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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 Pelham (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 Pelham. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Pelham is located in Grundy 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 Grundy County: Coffee, Franklin, Marion, Sequatchie & Warren.

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

  • Grundy County     (The home county of Pelham)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelham, with the one closest to Pelham listed first.
    • Sartain Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Sartain Springs is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartain Springs
      • Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
    • Monteagle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Tracy City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Coalmont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Coalmont is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
    • Lankford Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Lankford Town is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Town
    • White City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • White City is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Altamont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gruetli
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Gruetli is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruetli
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,775 people
    • Gruetli - Laager
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Beersheba Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Beersheba Springs is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beersheba Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
    • Palmer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Bedford County
  • Cannon County
    • Hollow Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hollow Springs is located in Cannon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow Springs
      • Estimated population in 2014: 706 people
  • Coffee County
  • Franklin County
  • Lincoln County
    • Gattistown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Gattistown is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gattistown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,158 people
  • Marion County
  • Moore County
  • Sequatchie County
  • Van Buren County
    • Chalybeate
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Chalybeate is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate
  • Warren County
  • Jackson County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pelham, with the one closest to Pelham listed first.
    • Copenhagen ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Copenhagen is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
    • Bridgeport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Bridgeport is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
      • Former name for Bridgeport:
      • Jonesville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <1>
    • Long Island
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Browns Valley ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Browns Valley is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
    • Bryant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Haynes Crossing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Narrows ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Narrows is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrows
    • Greerton ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Greerton is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greerton
    • Hytop
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Hytop is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hytop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
    • New Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • New Town is located in Jackson County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Rash
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Francisco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dade County (GA)
    • Cole City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people

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

Cemeteries Near Pelham ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pelham.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pelham, with the one closest to Pelham listed first.

  • Warren Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Old Baptist Graveyard
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Ooley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Patton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Pelham Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Laxon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Caldwell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Goodman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Buckner Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Sims Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Partin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Sherrill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (834 more) ...
    • Jackson Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Pearson Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Providence Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pelham had a population of 89 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2010, Pelham had a population of 403 people.

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

  • Alto
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Alto is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
  • Monteagle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Prairie Plains
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Prairie Plains is located in Coffee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Plains
  • Sewanee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Tracy City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillsboro
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Altamont
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cowan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cowan is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,668 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowan <1>
  • Decherd
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Gruetli
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Gruetli is located in Grundy County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruetli
    • Estimated population in 2014: 1,775 people
  • Estill Springs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Comfort
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Winchester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Beersheba Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Beersheba Springs is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beersheba Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
    • Viola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Pelham ...

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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pelham.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pelham, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pelham.

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 Pelham:

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 Pelham, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Pelham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.