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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 Philadelphia (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 Philadelphia. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Philadelphia is located in Loudon 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 Loudon County: Blount, Knox, McMinn, Monroe & Roane.

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

  • Loudon County     (The home county of Philadelphia)
  • Anderson County
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
    • Kiser
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • McMullens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • McMullens is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullens
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13,620 people
    • Cloyd Creek ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Cloyd Creek is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloyd Creek
    • Friendsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Brick Mill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Big Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Binfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Fairway Estates
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Fairway Estates is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Estates
      • Estimated population in 2014: 8,224 people
    • Walnut Hill Estates
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Walnut Hill Estates is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,394 people
    • Louisville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Chilhowee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Chilhowee is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
    • Maryville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Sixmile
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
    • Rogers
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rogers is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,406 people
    • Jewett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
    • Boyd
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Virtue
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Virtue is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virtue
      • Estimated population in 2014: 131 people
    • Belle Aire
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Belle Aire is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Aire
      • Estimated population in 2014: 512 people
    • Farragut
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Concord
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Ebenezer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Aldenwood Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Aldenwood Park is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldenwood Park
      • Estimated population in 2014: 8,753 people
    • Kingston Woods
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Kingston Woods is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston Woods
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,790 people
    • Oak Grove Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Grove Heights is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Heights
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 4,425 people
    • Volunteer Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Volunteer Village is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volunteer Village
    • Karns
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Middlebrook Acres
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Middlebrook Acres is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlebrook Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 593 people
    • Hunting Hills West
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hunting Hills West is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Hills West
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,970 people
  • McMinn County
  • Meigs County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
    • Sweetwater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Vonore
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Madisonville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Tuskeegee ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tuskeegee is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuskeegee
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,663 people
    • Toqua ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Acorn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ballplay
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Belltown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Halfway Town ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Halfway Town is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway Town
    • Jacktown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jacktown is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 67,319 people
    • Tellico Plains
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Ipe ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ipe is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
    • Jalapa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Morgan County
  • Polk County
  • Rhea County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
    • Roddy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lakewood Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
    • Spring City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Roane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
    • Cave Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Morrisgap ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Morrisgap is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
    • Iron Divide ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Iron Divide is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Divide
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 328 people
    • Bradbury
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Laddie Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Laddie Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddie Village
    • Selkirk ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Selkirk is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selkirk
    • Kingston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Midtown Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Midtown Heights is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown Heights
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,360 people
    • Midtown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Midtown is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown
    • Kries
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Wheat ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Postoak
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Pioneer Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village

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

Cemeteries Near Philadelphia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Philadelphia.

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

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

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

  • Old Sweetwater Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Reed Springs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Lay Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Carter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Harris Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Roberson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sweetwater Valley Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Watson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Northpoint Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (901 more) ...
    • Forkners Chapel Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Burton Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Robertson Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Philadelphia had a population of 332 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Philadelphia had a population of 740 people.

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

  • Adolphus
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Adolphus is located in Loudon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adolphus
  • Loudon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sweetwater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Brakebill ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Brakebill is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brakebill
  • Paint Rock ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Paint Rock is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
  • Pattie Gap ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Pattie Gap is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pattie Gap
  • Hiwassee College
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hiwassee College is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee College
  • Erie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Erie is located in Loudon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
  • Griffitts ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Griffitts is located in Loudon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffitts
  • Coytee ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Coytee is located in Loudon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coytee
  • Cave Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Morrisgap ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Morrisgap is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Prigmore
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Reagan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Reagan is located in McMinn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reagan
    • Kincaid
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Kincaid is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kincaid

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

Newspapers Published in Philadelphia ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Philadelphia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Philadelphia, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Philadelphia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Philadelphia:

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