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Roddy is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Bledsoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Summer City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Brayton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Brayton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Pikeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ninemile
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ninemile is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninemile
- Brockdell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Brockdell is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockdell
- Pailo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Pailo is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pailo
- Winesap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Winesap is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Etola
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Etola is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etola
- Hopewell Estates
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
- Countryside Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
- Hopewell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Bent Tree Acres
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
- Charleston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bellefounte
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellefounte is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefounte
- Cleveland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- East Cleveland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
- South Cleveland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
- McDonald
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mineral Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mineral Park is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Park
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Burke
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Burke is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Jewett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Jewett is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
- Newton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Newton is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,968 people
- Newton has also been known as:
- Peay
- Mount Gilead ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mount Gilead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Lake Tansi Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- 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
- Lantana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lantana is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lantana
- Erasmus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Erasmus is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erasmus
- Todd Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Todd Town is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Town
- Crab Orchard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Crossville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Greenbriar Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Greenbriar Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbriar Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,103 people
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Lakewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lakewood is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Estimated population in 2011: 2,336 people
- Sale Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Birchwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Flat Top
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Top is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
- Population from the 2010 Census: 422 people
- Soddy Lake Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Soddy Lake Heights is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy Lake Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 13,190 people
- Soddy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Soddy is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy
- Soddy - Daisy
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Daisy is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
- Mowbray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mowbray is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowbray
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,615 people
- Lakesite
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lakesite is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesite
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
- Caramel Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Caramel Village is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caramel Village
- Crabtree Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Crabtree Hills is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabtree Hills
- Estimated population in 2014: 763 people
- Loudon County
- Luttrell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Marion County
- Condra
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Condra is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Condra
- McMinn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Lamontville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lamontville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamontville
- Riceville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Calhoun
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Athens
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Claxton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Niota
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Prigmore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Prigmore is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prigmore
- Luskville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Luskville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luskville
- Goodsprings
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Bell Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bell Spring is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Spring
- Englewood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Etowah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Meigs County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
- Beta
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Calico
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Calico is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
- Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
- Goodfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- East View
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- East View is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
- Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
- Decatur
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Cute ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cute is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
- Akeman Crossroad
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Akeman Crossroad is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akeman Crossroad
- Sewee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sewee is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewee
- Surprise
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Surprise is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,799 people
- Polk County
- Chestuee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chestuee is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestuee
- Roane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Pioneer Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Glen Alice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Alice is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Alice
- Lakemont Heights
(30 miles [48.3 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
- Morrisgap ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisgap is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
- Sequatchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Dunlap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Center Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Center Point is located in Sequatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Daus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Daus is located in Sequatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daus
- Cartwright
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cartwright is located in Sequatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,261 people
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Chalybeate
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Chalybeate is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate
- Spencer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sweetgum
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sweetgum is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetgum
- Sopha ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sopha is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopha
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,104 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Morgantown, see our County-by-County Page for Morgantown.
Cemeteries Near Morgantown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Morgantown.
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 Morgantown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Morgantown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- French Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Cranmore Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Abel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Shaver Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dyers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kiuka Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buttram Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Walker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rhea Memory Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhea Memory Gardens
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rhea Memory Gardens is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southwest of Dayton.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #15593 <2>
- Memory Garden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Corvin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (754 more) ...
- Shaver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Craven Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Porter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
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 Morgantown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Morgantown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Morgantown, with the one closest to Morgantown listed first.
- Dayton
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Graysville
(4 miles [6.4 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
- Ogden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ogden is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Evensville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Evensville is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evensville
- Morgan Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan Springs is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Springs
- Summer City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Coulterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coulterville is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coulterville
- Pineland ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pineland is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineland
- Cotton Port ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cotton Port is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Port
- Brayton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Brayton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Sale Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Big Spring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Big Spring is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Beta
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Beta is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beta
- Goodfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Goodfield is located in Meigs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodfield
- Tanbark ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Tanbark is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanbark
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Morgantown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Morgantown.
Newspapers Published in Morgantown ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Morgantown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Morgantown, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Morgantown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Morgantown:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Rhea County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bledsoe County
- Bradley County
- Cumberland County
- Hamilton County
- Loudon County
- Marion County
- McMinn County
- Meigs County
- Polk County
- Roane County
- Sequatchie County
- Van Buren 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Morgantown) 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 Morgantown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |