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 Sparkman (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 Sparkman. 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.
Sparkman is located in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County: Bledsoe, Cumberland, DeKalb, Grundy, Sequatchie, Warren & White.
Below are the counties that are near Sparkman. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sparkman:
- Van Buren County (The home county of Sparkman)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Cummingsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cummingsville is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummingsville
- Meade ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Meade is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meade
- Spencer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bone Cave
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bone Cave is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bone Cave
- Sweetgum
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sweetgum is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetgum
- Laurelburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laurelburg is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelburg
- Sopha ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sopha is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopha
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,104 people
- Chalybeate
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Chalybeate is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate
- Bledsoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Winesap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Brockdell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brockdell is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockdell
- Pikeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ninemile
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ninemile is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninemile
- Pailo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pailo is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pailo
- Summer City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
- Brayton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brayton is located in Bledsoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Cannon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Woods
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Woods is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
- Thomas Town ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Thomas Town is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Town
- Bluewing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bluewing is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluewing
- Manus Town ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Manus Town is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manus Town
- Gassaway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gassaway is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gassaway
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Newton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Newton is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,968 people
- Newton has also been known as:
- Peay
- Todd Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Todd Town is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Town
- Erasmus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Erasmus is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erasmus
- Mount Gilead ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Gilead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Neverfail ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Neverfail is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neverfail
- Pleasant Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 558 people
- Lantana
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lantana is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lantana
- Lake Tansi Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lake Tansi Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tansi Village
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,803 people
- Howard Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Howard Springs is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Springs
- Burke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Burke is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Dykes Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dykes Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykes Crossroads
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,281 people
- Creston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Creston is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creston
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Young Bend
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Young Bend is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Bend
- Estimated population in 2014: 279 people
- Johnsons Chapel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Johnsons Chapel is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Chapel
- Bear Branch ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bear Branch is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch
- Philippi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Philippi is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philippi
- Smithville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Youngblood ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Youngblood is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngblood
- Dowelltown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Temperance Hall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Temperance Hall is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temperance Hall
- Population from the 2010 Census: 5,791 people
- Liberty
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 330 people
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Beersheba Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Beersheba Springs is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beersheba Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Altamont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gruetli - Laager
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Boiling Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Boiling Springs is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
- Burnett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Burnett is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Estimated population in 2014: 418 people
- Burton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Burton is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton
- Burgess
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Burgess is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
- Ditty
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ditty is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ditty
- Huntland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Huntland is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntland
- Estimated population in 2014: 860 people
- Southtown Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Southtown Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southtown Village
- Baxter
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cookeville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Boma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Boma is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boma
- Park Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Park Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
- Shennon Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Shennon Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shennon Village
- Rhea County
- Ogden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ogden is located in Rhea County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Sequatchie County
- Dunlap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Campaign
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Campaign is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campaign
- Fall City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fall City is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall City
- Hillis ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hillis is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillis
- Horseshoe Falls ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Horseshoe Falls is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Falls
- Rowland Station ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rowland Station is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland Station
- Rowland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rowland is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
- Shellsford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shellsford is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsford
- Dibrell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dibrell is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dibrell
- Gath
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Gath is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gath
- McMinnville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Smyrna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Smyrna is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna
- Estimated population in 2014: 45,274 people
- Lucky
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lucky is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
- White County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Doyle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Doyle is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
- Quebeck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Methodist ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Methodist is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methodist
- Pollard ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pollard is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
- Darkey Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Darkey Springs is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darkey Springs
- Sparta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Drop ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Drop is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drop
- Peeled Chestnut
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Peeled Chestnut is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peeled Chestnut
- Clarktown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Clarktown is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 146,806 people
- Fanchers Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fanchers Mills is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanchers Mills
- Cherry Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cherry Creek is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Macedonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Macedonia is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sparkman, see our County-by-County Page for Sparkman.
Cemeteries Near Sparkman ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sparkman.
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 Sparkman - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sparkman covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Simmons Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Dodson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sparkman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Old Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Anderson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cummingsville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hodges Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Doyle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Doyle Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Doyle.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #11458 <2>
- McElroy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Old Jericho Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jericho Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (546 more) ...
- Laurel Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sodom Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom Cemetery
- The Sodom Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hale Cemetery
- Spencer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sparkman had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sparkman, with the one closest to Sparkman listed first.
- Cummingsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cummingsville is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummingsville
- Meade ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Meade is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meade
- Quebeck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bone Cave
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bone Cave is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bone Cave
- Caneridge ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Caneridge is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caneridge
- Spencer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- River Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- River Hill is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Hill
- Walling
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sweetgum
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sweetgum is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetgum
- Rock Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Goodbars
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Goodbars is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodbars
- Laurelburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Laurelburg is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelburg
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Perilla ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Perilla is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perilla
- Methodist ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Methodist is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methodist
- Pollard ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pollard is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sparkman. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sparkman.
Newspapers Published in Sparkman ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sparkman.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sparkman, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sparkman.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Sparkman:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Van Buren County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bledsoe County
- Cannon County
- Cumberland County
- DeKalb County
- Grundy County
- Putnam County
- Rhea County
- Sequatchie County
- Warren County
- White 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 Sparkman, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sparkman) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |