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 Bell Mills (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 Bell Mills. 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 Bell Mills ...
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 Bell Mills: Bell Mls. (or less commonly used: Bell Mlls.)
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.
Bell Mills is located in Cleburne 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 Cleburne County: Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Randolph, Talladega, Carroll (GA), Haralson (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Bell Mills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bell Mills:
- Cleburne County (The home county of Bell Mills)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Ai
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Hopewell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Edwardsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Heflin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hightower
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Fruithurst
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Muscadine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Ranburne
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Micaville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Hollis Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Abel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Grantley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Iron City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Abernathy ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Abernathy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Choccolocco
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- White Plains
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- De Armanville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Fort McClellan ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fort McClellan is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McClellan
- Friendship
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Friendship is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Nances Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Chinnabee ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Chinnabee is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinnabee
- Jacksonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Anniston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Oxanna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Spring Garden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Tecumseh
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Rock Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Exie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Delta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Haynes Crossroad
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Elder
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Barfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Lineville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cragford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Erin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Newell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Morrison Crossroad
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Graham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Cambridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Milner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Rockdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Woodland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sewell
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sewell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
- Christiana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Corbin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- Wedowee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ofelia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Kentuck
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Coldwater
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Grant Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- McElderry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Carroll County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Bowdon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Jake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jake is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jake
- Estimated population in 2019: 146 people
- Jonesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jonesville is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Mount Zion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Tyus
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Tyus is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyus
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,525 people
- Bowdon Junction
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn Estates
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn Estates is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 736 people
- Roopville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Carrollton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lowell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Temple
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bowers Ferry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bowers Ferry is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 485 people
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Tallapoosa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Budapest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Waco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Waco is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 532 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
- Tabernacle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tabernacle is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
- Bremen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Buchanan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Felton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Morgan is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Heard County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Ephesus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ephesus is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Roosterville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Roosterville is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roosterville
- Yates Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Yates Crossroads is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates Crossroads
- Estimated population in 2019: 360 people
- Frolona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Frolona is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frolona
- Centralhatchee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Centralhatchee is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralhatchee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Esom Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Etna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Cedartown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bell Mills, see our County-by-County Page for Bell Mills.
Cemeteries Near Bell Mills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bell Mills.
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 Bell Mills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bell Mills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Fordham Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ai Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Old Liberty Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wise Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Happy Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Crossroads Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the southwest of Fruithurst.
- The Crossroads Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethsadia Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2175443 <3>
- Evans Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Evans Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Beason Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the northwest of Ranburne.
- The Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery has also been known as:
- Crumbleys Chapel Cemetery
- Crumley's Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2254824 <3>
- Greens Chapel Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (403 more) ...
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Heflin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Harmony Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Bell Mills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bell Mills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bell Mills, with the one closest to Bell Mills listed first.
- Abernathy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Abernathy is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Hopewell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Edwardsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Heflin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hightower
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Belltown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Belltown is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Micaville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Muscadine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Chulafinnee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chulafinnee is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulafinnee
- Lofty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lofty is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lofty
- Hooper
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hooper is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
- Coldwater
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Iron City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Newell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Bowdon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bell Mills. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bell Mills.
Newspapers Published in Bell Mills ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bell Mills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bell Mills, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bell Mills.
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 websites either 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 Bell Mills:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cleburne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Randolph County
- Talladega County
- Carroll County
- Haralson County
- Heard 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bell Mills) 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 Bell Mills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |