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 West Junction (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 West Junction. 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 West Junction ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Junction: W. Junction
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Junction. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Junction.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
West Junction is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Crittenden (AR), DeSoto (MS), Marshall (MS), Fayette & Tipton.
Below are the counties that are near West Junction. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Junction:
- Shelby County (The home county of West Junction)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Memphis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hunt Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hunt Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,234 people
- Oakville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Oakville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Binghampton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Binghampton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghampton
- Parkway Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Parkway Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway Village
- The Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- The Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
- Capleville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Capleville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capleville
- Woodstock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Woodstock is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Germantown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Ramsey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Spring Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Lake is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Estimated population in 2014: 34,269 people
- Giles Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Giles Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles Town
- Lucy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lucy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Piperton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Piperton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piperton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,128 people
- Canadaville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Canadaville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadaville
- Elba
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Elba is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Rossville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Tipton County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Wilkinsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkinsville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinsville
- Corona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Corona is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Drummonds
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Atoka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Munford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crittenden County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Hulbert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hulbert is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulbert
- Amanca
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Amanca is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanca
- Mound City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mound City is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- West Memphis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Marion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marion is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>
- Sunset
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sunset is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Edmondson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Edmondson is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmondson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 378 people
- Pinckney
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pinckney is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckney
- Anthonyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Anthonyville is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthonyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- James Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- James Mill is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Mill
- Horseshoe Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Horseshoe Lake is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Proctor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Crawfordsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cross County (AR)
- Parkin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Bledsoe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bledsoe is located in Lee County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bledsoe
- Peters
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Peters is located in Lee County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Winona ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Winona is located in Lee County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
- Mississippi County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Birdsong
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Birdsong is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Frenchmans Bayou
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Frenchmans Bayou is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchmans Bayou
- Denwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Denwood is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denwood
- Joiner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Joiner is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
- Saint Francis County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Heth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hughes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hughes is located in Saint Francis County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,200 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hughes <1>
- Rawlinson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rawlinson is located in Saint Francis County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawlinson
- DeSoto County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Southhaven
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Southhaven is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southhaven
- Lynchburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lynchburg is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
- Walls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Walls is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,441 people
- Former name for Walls:
- Alpika
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walls <1>
- Horn Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- De Soto Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- De Soto Village is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto Village
- Aldens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Aldens is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldens
- Southaven
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Glover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glover is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Norfolk
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Norfolk is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk
- Memphis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Memphis is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
- Nesbit
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lake Cormorant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Newport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newport is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Marshall County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Barton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Barton is located in Marshall County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Byhalia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cayce
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cayce is located in Marshall County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
- Tate County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Arkabutla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Arkabutla is located in Tate County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkabutla
- Coldwater
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Antioch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Antioch is located in Tate County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Poagville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Poagville is located in Tate County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poagville
- Tunica County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Banks
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Banks is located in Tunica County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
- Mhoon Landing ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mhoon Landing is located in Tunica County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mhoon Landing
- North Tunica
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Tunica is located in Tunica County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tunica
- Tunica
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Junction, see our County-by-County Page for West Junction.
Cemeteries Near West Junction ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Junction.
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 West Junction - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Junction covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- New Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lakeview Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hollywood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Temple Israel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (308 more) ...
- Baron Hirsch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Son of Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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>
While we didn't find West Junction in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Junction.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Junction, with the one closest to West Junction listed first.
- Whitehaven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitehaven is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehaven
- Lake View
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lake View is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Memphis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hopefield ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hopefield is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopefield
- Almont ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Almont is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almont
- Bellevue
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bellevue is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Buntyn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Buntyn is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buntyn
- Hulbert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hulbert is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulbert
- Mound City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mound City is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Walls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Walls is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,441 people
- Former name for Walls:
- Alpika
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walls <1>
- Horn Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oakville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Oakville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- West Memphis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Riceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Riceville is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
- Glover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glover is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Junction. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Junction.
Newspapers Published in West Junction ...
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 226 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Junction.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Junction, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Junction.
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 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 West Junction:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Tipton County
- Crittenden County
- Cross County
- Lee County
- Mississippi County
- Saint Francis County
- DeSoto County
- Marshall County
- Tate County
- Tunica 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 West Junction, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |