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Home >> State of Alabama >> Jefferson County >> Bay View >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 View (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 View. 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 View ...

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.

Another variation: Bayview.

  • A typical abbreviation for Bay View: Bay Vw.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bay View. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bay View.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Bay View 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 Bay View. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bay View:

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Bay View)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Mulga
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Mulga is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 798 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mulga <1>
    • Maytown
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Maytown is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Docena
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Docena is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Docena
    • Edgewater
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Edgewater is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
    • Minor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Minor is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor
    • Adamsville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Westwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Westwood is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
    • McDonald Chapel
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • McDonald Chapel is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald Chapel
    • Sylvan Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Forestdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Forestdale is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
    • Pratt Mines ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Pratt Mines is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Mines
    • Sandusky
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Sandusky is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
    • Pleasant Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bibb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Green Pond
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Blocton Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
      • Blocton Junction has also been known as:
      • Blockton Junc
    • North Bibb
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • North Bibb is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
    • Woodstock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cane Creek ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
    • Eddings
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Eddings is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
    • Belle Ellen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
    • Burmah ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Burmah is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
    • Nash Town ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Nash Town is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
    • Seymour
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Seymour is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Dale ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Dale is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
    • Red Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Red Hill is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
    • Warrior
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Reid's
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Reid's is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
    • County Line
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • County Line is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Smoke Rise
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
    • Selfville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Selfville is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
    • Compton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Compton is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
    • Dallas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Dallas is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Hayden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Blount Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Blount Springs is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
    • Remlap
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Adville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Adville is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
  • Cullman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Arkadelphia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
    • Baltimore ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Baltimore is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
    • Colony
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
      • Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
    • Black Bottom
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
    • The Colony
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • The Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Damascus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Damascus is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
    • Ardell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Ardell is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
    • Bremen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Woodland Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Acmar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
    • Moody
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • 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 <1>
    • Parsons
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
    • Argo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Argo is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
    • Brompton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
    • Margaret
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Turnbough Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Indian Springs Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
    • Inverness
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Inverness is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
    • Bamford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Bamford is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
    • Falliston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Falliston is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
    • Helena
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Tacoa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Tacoa is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
    • Bridgeton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Lake Purdy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
    • Meadowbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Pelham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Alabaster
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Tulse
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Tulse is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
    • Shoal Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
  • Tuscaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Bull City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
    • Tannehill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
    • Lake View
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
    • Abernant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
    • Kellerman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
    • Brookwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Vance
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Vance is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay View, with the one closest to Bay View listed first.
    • Quinton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Twilley Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Twilley Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
    • Yerkwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Yerkwood is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
    • Reeds Ferry
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
    • Wyatt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyatt is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
    • Burnwell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Burnwell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
    • Oakahalla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oakahalla is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
    • Dora
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Dora is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,979 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dora <1>
    • Red Star
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Red Star is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
    • Sumiton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Barney
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Barney is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
    • Dovertown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dovertown is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
    • Goodsprings
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Goodsprings is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings

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

Cemeteries Near Bay View ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bay View.

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

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

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

  • Village Falls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Midway Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • George Washington Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Crumley Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Adams - Heaton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Crestview Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant Grove UMC Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Glasgow Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mason Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (341 more) ...
    • Fraternal Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Roberts Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Bivens Chapel Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)

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.<3>

While we didn't find Bay View in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bay View.

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

  • Adamsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Wylam
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Wylam is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylam
  • Pratt Mines ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Pratt Mines is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Mines
  • Sandusky
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Sandusky is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
  • Ensley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ensley is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensley
  • Blossburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Blossburg is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossburg
  • Dolomite
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Thomas
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Thomas is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
  • Brookside
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Brookside is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
  • Cardiff
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Porter
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Porter is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
  • Collins
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Collins is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Coalburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Coalburg is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
      • Former name for Coalburg:
      • Coalburgh
    • Short Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
    • Hillman
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Hillman is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman

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

Newspapers Published in Bay View ...

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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay View.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bay View, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bay View.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 View:

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>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.
<3>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 View, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bay View) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.