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 Salem (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 Salem. 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 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.
Salem is located in Rutherford 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 Rutherford County: Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Davidson, Marshall, Williamson & Wilson.
Below are the counties that are near Salem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Salem:
- Rutherford County (The home county of Salem)
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Snell ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Snell is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snell
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,361 people
- Murfreesboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rucker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rucker is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
- Concord
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Patterson is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Burns Place
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Burns Place is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Place
- Dillton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dillton is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillton
- Fairfield Estates
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fairfield Estates is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 131 people
- Colonial Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Colonial Village is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jamestown is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,940 people
- Leanna
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Leanna is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leanna
- Midland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Midland is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Longview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Longview is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Vannatta
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Vannatta is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannatta
- Estimated population in 2014: 398 people
- Unionville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bell Buckle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Anchor Mill ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Anchor Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor Mill
- Wartrace
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shelbyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Haley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Haley is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haley
- Palmetto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Palmetto is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
- Estimated population in 2014: 661 people
- Whitaker
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Whitaker is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Cortner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cortner is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortner
- Normandy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cannon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Bradyville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Bradyville is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradyville
- Burt
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Burt is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
- Burgen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Burgen is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgen
- Woodbury
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hollow Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hollow Springs is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow Springs
- Estimated population in 2014: 706 people
- Auburntown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Auburntown is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Manus Town ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Manus Town is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manus Town
- Bluewing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bluewing is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluewing
- Gassaway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Gassaway is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gassaway
- Thomas Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Thomas Town is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Town
- Woods
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Woods is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
- Coffee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Gossburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gossburg is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gossburg
- Beechgrove
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Busy Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Busy Corner is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busy Corner
- Naola ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Naola is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naola
- Teal ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Teal is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teal
- New Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Union is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Union
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,431 people
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Wrencoe
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wrencoe is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrencoe
- Rural Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rural Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,007 people
- Antioch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Priest Lake Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Priest Lake Park is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priest Lake Park
- Nashboro Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Nashboro Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashboro Village
- Whispering Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Whispering Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Hills
- Paragon Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Paragon Mills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paragon Mills
- Dog Town ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dog Town is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Oak Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- 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
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Berry Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Donelson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Donelson is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donelson
- Forest Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,721 people
- DeKalb County
- Alexandria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Holts Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holts Corner is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holts Corner
- Chapel Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Caney Spring
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Caney Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Spring
- Anes
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Anes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anes
- Verona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Verona is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
- Berlin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Oak Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Hill is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Belfast
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belfast is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
- Orrs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Orrs is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrs
- Estimated population in 2014: 123 people
- South Berlin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin
- Lewisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- New Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- New Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Leftwich
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Leftwich is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leftwich
- Carters Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Carters Creek is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Creek
- Philadelphia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Philadelphia is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Estimated population in 2014: 683 people
- Jameson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jameson is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jameson
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- College Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Arrington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Nolensville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Peytonsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Peytonsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peytonsville
- Clovercroft
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Clovercroft is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clovercroft
- Duplex
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Duplex is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplex
- Harpeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Harpeth is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpeth
- Brentwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- McEwen ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- McEwen is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McEwen
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,699 people
- Franklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Parry
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Parry is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parry
- Estimated population in 2014: 262 people
- Lynnwood Downs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lynnwood Downs is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood Downs
- Estimated population in 2014: 282 people
- Wilson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Cainsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cainsville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cainsville
- Gladeville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rural Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rural Hill is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Belinda City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Belinda City is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belinda City
- Doaks Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Doaks Crossroads is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doaks Crossroads
- Doaks Crossroads has also been known as:
- Doaks
- Statesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Statesville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statesville
- Lynn Christie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lynn Christie is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Christie
- Estimated population in 2011: 6,411 people
- Leeville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Leeville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeville
- Greenwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Beckwith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Beckwith is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckwith
- Mount Juliet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cottage Home
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cottage Home is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Home
- Estimated population in 2014: 88 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Salem, see our County-by-County Page for Salem.
Cemeteries Near Salem ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.
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 Salem - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Salem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Rucker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Ransom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- King Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brothers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Harris Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wade Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jarratt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cocke Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Morton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Yeargan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (1705 more) ...
- Eagleton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Witherspoon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Harp Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
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 Salem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Salem.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
- Overall
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Overall is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overall
- Rockvale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Crescent
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crescent is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
- Snell ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Snell is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snell
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,361 people
- Murfreesboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Versailles
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Versailles is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Link
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Link is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Rucker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rucker is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
- Almaville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Almaville is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almaville
- Patterson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Patterson is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Dillton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dillton is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillton
- Midland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Midland is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Eagleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Compton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Compton is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Rocky Fork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Fork is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Fork
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Salem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Salem.
Newspapers Published in Salem ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Salem, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Salem.
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 Salem:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Rutherford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Cannon County
- Coffee County
- Davidson County
- DeKalb County
- Marshall County
- Maury County
- Williamson County
- Wilson 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 Salem, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |