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 Rock Springs (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 Rock Springs. 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.
Name Variations for Rock Springs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Rock Springs: Rock Spgs. (or less commonly used: Rock Spngs. or Rock Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rock Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rock Springs.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 doctors and 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.
Rock Springs is located in Dyer 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 Dyer County: Mississippi (AR), Pemiscot (MO), Crockett, Gibson, Lake, Lauderdale & Obion.
Below are the counties that are near Rock Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rock Springs:
- Dyer County (The home county of Rock Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Bishop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bishop is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Tatumville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tatumville is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatumville
- Newbern
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tigrett
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Tigrett is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigrett
- Dyersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Meacham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Meacham is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meacham
- Fowlkes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fowlkes is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowlkes
- Churchton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Churchton is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchton
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,752 people
- Bruceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bruceville is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,453 people
- Middle City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Middle City is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle City
- Unionville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Unionville is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Finley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Finley is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finley
- Estimated population in 2014: 299 people
- Bogota
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bogota is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogota
- Crockett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Elizabeth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elizabeth is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
- Estimated population in 2014: 14,271 people
- Friendship
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Chestnut Bluff
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Bluff is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Bluff
- Maury Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Maury Junction is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury Junction
- Estimated population in 2014: 679 people
- Crockett Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett Mills is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Mills
- Maury City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Maury City is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 653 people
- Johnsons Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Johnsons Grove is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Grove
- Alamo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bells
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fruitvale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fruitvale is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
- Gadsden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Gadsden is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gadsden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Gibson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Yorkville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Yorkville is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Tilghman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tilghman is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilghman
- Brazil
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brazil is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazil
- Dyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Rutherford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Trenton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Four Points
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Four Points is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Points
- Concord
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Concord is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Humboldt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Gibson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gibson is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 384 people
- Union Central
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Union Central is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Central
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,574 people
- Whitway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Whitway is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitway
- Haywood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Woodville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Woodville is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Owl City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Owl City is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl City
- Toulon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Toulon is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toulon
- Nutbush
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nutbush is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutbush
- Bradford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bradford is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,017 people
- Allens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Allens is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens
- Brownsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wellwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wellwood is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellwood
- Willow Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Willow Grove is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Ridgely
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Owl City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Owl City is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl City
- Powells Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Powells Ferry is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powells Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,319 people
- Sunkist Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sunkist Beach is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunkist Beach
- Estimated population in 2014: 547 people
- Tiptonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Proctor City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Proctor City is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor City
- New Markham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- New Markham is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Markham
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,354 people
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Halls
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gates
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gates is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates
- Population from the 2020 Census: 598 people
- Edith
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Edith is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edith
- Flippin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Flippin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flippin
- Ripley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Arp
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Arp is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
- Durhamville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Durhamville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durhamville
- Henning
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Glimp
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Glimp is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glimp
- Luckett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Luckett is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luckett
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Windy City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Windy City is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
- Providence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Three Way
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Three Way is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Way
- Obion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Obion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Obion is located in Obion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,043 people
- Kenton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Kenton is located in Obion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,190 people
- Hornbeak
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Troy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Englewood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Englewood is located in Obion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,532 people
- Samburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rives
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rives is located in Obion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Union City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Weakley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Sidonia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sidonia is located in Weakley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidonia
- Greenfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sharon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Terrell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Terrell is located in Weakley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrell
- Mississippi County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Barfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Barfield is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Armorel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Armorel is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armorel
- Pemiscot County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Caruthersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hayti
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hayti is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayti
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,467 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hayti <1>
- Cooter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hayti Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hayti Heights is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayti Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Stewart
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stewart is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rock Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Rock Springs.
Cemeteries Near Rock Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Springs.
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 Rock Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rock Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- RoEllen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Reynolds Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Rehoboth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehoboth Cemetery
- The Rehoboth Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rehoboth Church Cemetery
- Rehoboth UMC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #17685 <2>
- Walker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pierce Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Viar Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Self Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Gauldin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Dyer County Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shaw Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Clark Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Memorial Park Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Park Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Memorial Park Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Dyersburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #15591 <2>
- Continue List (389 more) ...
- Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Church Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hodge 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>
While we didn't find Rock Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rock Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- RoEllen
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- RoEllen is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for RoEllen
- Tatumville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tatumville is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatumville
- Newbern
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Dyersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Stokes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stokes is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
- Fowlkes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fowlkes is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowlkes
- Friendship
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Yorkville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Yorkville is located in Gibson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Chestnut Bluff
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Bluff is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Bluff
- Finley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Finley is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finley
- Estimated population in 2014: 299 people
- Halls
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crockett Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett Mills is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Mills
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Lane
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lane is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
- Trimble
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Trimble is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Population from the 2020 Census: 602 people
- Double Bridges
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Double Bridges is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Bridges
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rock Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rock Springs.
Newspapers Published in Rock Springs ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock Springs, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock Springs.
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 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 Rock Springs:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Dyer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crockett County
- Gibson County
- Haywood County
- Lake County
- Lauderdale County
- Madison County
- Obion County
- Weakley County
- Mississippi County
- Pemiscot 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> | 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 Rock Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rock Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |