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 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.
Rock Springs is located in Sullivan 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 Sullivan County: Carter, Hawkins, Johnson, Washington, Bristol City (VA), Scott (VA) & Washington (VA).
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:
- Sullivan 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.
- Fordtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fordtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordtown
- Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kendrick Creek is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick Creek
- Colonial Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beechwood Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Beechwood Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood Village
- Borden Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Borden Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Village
- Wahoo ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wahoo is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
- Kingsport
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cherokee Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cherokee Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Village
- Horace ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Horace is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
- Colby ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Colby is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
- Beartown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Beartown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Orebank
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orebank is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orebank
- Blair Gap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Blair Gap is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair Gap
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,870 people
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Watauga
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Watauga is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Central
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Central is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Pine Crest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Crest is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
- Biltmore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Biltmore is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Elizabethton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hunter is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Gap Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gap Run is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Run
- Siam
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Hampton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Woodby Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Woodby Hill is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodby Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,730 people
- Tolley Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tolley Town is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolley Town
- Buladeen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Fish Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Jearoldstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jearoldstown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jearoldstown
- Milburnton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Milburnton is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnton
- Centersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Centersville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centersville
- Rheatown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rheatown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rheatown
- Baileyton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Horse Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Horse Creek is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 284 people
- Afton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bolton Estates
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bolton Estates is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,152 people
- Morelock ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Morelock is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morelock
- Ottway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ottway is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottway
- Tusculum
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Tusculum is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusculum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,669 people
- Pleasant View
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,251 people
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Willis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Willis is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
- Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
- Kyles Ford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hawkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Rotherwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rotherwood is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rotherwood
- Solitude ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Solitude is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solitude
- Block City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Block City is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Block City
- Green Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Green Village is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Mount Carmel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Church Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Frisco
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Frisco is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Greenvale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenvale is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale
- Waycross
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Waycross is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waycross
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,091 people
- Blossom
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Blossom is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossom
- Chimneytop ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Chimneytop is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimneytop
- New Canton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- New Canton is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
- Greenland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Greenland is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Johnson County
- Butler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Unicoi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Bumpus Cove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bumpus Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumpus Cove
- Estimated population in 2014: 729 people
- Unicoi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whispering Pines
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whispering Pines is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Erwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Banner Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Banner Hill is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner Hill
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,497 people
- Indian Creek ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Indian Creek is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
- Limestone Cove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Cove
- Ernestville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ernestville is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernestville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,311 people
- Clear Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clear Branch is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Branch
- Former name for Clear Branch:
- Kittyton
- Loganton ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Loganton is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganton
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Harmony
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Harmony is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Wheelocktown ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wheelocktown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelocktown
- Spurgeon
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Spurgeon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,957 people
- Gray
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fall Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Mount
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Locust Mount is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
- Oak Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Ducktown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ducktown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ducktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 457 people
- Big Sandy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Big Sandy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
- Estimated population in 2014: 542 people
- Flourville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Flourville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flourville
- Bowmantown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bowmantown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowmantown
- Population from the 2010 Census: 302 people
- Leesburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Leesburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesburg
- Austin Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Austin Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin Village
- Mitchell County (NC)
- Richlands
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Richlands is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richlands
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.
- Hite Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hargis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Wilson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cox Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Wells Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Easley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Galloway Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Slaughter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Baxter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wells Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hilton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (872 more) ...
- Double Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Cox Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Conklin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 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.<2>
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.
- Slaughter ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Slaughter is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter
- Fordtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fordtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordtown
- Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kendrick Creek is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick Creek
- Cloverbottom ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cloverbottom is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverbottom
- Meadowbrook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Butterfly ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Butterfly is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfly
- Harmony
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Harmony is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Hemlock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hemlock is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
- Eden Ridge ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Eden Ridge is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Ridge
- Harbour
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Harbour is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbour
- Fall Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wahoo ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wahoo is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahoo
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Kingsport
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lovelace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lovelace is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelace
- Samuel ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Samuel is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samuel
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 12 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 5 miles [8 km]<3>. 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 begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Sullivan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carter County
- Greene County
- Hancock County
- Hawkins County
- Johnson County
- Unicoi County
- Washington County
- Mitchell 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 Rock Springs, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions 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'. |