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 Sandy (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 Sandy. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Sandy is located in Johnson 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 Johnson County: Ashe (NC), Avery (NC), Watauga (NC), Carter, Sullivan, Grayson (VA) & Washington (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Sandy. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sandy:
- Johnson County (The home county of Sandy)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Trade
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Fuller
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Shingletown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Norris
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Norris is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Winchester
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- High Health ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Butler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Buladeen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Fish Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Roan Mountain
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shell Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shell Creek is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,037 people
- Hunter
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hunter is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Siam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Hampton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Heaton Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Heaton Creek is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton Creek
- Elizabethton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Burbank
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Burbank is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Biltmore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Biltmore is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Gap Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gap Run is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Run
- Tolley Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tolley Town is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolley Town
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Holston Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Ruthton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Hunter Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
- Cedar Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Forest Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Bristol
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bluff City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,672 people
- Former name for Bluff City:
- Zollicoffer
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bluff City <1>
- Childress
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Childress is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Collingwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Hill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Piney Flats
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Akard Addition
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Akard Addition is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akard Addition
- Unicoi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Whispering Pines
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Whispering Pines is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Limestone Cove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Limestone Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Cove
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- East Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- East Ridge is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,317 people
- South Gate Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- South Gate Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Village
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Scottville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Topia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Laurel Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Piney Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Ashland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Creston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Roten
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Roten is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roten
- Grayson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Todd
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Apple Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Comet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Comet is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Warrensville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Brownwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Fleetwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- West Jefferson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jefferson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lansing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Avery County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Mount Gilead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Beech Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Whaley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Whaley is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Banner Elk
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Seven Devils
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sugar Mountain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Elk Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grandfather
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Grandfather is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Newland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Vale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Vale is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Linville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Montezuma
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Minneapolis
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Minneapolis is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minneapolis
- Burke County (NC)
- Jonas Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Caldwell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Blowing Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mulberry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Mortimer ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mortimer is located in Caldwell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
- Rufus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rufus is located in Caldwell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cilley is located in Caldwell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Patterson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Mitchell County (NC)
- Buladean
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Buladean is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladean
- Watauga County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Zionville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mabel
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Sugar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Vilas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Watauga Falls ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Watauga Falls is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga Falls
- Norris ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Norris is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Rominger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rominger is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rominger
- Valle Crucis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Sands
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sands is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Boone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Boone is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,003 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boone <1>
- Moretz
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Moretz is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Matney
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Matney is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Rutherwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rutherwood is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Wilkes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hendrix is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Maple Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Wilbar
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sandy, see our County-by-County Page for Sandy.
Cemeteries Near Sandy ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandy.
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 Sandy - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sandy covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Wallace Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Snyder Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Snyder Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Greer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Greer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wallace Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hampton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dowell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Reece Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wilson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Potter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (716 more) ...
- Wilson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Potter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Knight Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
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 Sandy in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sandy.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sandy, with the one closest to Sandy listed first.
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Zionville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Trade
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Reese
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Reese is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese
- Sutherland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sutherland is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherland
- Osborn
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Osborn is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
- Mountain City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Little Doe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Little Doe is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Doe
- Sweetwater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sweetwater is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
- Leander
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leander is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Amantha
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Amantha is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amantha
- Pandora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pandora is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Casper ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Casper is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casper
- Sugar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Meat Camp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Meat Camp is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meat Camp
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sandy. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sandy.
Newspapers Published in Sandy ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandy.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sandy, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sandy.
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 Sandy:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Johnson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carter County
- Sullivan County
- Unicoi County
- Washington County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Burke County
- Caldwell County
- Mitchell County
- Watauga County
- Wilkes 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 Sandy, 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' (or 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- Sandy) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |