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 Ayres Estates (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 Ayres Estates. 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 Ayres Estates ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Ayres Estates: Ayres Ests.
- While the name of this community is Ayres Estates, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Ayres Estates may originally have been Ayre's Estates.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Ayres Estates might be written as Ayre Estates.
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 doctors 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.
Ayres Estates is located in Jefferson County.
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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Ayres Estates. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ayres Estates:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Ayres Estates)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Ayres
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Village Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Palmerdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Breakstone Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Cahaba Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Trussville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chalkville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Grayson Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grayson Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson Valley
- Pinson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bradford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Remlap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Compton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Selfville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Dale ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Dallas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Adville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- County Line
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Locust Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allgood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Little Warrior
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Deavers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Highland Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Macon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Ohatchee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Garden City
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Black Bottom
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Colony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Damascus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Arkadelphia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Hanceville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- White City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Bremen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Baileytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Nix ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Altoona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Walnut Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Argo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Springville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Margaret
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Parsons
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Acmar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Branchville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Moody
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <2>
- Woodland Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Brompton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Dunnavant
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Vandiver
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sterrett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Shoal Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Lake Purdy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Calcis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Inverness
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Westover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Chelsea
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Colony
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Logan Martin Dam
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Lincoln
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East Bend
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Windsong Island
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Creel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Sumiton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <2>
- Oakahalla
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Quinton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Burnwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Dora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Wyatt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ayres Estates, see our County-by-County Page for Ayres Estates.
Cemeteries Near Ayres Estates ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ayres Estates.
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 Ayres Estates - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ayres Estates covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Ayres.
- Argo Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lees Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hopewell UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Remlap Methodist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Austin Olds Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Low Gap Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Old Compton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pinson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Chalkville
- The Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Taylors Chapel Cemetery
- Continue List (312 more) ...
- Trussville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trussville Cemetery
- The Trussville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cahawba Baptist Cemetery
- First Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26737 <3>
- Hooper Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
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 Ayres Estates in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ayres Estates.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ayres Estates, with the one closest to Ayres Estates listed first.
- Ayres
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Argo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Springville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Woodward
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodward is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
- Remlap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Chalkville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Trussville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Compton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Bradford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Odenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Viola ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Viola is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Selfville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Moody
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <2>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ayres Estates. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ayres Estates.
Newspapers Published in Ayres Estates ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ayres Estates.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ayres Estates, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ayres Estates.
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 helpful 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 Ayres Estates:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega County
- Walker County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Ayres Estates, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Ayres Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |