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 Bay Springs (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 Bay Springs. 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 Bay Springs ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Bay Springs: Bay Spgs. (or less commonly used: Bay Spngs. or Bay Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bay Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bay Springs.
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 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.
Bay Springs is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Calhoun, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Chattooga (GA), Floyd (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Bay Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bay Springs:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Bay Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Anderson
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Centre
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Leesburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Sand Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Moshat
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Cedar Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tucker Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Howells Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Noah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Ball Flat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Collins ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Colvins Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Piedmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Dailey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Merrellton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Nances Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Mack ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Angel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Oak Level
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Borden Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Collinsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lickskillet
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Sigsbee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Dog Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Cotnam
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Dawson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Adamsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Adamsburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Douglas
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Crossville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Hale ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Ballplay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Coat's Bend
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Banner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Anderson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Keener
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Edwardsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Hokes Bluff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Yancy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Duck Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Jackson County
- Rock City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Boaz
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Peters ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Hustleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Albertville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Whitesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Lyerly
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Menlo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menlo <1>
- Berryton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Cloudland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Coosa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cave Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Robealou Acres
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Atlanta Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Lindale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Etna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bay Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Bay Springs.
Cemeteries Near Bay Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bay Springs.
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 Bay Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bay Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Fairview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Pratt Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the north of Centre.
- The Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tates Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26599 <3>
- Shiloh Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sewell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Centre Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chesnut Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Yellow Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Garrett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (379 more) ...
- Parker Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cherokee Memory Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Neal Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Neal Hill Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Centre.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24852 <3>
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 Bay Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bay Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
- Centre
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Leesburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Round Mountain
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Round Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Mountain
- Maple Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Plano
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Mackey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mackey is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Sand Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Slackland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Slackland is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackland
- Moshat
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Leonard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Leonard is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Cedar Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Bomar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bomar is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomar
- Hurley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hurley is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bay Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bay Springs.
Newspapers Published in Bay Springs ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bay Springs, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bay Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bay Springs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Polk 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bay Springs) 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 Bay Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |