Okay, so you found a record that says your ancestor was born in
Deals Gap, Tennessee. Now you ask, "Where the heck is that?" You could
always purchase a map of Tennessee and then look for the place. However, many
small locations are not shown on modern maps. It is also possible that the place
may have existed only in past years and has now disappeared; in this case, a
current map may not show the place you are interested in.
Luckily, there is an easy answer for online genealogists: look
at the U.S. government’s Geographic Names Information System. The GNIS
database can quickly tell you that Deals Gap is along the border separating
North Carolina and Tennessee at 35 degrees 28 minutes 26 seconds North, 83 degrees
55 minutes 16 seconds West. In fact, you can then click on an icon to display
a map of that area on your computer screen. There is still one more feature:
you can even look at a spy satellite photograph of the area.
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the
U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names
(BGN), contains information about almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic
features in the United States. The GNIS identifies the federally recognized
name of each feature described in the database, and provides references to each
feature's state, county, latitude, and longitude.
The GNIS serves two purposes for genealogists. First, it gives
precise locations of every village, mountain, river, airport, bay, beach, bridge,
etc. in the United States. The information includes the exact latitude and longitude
of each named feature. Next, it also is useful for finding locations mentioned
in old documents.
Here is perhaps the best news of all for genealogists: the GNIS
also lists many cemeteries, although not all of them. For instance, I know that
my great-grandparents were buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Bangor, Maine. The
GNIS describes Pine Grove Cemetery as in Penobscot County at 44 degrees 47 minutes
54 seconds North, 68 degrees 49 minutes 40 seconds West. If I know the name
of the cemetery but not the town, the GNIS database will find all cemeteries
of that name in the state. Keep in mind that many cemeteries are not listed,
however. For instance, the small cemetery where my immediate family is interred
and where I plan to spend eternity isn't listed in the GNIS database.
The Geographic Names Information System is available online at:
mapping.usgs.gov/www/gnis. The
same basic database, without maps, is also available on CD-ROM disk from a number
of sources. For one, it is included with The Master Genealogist.
In a future newsletter I will describe how to enter the cemetery’s
latitude and longitude into a low-cost GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver
so that you can drive directly to the cemetery.
Dick Eastman Online
