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 Belle Mina (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 Belle Mina. 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.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Belle Mina is located in Limestone 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 Limestone County: Lauderdale, Lawrence, Madison, Morgan, Giles (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Belle Mina. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Belle Mina:
- Limestone County (The home county of Belle Mina)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Mooresville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Westlake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Harris Station
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Orrville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Swancott
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Tanner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Country Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Capshaw
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Fairmount
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Athens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Center Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Ripley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Hay's Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 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 Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Vinemont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- South Vinemont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- South Vinemont is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vinemont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 636 people
- West Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- West Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
- Central
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Central is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Simcoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Simcoe is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simcoe
- Joppa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Dells Vista Shores
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Confluence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Estep ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Rogersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Anderson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Cedar Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Bethel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Corum ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Hillsboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Chalybeate Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Oakville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Mountain Home
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Courtland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Courtland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Moulton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wren
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wren is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Red Bank
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Muck City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Muck City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muck City
- Town Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Dam Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Madison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Triana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Slaughter Landing is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter Landing
- Slaughter Landing has also been known as:
- Slaughter Ferry
- Monrovia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Rideout Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Jeff
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Chelsea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Harvest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Huntsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- English Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Lincoln
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Greenwycke Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Toney
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Ruth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Hog Jaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hog Jaw is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Jaw
- Pine Lake Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Lake Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake Village
- Union Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Decatur
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Moulton Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Simpson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Burningtree Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Priceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Austinville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Russell Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Flint City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Winton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Trinity
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Somerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Hartselle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Winston County
- Upshaw
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Upshaw is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upshaw
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Ardmore
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Elkmont Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Prospect
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Elkton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Stella
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Wheelerton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Cash Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Coldwater
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Belle Mina, see our County-by-County Page for Belle Mina.
Cemeteries Near Belle Mina ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belle Mina.
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 Belle Mina - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Belle Mina covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Woodsides Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Gamble Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bibb Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Quarter Lot Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Houston Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Thach Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Peebles Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Zeitler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hundley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Center Star Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Thatch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ragland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (1003 more) ...
- Garrett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Oakland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Blackwell - Collier Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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 Belle Mina in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Belle Mina.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Belle Mina, with the one closest to Belle Mina listed first.
- Mooresville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Greenbrier
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Greenbrier is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbrier
- Decatur Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Decatur Junction is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Junction
- Harris Station
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Swancott
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Decatur
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Simpson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Priceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Triana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Athens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Talucah
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Talucah is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talucah
- Monrovia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Somerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Blackburn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blackburn is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Jeff
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Belle Mina. See our List of 1890's Communities around Belle Mina.
Newspapers Published in Belle Mina ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belle Mina.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belle Mina, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belle Mina.
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 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 Belle Mina:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Limestone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Madison County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Winston County
- Giles County
- Lincoln 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 Belle Mina, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Belle Mina) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |