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 Porter (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 Porter. 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.
Porter is located in Dickson 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 Dickson County: Cheatham, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Montgomery & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Porter. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Porter:
- Dickson County (The home county of Porter)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Spencers Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Spencers Mill is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencers Mill
- Abiff
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Abiff is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abiff
- Tidwell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tidwell is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
- Burns
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Dickson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- White Bluff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Water Valley ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Water Valley is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,516 people
- Pond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pond is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond
- Charlotte
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- White Oak Flat
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- White Oak Flat is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Flat
- Tennessee City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tennessee City is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennessee City
- Cheatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Bell Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bell Town is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
- Kingston Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pegram
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pegram is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pegram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,056 people
- Lillamay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lillamay is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillamay
- Doziers ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Doziers is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doziers
- Estimated population in 2014: 543 people
- Ashland City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland City is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,748 people
- Marrowbone
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Marrowbone is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone
- Cheap Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cheap Hill is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheap Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 173,778 people
- Neptune
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Neptune is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Lockertsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lockertsville is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockertsville
- Estimated population in 2014: 885 people
- Bearwallow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bearwallow is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Sycamore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sycamore is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Linton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Linton is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linton
- Bellevue
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Tennessee Towne ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Tennessee Towne is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennessee Towne
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,347 people
- Watkins ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Watkins is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
- Belle Meade
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Belle Meade is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Meade
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,788 people
- Forest Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Forest Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,721 people
- Green Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Green Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,618 people
- Oak Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,432 people
- Berry Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Berry Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Morny
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Morny is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morny
- Greenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greenville is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Nashville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hickman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Bon Aqua Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bon Aqua Junction is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Aqua Junction
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,230 people
- Lyles
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wrigley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wrigley is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrigley
- Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
- Primm Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Primm Springs is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primm Springs
- Graham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Graham is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Littlelot
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Littlelot is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlelot
- Nunnelly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nunnelly is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnelly
- Tottys Bend
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tottys Bend is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tottys Bend
- Graytown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Graytown is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,528 people
- Salt Lick
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Salt Lick is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Lick
- Estimated population in 2014: 508 people
- Duck River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Duck River is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck River
- Centerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Houston County
- Omega ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Omega is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omega
- Humphreys County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Bethpage
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bethpage is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethpage
- Population from the 2010 Census: 288 people
- McEwen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grandmother Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Grandmother Ford is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandmother Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 307 people
- Hurricane Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Buffalo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Buffalo is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Waverly
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pigeon Roost
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pigeon Roost is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Roost
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,132 people
- Lewis County
- Kimmins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kimmins is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmins
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- New Flys Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Flys Village is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Flys Village
- Fly
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fly is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fly
- Hill Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hill Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Town
- Chartersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Chartersville is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartersville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,494 people
- Santa Fe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Theta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Theta is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theta
- Greenfield Bend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Greenfield Bend is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Bend
- Estimated population in 2014: 15,035 people
- Williamsport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Williamsport is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
- Arkland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Arkland is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkland
- Jameson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jameson is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jameson
- Mowd ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mowd is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowd
- New Hope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,070 people
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- McAllisters Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Southside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Louise
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Louise is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louise
- Liverworth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Liverworth is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverworth
- Oakridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Oakridge is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 29,303 people
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Fairview
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Loriland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Loriland is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loriland
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,735 people
- Fernvale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fernvale is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernvale
- Leipers Fork
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Forest Home
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Forest Home is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Home
- Old Town ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Old Town is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Southall
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Southall is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southall
- Burwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Burwood is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burwood
- Berrys Chapel Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Berrys Chapel Heights is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrys Chapel Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 551 people
- Franklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lynnwood Downs
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lynnwood Downs is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood Downs
- Estimated population in 2014: 282 people
- Parry
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Parry is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parry
- Estimated population in 2014: 262 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Porter, see our County-by-County Page for Porter.
Cemeteries Near Porter ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Porter.
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 Porter - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Porter covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Jordan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Porter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Rainey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Tidwell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tidwell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fowlkes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Brown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Luther Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Green Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Overbey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Brown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Meek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Continue List (1097 more) ...
- Hogin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Dunnagan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Yates Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Porter in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Porter.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Porter, with the one closest to Porter listed first.
- Abiff
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Abiff is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abiff
- Spencers Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Spencers Mill is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencers Mill
- Iron Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Iron Hill is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Hill
- Bon Aqua
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tidwell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tidwell is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
- Lyles
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Burns
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pomona is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Colesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Colesburg is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colesburg
- Dickson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Little Rock Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Little Rock Mills is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Mills
- Lick Creek ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lick Creek is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lick Creek
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- White Bluff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rodemer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rodemer is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodemer
- Craggie Hope
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Craggie Hope is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craggie Hope
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Porter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Porter.
Newspapers Published in Porter ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Porter.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Porter, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Porter.
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 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 Porter:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Dickson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cheatham County
- Davidson County
- Hickman County
- Houston County
- Humphreys County
- Lewis County
- Maury County
- Montgomery County
- Williamson 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 Porter, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Porter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |