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 Rankin (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 Rankin. 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 and doctors 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.
Rankin is located in Cocke 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 Cocke County : Haywood (NC) , Madison (NC) , Greene , Hamblen , Jefferson & Sevier .
Below are the counties that are near Rankin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rankin:
Cocke County (The home county of Rankin)
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Bybee (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Wilsonville (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Wilsonville is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonville Jaybird (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Jaybird is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaybird Estimated population in 2014: 3,299 people
Newport (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Jimtown (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Jimtown is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown Clevenger (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Clevenger is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevenger Estimated population in 2014: 43,182 people
Parrottsville (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
Bailey Town (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
Bailey Town is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town Estimated population in 2014: 428 people
Bridgeport (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Bridgeport is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport Carson Springs (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
Carson Springs is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson Springs Edwina (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
Edwina is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwina West Myers (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
West Myers is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Myers Estimated population in 2014: 2,282 people
Claiborne County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Evans Ferry (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
Evans Ferry is located in Claiborne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Ferry Population from the 2010 Census: 293 people
Raven Hill (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
Raven Hill is located in Claiborne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Hill Caney Valley (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
Caney Valley is located in Claiborne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Valley Springdale (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Springdale is located in Claiborne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale Grainger County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Marshalls Ferry (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Marshalls Ferry is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalls Ferry Dyers Ferry (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Dyers Ferry is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyers Ferry Estimated population in 2014: 16,839 people
Oakland (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Oakland is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Estimated population in 2014: 7,316 people
Wa-Ni Village (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Wa-Ni Village is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wa-Ni Village Wyatt Village (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Wyatt Village is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt Village Bean Station (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
Beans (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Beans is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Estimated population in 2014: 3,084 people
Bowen (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Bowen is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen Massengill Mill (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Massengill Mill is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massengill Mill Estimated population in 2014: 1,600 people
Rutledge (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
Thorn Hill (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
Thorn Hill is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill Lulaville (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Lulaville is located in Grainger County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville Greene County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Beulah (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
Beulah is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Warrensburg (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
Warrensburg is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrensburg Bright Hope (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
Bright Hope is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Hope Little Chucky ‑ Historic(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
Little Chucky is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Chucky Sirenburg ‑ Historic(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
Sirenburg is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sirenburg Midway (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
Cedar Creek (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
Cedar Creek is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek Mosheim (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
Marvin (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
Marvin is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin Albany (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Albany is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany Greeneville (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
Romeo (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
Romeo is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo Hamblen County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Monte Vista Estates (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
Monte Vista Estates is located in Hamblen County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Vista Estates Estimated population in 2014: 2,860 people
Silver City (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
Silver City is located in Hamblen County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City Morristown (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
East Village (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
East Village is located in Hamblen County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village Casablanca (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Casablanca is located in Hamblen County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casablanca Estimated population in 2014: 2,223 people
Bright ‑ Historic(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
Bright is located in Hamblen County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Estimated population in 2014: 2,942 people
Whitesburg (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
Collons Ferry (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Collons Ferry is located in Hamblen County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collons Ferry Estimated population in 2014: 986 people
Hancock County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Yount Town (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
Yount Town is located in Hancock County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount Town Duck Creek (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Duck Creek is located in Hancock County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Creek Trent Valley (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Trent Valley is located in Hancock County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent Valley Estimated population in 2014: 4,157 people
Xenophon (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Xenophon is located in Hancock County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon Hawkins County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Bulls Gap (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
Mooresburg (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
Red Bridge Ferry (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
Red Bridge Ferry is located in Hawkins County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bridge Ferry Estimated population in 2014: 1,135 people
Galbraith Springs (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
Galbraith Springs is located in Hawkins County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galbraith Springs Mooresburg Springs (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Mooresburg Springs is located in Hawkins County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresburg Springs Population from the 2010 Census: 941 people
Persia (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
Persia is located in Hawkins County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia Strahl (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
Strahl is located in Hawkins County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strahl Rogersville (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Amis (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Amis is located in Hawkins County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amis Kepler (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Kepler is located in Hawkins County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepler Jefferson County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Leadvale (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Leadvale is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadvale Baneberry (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
White Pine (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Edna (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
Edna is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna Dandridge (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
Talbott (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Rock Town (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
Rock Town is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Town Flat Gap (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
Flat Gap is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Gap Alena ‑ Historic(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
Alena is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alena Jefferson City (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
Piedmont (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
Piedmont is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont Rocky Valley (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
Rocky Valley is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Valley Estimated population in 2014: 1,771 people
Knox County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Thorn Grove (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
Thorn Grove is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Grove Lyonton (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Lyonton is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonton Peters Mill (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Peters Mill is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Mill Mascot (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Mascot is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mascot Population from the 2010 Census: 2,411 people
Zacharytown (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Zacharytown is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zacharytown Highpoint ‑ Historic(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Highpoint is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highpoint Skaggston (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Skaggston is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skaggston Wooddale (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Wooddale is located in Knox County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooddale Sevier County
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
East Fork (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
East Fork is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fork Harrisburg (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
Harrisburg is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg Estimated population in 2014: 6,219 people
Millican Grove (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
Millican Grove is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millican Grove Catlettsburg (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
Catlettsburg is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catlettsburg Pittman Center (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
Pittman Center is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittman Center Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
Henry Crossroads (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
Henry Crossroads is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry Crossroads Sevierville (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Kodak (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Middle Creek (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Middle Creek is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek Pigeon Forge (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Boyds Creek (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
Boyds Creek is located in Sevier County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyds Creek Gatlinburg (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
Haywood County (NC)
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Mount Sterling (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Mount Sterling is located in Haywood County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling Teague ‑ Historic(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Teague is located in Haywood County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague Madison County (NC)
The following are listed by their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Bluff (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Bluff is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Hot Springs (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Lynch ‑ Historic(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Lynch is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Allenstand (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Allenstand is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenstand Spring Creek (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Spring Creek is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek Hurricane (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
Hurricane is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane Stackhouse (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Stackhouse is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stackhouse Trust (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Trust is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust Chapel Hill (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
Chapel Hill is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill Cutshalltown (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
Cutshalltown is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutshalltown White Rock (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
White Rock is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock Allegheny (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
Allegheny is located in Madison County (NC) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegheny
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rankin, see our County-by-County Page for Rankin .
Cemeteries Near Rankin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rankin.
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 Rankin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rankin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Calfee Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
Rogers Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
Graham Chapel Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
Taylor Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Brooks Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Stokely's Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Jack Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Slate Creek Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Pine Chapel Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Old Turnley Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Nichols Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Colman Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
Continue List (857 more) ...
Old Daughty Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Swannsylvania Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Starnes Cemetery (5 miles [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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rankin had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rankin, with the one closest to Rankin listed first.
Bybee (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Leadvale (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Leadvale is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadvale Oldtown (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
Oldtown is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldtown White Pine (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Newport (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Parrottsville (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
Witt (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
Witt is located in Hamblen County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witt Beulah (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
Beulah is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Oak Grove (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
Oak Grove is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Bridgeport (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
Bridgeport is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport Warrensburg (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
Warrensburg is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrensburg Carson Springs (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
Carson Springs is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson Springs Continue List (16 more) ...
Salem (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Salem is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Ottinger (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Ottinger is located in Cocke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottinger Edna (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
Edna is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rankin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rankin .
Newspapers Published in Rankin ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rankin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rankin, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> Extended Newspaper List for Rankin.
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 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 Rankin:
Websites specific to Tennessee Pages specific to Cocke County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Claiborne County Grainger County Greene County Hamblen County Hancock County Hawkins County Jefferson County Knox County Sevier County Haywood County Madison County Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rankin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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 . 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 Rankin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. 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- Rankin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.