RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Marion County >> Bear Creek >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Alabama

The Commemorative Quarter for Alabama





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 Bear Creek (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 Bear Creek. 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 Bear Creek ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bear Creek: Bear Crk. (or less commonly used: Bear Ck. or Bear Cr.)

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 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.

Bear Creek is located in Marion County.

To see how the shape of Alabama's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Marion County: Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Walker, Winston, Itawamba (MS) & Monroe (MS).

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Bear Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Hackleburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Thornhill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thornhill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhill
      • Thornhill is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thornhill
      • From Bear Creek to Thornhill
    • Brilliant
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brilliant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brilliant
      • Brilliant is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brilliant <3>
    • Hamilton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Rock City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Marion County
    • Twin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Weston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Marion County
    • Yampertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pikeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pikeville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
      • Pikeville is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pikeville
      • From Bear Creek to Pikeville
    • Stinson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stinson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
      • Stinson is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stinson
      • From Bear Creek to Stinson
    • Winfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Guin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Colbert County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Littleville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
      • Littleville is located in Colbert County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
    • Spring Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
      • Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
    • Denton ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denton
      • Denton is located in Colbert County
    • Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell Settlement have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
      • Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
    • Leighton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leighton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leighton
      • Leighton is located in Colbert County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 754 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leighton <3>
  • Fayette County
  • Franklin County
  • Lamar County
    • Beaverton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaverton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverton
      • Beaverton is located in Lamar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaverton <3>
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Camp Spring ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Spring
      • Camp Spring is located in Lawrence County
    • Mount Hope
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
      • Mount Hope is located in Lawrence County
    • Concord
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Concord. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
      • Concord is located in Lawrence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Concord
      • From Bear Creek to Concord
    • Mehama ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mehama. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
      • Mehama is located in Lawrence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mehama
      • From Bear Creek to Mehama
    • Avoca ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avoca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Avoca is located in Lawrence County
    • Muck City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muck City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muck City
      • Muck City is located in Lawrence County
    • Hatton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Wren
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wren have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
      • Wren is located in Lawrence County
    • Moulton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Edmond
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edmond. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
      • Edmond is located in Lawrence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Edmond
      • From Bear Creek to Edmond
  • Walker County
  • Winston County
  • Itawamba County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
    • Eastman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eastman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
      • Eastman is located in Itawamba County (MS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eastman
      • From Bear Creek to Eastman
    • Oakland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Oakland is located in Itawamba County (MS)

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

Cemeteries Near Bear Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bear Creek.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Bear Creek Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Old Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Arnold Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arnold Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arnold Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bear Creek #1 Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bear Creek #1 Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bear Creek #1 Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Factory Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Factory Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Factory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • John Bull Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John Bull Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the John Bull Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain Home Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain Home Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ireland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ireland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ireland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shiloh Methodist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (686 more) ...
    • Center Point Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Bear Creek had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Bear Creek had a population of 1,061 people.

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

  • Goddard
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goddard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
    • Goddard is located in Marion County
  • Haleyville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hackleburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Spruce Pine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Thornhill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thornhill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhill
    • Thornhill is located in Marion County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Thornhill
    • From Bear Creek to Thornhill
  • Pebble
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Delmar
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Kinlock ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinlock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinlock
    • Kinlock is located in Lawrence County
  • Isbell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Isbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isbell
    • Isbell is located in Franklin County
  • Pearce's Mills
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearce's Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearce's Mills
    • Pearce's Mills is located in Marion County
  • Natural Bridge
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Rockwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
    • Rockwood is located in Franklin County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Rockwood
    • From Bear Creek to Rockwood
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Waco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
      • Waco is located in Franklin County
    • Newburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
      • Newburg is located in Franklin County
    • Gold Mine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gold Mine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Mine
      • Gold Mine is located in Marion County

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

Newspapers Published in Bear Creek ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bear Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bear Creek, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bear Creek.

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 Bear Creek:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bear Creek. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Marion County: www.sonet.net/marioncounty/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Bear Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Bear Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bear Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2757, Longitude: -87.6999    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025