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 Ashville (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 Ashville. 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 Ashville ...
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.
In past government published Postal Guides, Ashville was referred to as Ashville Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Ashville. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ashville.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Ashville is located in Saint Clair County and is the County Seat.
To see how the shape of Alabama's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Saint Clair County: Blount, Calhoun, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Ashville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ashville:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Ashville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Whitney Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Steele
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ragland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Wattsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Coal City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Branchville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Springville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Riverside
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Margaret
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Turnbough Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Argo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Straight Mountain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Appalachian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Taits Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Hoods Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Oneonta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bird ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Allgood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Rosa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rosa is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
- Fridays Crossing
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Wynnville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Remlap
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Clarence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Ohatchee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Macon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Cochran Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Southside
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Grayton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Oak Level
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Clark ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Clark is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Garden City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Holly Pond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- DeKalb County
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Nix ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Altoona
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Attalla
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ivalee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Rainbow City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Howelton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Walnut Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Benson ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Ayres
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Clay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Village Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Breakstone Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Palmerdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Cahaba Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Roper
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Roper is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Grayson Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grayson Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson Valley
- Trussville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Masseyline
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Chalkville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Bradford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Douglas
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Whitesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Horton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Boaz
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Hyatt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Albertville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Street ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Dunnavant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Vandiver
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Calcis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Sterrett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Colony
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Lincoln
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Coldwater
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Grant Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Logan Martin Dam
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Talladega
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- McElderry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- East Bend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ashville, see our County-by-County Page for Ashville.
Cemeteries Near Ashville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashville.
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 Ashville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ashville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Moore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Reeves Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Choate Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bethany Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beason / Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Deerman Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mauldin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Box Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Clements Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (316 more) ...
- Mardis Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Popes Chapel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ashville had a population of 315 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Ashville had a population of 2,396 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
- Whitney
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whitney is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Caldwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Caldwell is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell
- Fairview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Hood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hood is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Steele
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ragland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Nix ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Branchville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Coal City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Etowahton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Etowahton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowahton
- Gallant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Springville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Odenville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Champion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Champion is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ashville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ashville.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ashville ...
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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashville.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ashville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ashville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ashville.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> of Ashville.
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 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 Ashville:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Marshall County
- Shelby County
- Talladega County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
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 'straight-line' (or 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- Ashville) 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 Ashville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |