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 Taft (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 Taft. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Taft is located in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County: Limestone (AL), Madison (AL), Bedford, Franklin, Giles, Marshall & Moore.
Below are the counties that are near Taft. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Taft:
- Lincoln County (The home county of Taft)
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Coldwater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Cash Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Molino
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Camargo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Dellrose
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Pearl City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Pearl City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Harms
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Harms is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harms
- Park City Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Howell Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Clarks Ferry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Clarks Ferry is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
- Elk Mill Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elk Mill Village is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mill Village
- Bedford County
- Whitaker
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Whitaker is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Huntland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lexie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lexie is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexie
- Beans Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Beans Creek is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
- Garner Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Garner Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 309 people
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Ardmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wheelerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Elkmont Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Elkton is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Bradshaw ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bradshaw is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradshaw
- Frankewing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pisgah
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pisgah is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Prospect
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Aymett Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aymett Town is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aymett Town
- Green Field
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Green Field is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Powell Chapel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Powell Chapel is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell Chapel
- Stella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Stella is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Appleton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Fall River
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Delina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Delina is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delina
- Talley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Talley is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talley
- Cornersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Yell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Yell is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yell
- New Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- New Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Belfast
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Belfast is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
- Orrs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Orrs is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrs
- Estimated population in 2014: 123 people
- Cochran
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cochran is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran
- Globe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Globe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Lewisburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Moore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Lynchburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Countyline
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Countyline is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countyline
- Ridgeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeville is located in Moore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Colbert County (AL)
- Garner ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Garner is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Jackson County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Francisco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Francisco is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
- Princeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Hollytree
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Lauderdale County (AL)
- Bethel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Limestone County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Caro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caro is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Ardmore
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Center Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Pettusville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Elkmont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Capshaw
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Fairmount
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Hay's Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Athens
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Athens is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,643 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Athens <1>
- Country Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Madison County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Elkwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Elkwood is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwood
- Madison Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Toney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hazel Green
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harvest
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Key's Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Key's Mill is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key's Mill
- Jeff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Jeff is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Meridianville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Monrovia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Moore's Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moore's Mill is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Mill
- Hillsboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Hillsboro is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- New Market
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Normal
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Taft, see our County-by-County Page for Taft.
Cemeteries Near Taft ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Taft.
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 Taft - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Taft covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Sulser Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cole Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Robinson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Baggerly Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Neeley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Milam Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Abernathy Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Roper Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Golightly Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bearden Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (1374 more) ...
- Blair Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Franklin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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 Taft in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Taft.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
- Blanche
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blanche is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Coldwater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Cash Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Camargo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Molino
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Caro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caro is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Dellrose
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Madison Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Elkmont Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Fisk
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fisk is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisk
- Harms
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Harms is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harms
- Millville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Millville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Taft. See our List of 1890's Communities around Taft.
Newspapers Published in Taft ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Taft.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Taft, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Taft.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Taft:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Lincoln County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Franklin County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Marshall County
- Moore County
- Colbert County
- Jackson County
- Lauderdale County
- Limestone County
- Madison 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 Taft, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Taft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |