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 Vance (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 Vance. 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 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.
Vance is located in Sullivan 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 Sullivan County: Carter, Hawkins, Johnson, Washington, Bristol City (VA), Scott (VA) & Washington (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Vance. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vance:
- Sullivan County (The home county of Vance)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Cedar Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Grove is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Collingwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Akard Addition
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Akard Addition is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akard Addition
- Walnut Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Hill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Bluff City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Ruthton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Bristol
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Forest Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Hunter Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
- Cross
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cross is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
- Estimated population in 2014: 11,330 people
- Galloway Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Galloway Mill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 665 people
- Blountville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lella ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lella is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lella
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Biltmore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Biltmore is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Hunter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hunter is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Buladeen
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Watauga
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Watauga is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Elizabethton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Siam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Central
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Central is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Hampton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pine Crest
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pine Crest is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
- Fish Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Gap Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Gap Run is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Run
- Tolley Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Tolley Town is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolley Town
- Woodby Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Woodby Hill is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodby Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,730 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Milburnton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Milburnton is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnton
- Jearoldstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Jearoldstown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jearoldstown
- Centersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Centersville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centersville
- Hawkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Rotherwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rotherwood is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rotherwood
- Frisco
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Frisco is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Greenvale
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Greenvale is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale
- Mount Carmel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Solitude ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Solitude is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solitude
- Waycross
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Waycross is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waycross
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,091 people
- Block City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Block City is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Block City
- Green Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Green Village is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Church Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Blossom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Blossom is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossom
- New Canton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- New Canton is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Winchester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Butler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Fuller
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Mountain City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Shingletown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Norris
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Norris is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Trade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Unicoi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Whispering Pines
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Whispering Pines is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Limestone Cove
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Limestone Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Cove
- Unicoi
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Erwin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Banner Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Banner Hill is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner Hill
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,497 people
- Bumpus Cove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bumpus Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bumpus Cove
- Estimated population in 2014: 729 people
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Austin Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Austin Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin Village
- Flourville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Flourville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flourville
- Oak Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Oakland Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Village
- Spurgeon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spurgeon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,957 people
- Carnegie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carnegie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- East Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Ridge is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,317 people
- Johnson City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67,142 people
- Former names for Johnson City:
- Blue Plum Station
- Haynesville
- Johnsons Depot
- Johnsons Tank
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnson City <1>
- North Johnson City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johnson City
- South Gate Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- South Gate Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Village
- Camelot Two
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Camelot Two is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Two
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,582 people
- Gray
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Midway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Midway is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Ashe County (NC)
- Grayson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Avery County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Mount Gilead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Whaley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Whaley is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Beech Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elk Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mitchell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Buladean
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Buladean is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladean
- Richlands
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Richlands is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richlands
- Watauga County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Watauga Falls ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Watauga Falls is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga Falls
- Mabel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Rominger
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rominger is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rominger
- Sugar Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Zionville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vance, see our County-by-County Page for Vance.
Cemeteries Near Vance ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vance.
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 Vance - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vance covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Weaver Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ordway Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- McKinney Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blevins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Glenwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Bristol.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #12436 <2>
- Shelby Hills Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Henley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Boy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Crumley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carden Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leonard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (897 more) ...
- Webb Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mauk Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Morning View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning View Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Morning View Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Bluff City.
- The Morning View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bluff City Morning View Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2149796 <2>
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 Vance in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Vance.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vance, with the one closest to Vance listed first.
- Sumpter ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sumpter is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Bluff City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Beidlemans ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Beidlemans is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beidlemans
- Ruthton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Paperville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Paperville is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paperville
- Bristol
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lella ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lella is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lella
- Blountville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Childress
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Childress is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Piney Flats
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Holston Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Sac ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sac is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Thom ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Thom is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thom
- Keenburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Keenburg is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keenburg
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vance. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vance.
Newspapers Published in Vance ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vance.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vance, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vance.
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 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 Vance:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Sullivan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carter County
- Greene County
- Hawkins County
- Johnson County
- Unicoi County
- Washington County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Mitchell County
- Watauga 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 Vance, 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- Vance) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |