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 Water Valley (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 Water Valley. 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.
Name Variations for Water Valley ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
Another variation: Watervalley.
- A typical abbreviation for Water Valley: Water Vly. (or less commonly used: Water Vally. or Water Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Water Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Water Valley.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Water Valley is located in Humphreys 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 Humphreys County: Benton, Dickson, Henry, Hickman, Houston & Perry.
Below are the counties that are near Water Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Water Valley:
- Humphreys County (The home county of Water Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Bethpage
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bethpage is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethpage
- Population from the 2010 Census: 288 people
- Hurricane Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- McEwen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Waverly
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grandmother Ford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grandmother Ford is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandmother Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 307 people
- Pigeon Roost
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pigeon Roost is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Roost
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,132 people
- Buffalo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Bakerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bakerville is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakerville
- Trinity
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Trinity is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
- Estimated population in 2014: 625 people
- Plant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Plant is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant
- Halls Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Halls Creek is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Creek
- Hustburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hustburg is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustburg
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Brevards Ferry
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Brevards Ferry is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevards Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 40,982 people
- Coxburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Coxburg is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxburg
- Wildlife Cove Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Camden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Faxon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Faxon is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faxon
- Chaseville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Chaseville is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseville
- Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Crossroads is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,728 people
- Big Sandy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sandy Point is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
- Cheatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Bell Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bell Town is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
- Kingston Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Decatur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Oakview ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oakview is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakview
- Sugar Tree
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Tree is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Tree
- Jeannette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jeannette is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeannette
- Dickson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Tennessee City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tennessee City is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennessee City
- Water Valley ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Water Valley is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,516 people
- Pond
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pond is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond
- Dickson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pomona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pomona is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Tidwell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tidwell is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
- Abiff
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Abiff is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abiff
- Burns
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Vanleer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Charlotte
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Slayden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slayden is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slayden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Spencers Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Spencers Mill is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencers Mill
- Hickman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Whitehouse
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Whitehouse is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Salt Lick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Salt Lick is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Lick
- Estimated population in 2014: 508 people
- Only
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Graham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Nunnelly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Nunnelly is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnelly
- Whitfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Whitfield is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
- Lyles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Wrigley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Wrigley is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrigley
- Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
- Centerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bon Aqua Junction
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bon Aqua Junction is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Aqua Junction
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,230 people
- Graytown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Graytown is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,528 people
- Tottys Bend
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tottys Bend is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tottys Bend
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Omega ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Omega is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omega
- Erin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Magnolia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Tennessee Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brownsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Estimated population in 2014: 9,974 people
- McKinnon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- McKinnon is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinnon
- Lewis County
- Kimmins
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Kimmins is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmins
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Chartersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chartersville is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartersville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,494 people
- Greenfield Bend
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenfield Bend is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Bend
- Estimated population in 2014: 15,035 people
- Fly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fly is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fly
- New Flys Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Flys Village is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Flys Village
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Oakridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oakridge is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 29,303 people
- Louise
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Louise is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louise
- McAllisters Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Lobelville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beardstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beardstown is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beardstown
- Linden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mousetail ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mousetail is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mousetail
- Stewart County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Cumberland City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Throckmorton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Throckmorton is located in Stewart County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Throckmorton
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,692 people
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Fairview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Loriland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Loriland is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loriland
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,735 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Water Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Water Valley.
Cemeteries Near Water Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Water Valley.
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 Water Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Water Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Vineyard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Rogers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Haley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sanders Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sparks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- McMackins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Young Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- McCandless Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Crowell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Baker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (926 more) ...
- Holland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethpage Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Water Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Water Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Bold Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bold Spring is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Spring
- Hurricane Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gorman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gorman is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- McEwen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Only
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Tennessee City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tennessee City is located in Dickson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennessee City
- Waverly
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Vernon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vernon is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Pinewood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pinewood is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
- Graham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Bakerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bakerville is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakerville
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Goodrich
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Goodrich is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
- Nunnelly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Nunnelly is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnelly
- Whitfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Whitfield is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Water Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Water Valley.
Newspapers Published in Water Valley ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Water Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Water Valley, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Water Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Water Valley:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Humphreys County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Cheatham County
- Decatur County
- Dickson County
- Hickman County
- Houston County
- Lewis County
- Maury County
- Montgomery County
- Perry County
- Stewart County
- Williamson 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> | 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 Water Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Water Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |