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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Barber (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 Barber. 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.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Barber is located in Houston 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 Houston County: Dale, Geneva, Henry, Jackson (FL), Early (GA) & Seminole (GA).

Below are the counties that are near Barber. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Barber:

  • Houston County     (The home county of Barber)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barber, with the one closest to Barber listed first.
    • Webb
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Webb is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,479 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webb <1>
    • Ashford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Avon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Avon is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 510 people
    • Cowarts
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Williams
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Williams is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
    • Kinsey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kinsey is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,293 people
    • Columbia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Parish
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Dothan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Gordon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Gordon is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
    • Tidwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Tidwell is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
    • Keyton's
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Dale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barber, with the one closest to Barber listed first.
    • Grimes
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Napier Field
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Napier Field is located in Dale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier Field
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • Midland City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Pinckard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Newton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Newton is located in Dale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,451 people
    • Ewell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Bertha
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Mabson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Clopton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Clopton is located in Dale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clopton
    • Ozark
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Clayhatchee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Daleville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Geneva County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barber, with the one closest to Barber listed first.
    • Malvern
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Slocomb
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Dundee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Hartford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Henry County
  • Holmes County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barber, with the one closest to Barber listed first.
    • Noma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Esto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Esto is located in Holmes County (FL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esto
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
  • Jackson County (FL)
  • Clay County (GA)
  • Early County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barber, with the one closest to Barber listed first.
    • Cedar Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Sawhatchee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Rock Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Rock Hill is located in Early County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 248 people
    • Jakin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jakin is located in Early County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jakin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jakin <1>
    • Springfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Springfield is located in Early County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,084 people
    • Centerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Blakely
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hentown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Hentown is located in Early County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hentown
      • Estimated population in 2019: 3,944 people
    • Bancroft
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bancroft is located in Early County (GA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
    • Damascus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Miller County (GA)
  • Seminole County (GA)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Barber, see our County-by-County Page for Barber.

Cemeteries Near Barber ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Barber.

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 Barber - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Barber covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Barber, with the one closest to Barber listed first.

  • Poplar Spring Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Ashford City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Springs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Bluff Springs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hunters Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Webb Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cowarts Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Crestlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Springs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (206 more) ...

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Barber had a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Barber, with the one closest to Barber listed first.

  • Ashford
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Headland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Tidwell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Tidwell is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
  • Keyton's
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Springs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Balkum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Balkum is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balkum
  • Big Creek
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Creek is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
  • Midland City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Jakin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jakin is located in Early County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jakin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jakin <1>
  • Hardwickburg
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hardwickburg is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwickburg
  • Blakely
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Campbellton
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Mayhaw
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Echo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Echo is located in Dale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
    • Fadette
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fadette is located in Geneva County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fadette

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Barber. See our List of 1890's Communities around Barber.

Newspapers Published in Barber ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Barber.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Barber, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Barber.

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 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 Barber:

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>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 Barber, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Barber) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.