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 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 Bell 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 Bell 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 Bell Springs: Bell Spgs. (or less commonly used: Bell Spngs. or Bell Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bell Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bell 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Bell Springs is located in Morgan 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 Morgan County: Cullman, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Bell Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bell Springs:
- Morgan County (The home county of Bell Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Lacon
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lacon is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
- Falkville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Leesdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Leesdale is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesdale
- Cedar Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Plains is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Plains
- Hartselle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Eva
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Somerville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Danville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Burningtree Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Florette
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Flint City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Priceville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Winton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Birdie
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Birdie is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdie
- Gum Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Gum Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
- Mountain Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Grove is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Blountsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Summit
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Summit is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Bangor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bangor is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Liberty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Blount Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Brooksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Bright Star
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Cleveland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nectar
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nectar is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Vinemont
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- West Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
- South Vinemont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- South Vinemont is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vinemont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 636 people
- Central
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Central is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Cullman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jones' Chapel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jones' Chapel is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones' Chapel
- East Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Point
- Simcoe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Simcoe is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simcoe
- Chances Crossroad
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chances Crossroad is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chances Crossroad
- Logan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Berlin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Berlin is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Fairview
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Good Hope
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Good Hope is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Oakville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Wren
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Wren is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Chalybeate Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Moulton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Home
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Hillsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Muck City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Muck City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muck City
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Swancott
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Westlake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Mooresville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Belle Mina
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Harris Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Orrville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Tanner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Triana
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slaughter Landing is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter Landing
- Slaughter Landing has also been known as:
- Slaughter Ferry
- Whitesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Madison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- English Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Hog Jaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hog Jaw is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Jaw
- Ruth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ruth is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Pine Lake Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pine Lake Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake Village
- Arab
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Askea Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Askea Grove is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Askea Grove
- Friendship
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Friendship is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Grassy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Grassy is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
- Union Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Scant City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Scant City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scant City
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Marylee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Marylee is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marylee
- Powellville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Powellville is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Upshaw
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Upshaw is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upshaw
- Addison
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Houston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Arley
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ellaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ellaville is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellaville
- Grayson
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Grayson is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Slick Ford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Slick Ford is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slick Ford
- Falls City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Falls City is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
- Double Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bell Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Bell Springs.
Cemeteries Near Bell Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bell 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 Bell Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bell Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Powell's Chapel Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Higdon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bell Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Holmes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Friendship Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Piney Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jones Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cooper Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Morris Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (686 more) ...
- McCroskey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crosby Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Falkville City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
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 Bell Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bell Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bell Springs, with the one closest to Bell Springs listed first.
- Wilhites
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Wilhites is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilhites
- Falkville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Battleground
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Battleground is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battleground
- Leesdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Leesdale is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesdale
- Cedar Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Plains is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Plains
- Massey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Massey is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey
- Baldwin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Baldwin is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Hartselle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Eva
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Clifty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Clifty is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifty
- Jones' Chapel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jones' Chapel is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones' Chapel
- Cullman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Simcoe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Simcoe is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simcoe
- Stringer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stringer is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringer
- Somerville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bell Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bell Springs.
Newspapers Published in Bell 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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bell Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bell Springs, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bell Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Bell Springs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Morgan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Madison County
- Marshall County
- Walker County
- Winston 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> | 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 Bell Springs, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bell Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |