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 Union (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 Union. 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 Union ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Union: W. Union
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Union. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Union.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
West Union 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 Union. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Union:
- Shelby County (The home county of West Union)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Cuba
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Cuba is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Millington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lucy
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lucy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Giles Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Giles Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles Town
- Woodstock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Woodstock is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Ramsey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Rosemark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Rosemark is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemark
- Spring Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Lake is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Estimated population in 2014: 34,269 people
- Bartlett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Binghampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Binghampton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghampton
- Hunt Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hunt Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,234 people
- Lakeland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Gallaway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Braden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hickory Withe
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hickory Withe is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Withe
- Canadaville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Canadaville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadaville
- Oakland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Oakland is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,669 people
- Elba
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elba is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Macon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Macon is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- New Bethel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Bethel is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bethel
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,324 people
- Piperton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Piperton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piperton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,128 people
- Hancock County
- Keeling
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Keeling is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeling
- Haywood County
- Fredonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Fredonia is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Fulton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Fulton is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Fort Pillow
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Pillow is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pillow
- Ashport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ashport is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashport
- Daniels Point Landing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Daniels Point Landing is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels Point Landing
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,874 people
- Glimp
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Glimp is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glimp
- Luckett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Luckett is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luckett
- Henning
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tipton County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Wilkinsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkinsville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinsville
- Drummonds
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Corona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Corona is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Atoka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Munford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Randolph
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Randolph is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Idaville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Idaville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Gilt Edge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gilt Edge is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilt Edge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Brighton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Burlison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clopton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Clopton is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clopton
- Estimated population in 2014: 9,889 people
- Detroit
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Detroit is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Crittenden County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- James Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- James Mill is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Mill
- Mound City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mound City is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Clarkedale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Clarkedale is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Jericho
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jericho is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Marion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Gilmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Gilmore is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Turrell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- West Memphis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hulbert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hulbert is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulbert
- Heafer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Heafer is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heafer
- Crawfordsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cross County (AR)
- Twist
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Twist is located in Cross County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twist
- Mississippi County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Frenchmans Bayou
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Frenchmans Bayou is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchmans Bayou
- Wilson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 803 people
- Bassett
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bassett is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Joiner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Joiner is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
- Bardstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bardstown is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardstown
- Driver
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Driver is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driver
- Marie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Marie is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Denwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Denwood is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denwood
- Birdsong
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Birdsong is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Whitton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Whitton is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitton
- Dyess
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dyess is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyess
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dyess <1>
- Keiser
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Keiser is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keiser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
- Poinsett County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Tyronza
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Alto
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alto is located in Poinsett County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Black Oak
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Black Oak is located in Poinsett County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Lepanto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Marked Tree
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rivervale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rivervale is located in Poinsett County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivervale
- DeSoto County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Southhaven
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Southhaven is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southhaven
- Horn Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Southaven
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- De Soto Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- De Soto Village is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto Village
- Lynchburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lynchburg is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
- Olive Branch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Aldens
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Aldens is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldens
- Walls
(30 miles [48.3 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>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Union, see our County-by-County Page for West Union.
Cemeteries Near West Union ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Union.
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 Union - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Union covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- West Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Noblin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Embury Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Independence Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Belmount Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Remberts Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Saluted Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Quito Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Matthew Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Little John Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (353 more) ...
- Northridge Woodhaven Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge Woodhaven Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Northridge Woodhaven Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the southwest of Millington.
- The Northridge Woodhaven Cemetery has also been known as:
- Memorial Garden Cemetery
- Woodhaven Memorial Garden Cemetery
- Woodhaven Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #15586 <3>
- West Canaan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<4>
While we didn't find West Union in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Union.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Union, with the one closest to West Union listed first.
- Cuba
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Cuba is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Quito
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Quito is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quito
- Millington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lucy
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lucy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Ramsey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Woodstock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Woodstock is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Kerrville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Kerrville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrville
- Drummonds
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pearley ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pearley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearley
- Tipton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tipton is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Pecan Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pecan Point is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Point
- Corona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Corona is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Frayser
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Frayser is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frayser
- Rosemark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Rosemark is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemark
- Atoka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Union. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Union.
Newspapers Published in West Union ...
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 210 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Union.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Union, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Union.
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 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 Union:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Hancock County
- Haywood County
- Lauderdale County
- Tipton County
- Crittenden County
- Cross County
- Mississippi County
- Poinsett County
- DeSoto 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> | 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- West Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Union, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |