RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Roane County >> Rockwood >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Rockwood (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 Rockwood. 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 northeast 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 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.

Rockwood is located in Roane 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 Roane County: Anderson, Cumberland, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Morgan & Rhea.

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

  • Roane County     (The home county of Rockwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockwood, with the one closest to Rockwood listed first.
    • Lakemont Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Lakemont Heights is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 12,564 people
    • Postoak
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • College Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • College Grove is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Grove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 10,729 people
    • Cardiff
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Glen Alice
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Midtown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Midtown is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown
    • Emory Gap
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Midtown Heights
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Midtown Heights is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midtown Heights
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,360 people
    • Pioneer Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
    • Kingston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Laddie Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Laddie Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddie Village
    • Iron Divide ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Iron Divide is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Divide
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 328 people
  • Anderson County
  • Bledsoe County
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockwood, with the one closest to Rockwood listed first.
    • Kiser
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • McMullens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • McMullens is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullens
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13,620 people
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockwood, with the one closest to Rockwood listed first.
    • Rogers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rogers is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,406 people
    • Center Ford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Center Ford is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Ford
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,485 people
    • Hebbertsburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Crab Orchard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Lake Pomeroy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairfield Glade
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jewett
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodlands
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodlands is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlands
      • Estimated population in 2014: 369 people
    • Greenbriar Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Greenbriar Village is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbriar Village
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,103 people
    • Burke
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Crossville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Lake Tansi Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Fentress County
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockwood, with the one closest to Rockwood listed first.
    • Belle Aire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Belle Aire is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Aire
      • Estimated population in 2014: 512 people
    • Boyd
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Farragut
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Virtue
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Virtue is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virtue
      • Estimated population in 2014: 131 people
    • Concord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Volunteer Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Volunteer Village is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volunteer Village
  • Loudon County
  • McMinn County
  • Meigs County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockwood, with the one closest to Rockwood listed first.
    • Sweetwater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Madisonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Morgan County
  • Rhea County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockwood, with the one closest to Rockwood listed first.
    • Roddy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakewood Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakewood Village is located in Rhea County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 990 people
    • Spring City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Scott County

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

Cemeteries Near Rockwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockwood.

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

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

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

  • Rockwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Kimbrough Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Blankenbaker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hall Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Citizens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Cooper Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Newcome Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Tedder Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Pyott Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (896 more) ...
    • Honeycutt Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Ferguson Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • McPherson Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)

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 Rockwood had a population of 2,429 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rockwood had a population of 5,459 people.

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

  • Webster
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Webster is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
  • Cardiff
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Glen Alice
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Emory Gap
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Harriman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Roddy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Barnardsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Barnardsville is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnardsville
  • Kingston
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Oakdale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakdale is located in Morgan County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
  • Morrisgap ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Morrisgap is located in Roane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
  • Deermont
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hebbertsburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Crab Orchard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Balta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Balta is located in Rhea County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balta
    • Grandview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rockwood ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockwood.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rockwood. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rockwood and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rockwood.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> of Rockwood.

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 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 Rockwood:

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 Rockwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rockwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.