Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Spears. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Spears to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Spears, please Contact Us.
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 Spears (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 Spears. 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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Spears is historic, it would have been located within present day Hawkins 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 Hawkins County: Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Sullivan, Washington, Lee (VA) & Scott (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Spears. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spears:
- Hawkins County (The home county of Spears)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Persia
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Persia is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Strahl
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Strahl is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strahl
- Rogersville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Amis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Amis is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amis
- Kepler
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kepler is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepler
- Bulls Gap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Eidson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Eidson is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eidson
- Surgoinsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Galbraith Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Galbraith Springs is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galbraith Springs
- Red Bridge Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Red Bridge Ferry is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bridge Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,135 people
- Mooresburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Chimneytop ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Chimneytop is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimneytop
- Claiborne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Caney Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Caney Valley is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Valley
- Evans Ferry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Evans Ferry is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Ferry
- Population from the 2010 Census: 293 people
- Raven Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Raven Hill is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Hill
- Springdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Springdale is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Cocke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Bybee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Parrottsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Jimtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Jimtown is located in Cocke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Bridgeport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bridgeport is located in Cocke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Jaybird
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jaybird is located in Cocke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaybird
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,299 people
- Del Rio
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Newport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- West Myers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- West Myers is located in Cocke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Myers
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,282 people
- Wolf Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wolf Creek is located in Cocke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Wilsonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonville is located in Cocke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonville
- Grainger County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Bean Station
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Wyatt Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Wyatt Village is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt Village
- Marshalls Ferry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Marshalls Ferry is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalls Ferry
- Beans
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Beans is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,084 people
- Thorn Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Thorn Hill is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
- Bowen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bowen is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Wa-Ni Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Wa-Ni Village is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wa-Ni Village
- Rutledge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oakland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,316 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Romeo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Romeo is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo
- Morelock ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morelock is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morelock
- Marvin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Marvin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
- Baileyton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Albany
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Albany is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
- Ottway
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ottway is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottway
- Mosheim
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Midway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Jearoldstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jearoldstown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jearoldstown
- Bolton Estates
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bolton Estates is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,152 people
- Fairview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Greeneville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hamblen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Whitesburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Silver City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Silver City is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Bright ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bright is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,942 people
- East Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Village is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Casablanca
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Casablanca is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casablanca
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,223 people
- Monte Vista Estates
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Monte Vista Estates is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Vista Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,860 people
- Morristown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Collons Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Collons Ferry is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collons Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 986 people
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Kyles Ford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Trent Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Trent Valley is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent Valley
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,157 people
- Yount Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Yount Town is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount Town
- Willis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Willis is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willis
- Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
- Duck Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Duck Creek is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Creek
- Sneedville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Xenophon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Xenophon is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon
- Alanthus Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Leadvale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Leadvale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadvale
- White Pine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Baneberry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edna is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
- Talbott
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Town is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Town
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Blair Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Blair Gap is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair Gap
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,870 people
- Beartown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beartown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Fordtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fordtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordtown
- Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Kendrick Creek is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick Creek
- Borden Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Borden Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Village
- Cherokee Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cherokee Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Village
- Kingsport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Colonial Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Beechwood Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beechwood Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood Village
- Horace ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Horace is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
- Morrison City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Morrison City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison City
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Ducktown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ducktown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ducktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 457 people
- Fall Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mill Brook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Mill Brook is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Brook
- Oakland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Oakland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Limestone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Big Sandy
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Big Sandy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
- Estimated population in 2014: 542 people
- Bowmantown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bowmantown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowmantown
- Population from the 2010 Census: 302 people
- Harmony
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Harmony is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Locust Mount
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Locust Mount is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
- Leesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Leesburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesburg
- Wheelocktown ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Wheelocktown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelocktown
- Telford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Harlan County (KY)
- Cranks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cranks is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranks
- Madison County (NC)
- Allenstand
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Allenstand is located in Madison County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenstand
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spears, see our County-by-County Page for Spears.
Cemeteries Near Spears ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spears.
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 Spears - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spears covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Reynolds Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Reynolds Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Kite Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Strahl Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Carmichael Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lyons Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Davis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Chestnut Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bacon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (785 more) ...
- King Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Crockett Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rogers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Cemetery
- The Rogers Cemetery has also been known as:
- Joseph Rogers Cemetery
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.
While we didn't find Spears in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spears.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spears, with the one closest to Spears listed first.
- Austins Mill
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Austins Mill is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austins Mill
- Persia
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Persia is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Rogersville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Strahl
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Strahl is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strahl
- Otes
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Otes is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otes
- Amis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Amis is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amis
- Saint Clair
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- White Horn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- White Horn is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horn
- Pilot Knob
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pilot Knob is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Knob
- Romeo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Romeo is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo
- Choptack
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Choptack is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choptack
- Morelock ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morelock is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morelock
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Alumwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Alumwell is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alumwell
- Bulls Gap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marvin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Marvin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spears. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spears.
Newspapers Published in Spears ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spears.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spears, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spears.
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 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 Spears:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Hawkins County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Claiborne County
- Cocke County
- Grainger County
- Greene County
- Hamblen County
- Hancock County
- Jefferson County
- Sullivan County
- Washington County
- Harlan County
- Madison County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Spears, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Spears) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |