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 Turtletown (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 Turtletown. 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.
Turtletown is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Fannin (GA), Murray (GA), Cherokee (NC), Bradley, McMinn & Monroe.
Below are the counties that are near Turtletown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Turtletown:
- Polk County (The home county of Turtletown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Rymers ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rymers is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rymers
- Chanceytown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chanceytown is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chanceytown
- Ducktown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Belltown Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Belltown Hill is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,457 people
- Servilla
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Servilla is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilla
- Copperhill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Archville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Archville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archville
- Delano
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Chable ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chable is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chable
- Parksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Parksville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksville
- Benton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ball Play
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ball Play is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Play
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Charleston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bellefounte
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bellefounte is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefounte
- Earnest ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Earnest is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earnest
- East Cleveland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
- Wildwood Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
- Cleveland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- South Cleveland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
- Countryside Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
- McMinn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Mecca
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Mecca is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
- Etowah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grady
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grady is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Goodsprings
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Nonaburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Nonaburg is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonaburg
- Claxton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Luskville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Luskville is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luskville
- Englewood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Manila
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Manila is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manila
- Calhoun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Athens
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Riceville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Coker Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Epperson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Epperson is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Rural Vale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
- Jalapa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Jacktown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Jacktown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 67,319 people
- Tellico Plains
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Belltown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Belltown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Acorn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Acorn is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Ballplay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Madisonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Fannin County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Fry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Fry is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fry
- Pantertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pantertown is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pantertown
- Population from the 2010 Census: 9,749 people
- McCaysville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Epworth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pierceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pierceville is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Cutcane
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cutcane is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutcane
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,417 people
- Mineral Bluff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Gap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Gap is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Gap
- Blue Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Morganton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Greens Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Greens Mill is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Mill
- Hemp
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hemp is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemp
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,647 people
- Gilmer County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Cherry Log
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Santaluca
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Santaluca is located in Gilmer County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santaluca
- White Path
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- White Path is located in Gilmer County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Path
- Estimated population in 2019: 342 people
- Northcutt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Northcutt is located in Gilmer County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcutt
- Population from the 2010 Census: 16,698 people
- Ellijay
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Murray County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Tennga
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Cisco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gregory
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gregory is located in Murray County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Population from the 2010 Census: 7,432 people
- Temple Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Temple Grove is located in Murray County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Grove
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,795 people
- Crandall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sumac
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sumac is located in Murray County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumac
- Union County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Bethlehem
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethlehem is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Canal Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Canal Lake is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canal Lake
- Population from the 2010 Census: 23,025 people
- Youngcane ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Youngcane is located in Union County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngcane
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,661 people
- Blairsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cherokee County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Liberty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Liberty is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Pleasant Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Burger Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burger Town is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burger Town
- Postell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Postell is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postell
- Vests
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Vests is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vests
- Hiwassee Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hiwassee Village is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee Village
- Hothouse
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hothouse is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hothouse
- Ogreeta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ogreeta is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogreeta
- Unaka
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Unaka is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unaka
- Culberson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Culberson is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culberson
- Grape Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Grape Creek is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
- Murphy
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Clay County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Brasstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pine Log Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pine Log Village is located in Clay County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Log Village
- Warne
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hayesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Turtletown, see our County-by-County Page for Turtletown.
Cemeteries Near Turtletown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Turtletown.
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 Turtletown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Turtletown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Neal Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Spurling Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Brock Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- McJunkin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Threewit Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Liberty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Butler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Freeland Town Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Padgett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hampton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Young Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (449 more) ...
- Hamby Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Shoal Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- River Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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, Turtletown had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Turtletown, with the one closest to Turtletown listed first.
- Wehutty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wehutty is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wehutty
- Rymers ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rymers is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rymers
- Ducktown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hiwassee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hiwassee is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee
- Postell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Postell is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postell
- Wolf Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Wolf Creek is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Vests
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Vests is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vests
- Coker Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Epperson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Epperson is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Servilla
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Servilla is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilla
- Reliance
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hothouse
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hothouse is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hothouse
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Kyle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Kyle is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Pierceville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pierceville is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville
- Rural Vale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Turtletown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Turtletown.
Newspapers Published in Turtletown ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Turtletown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Turtletown, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Turtletown.
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 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 Turtletown:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Polk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradley County
- McMinn County
- Monroe County
- Fannin County
- Gilmer County
- Murray County
- Union County
- Cherokee County
- Clay 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 Turtletown, 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' (or 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- Turtletown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |