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 Belltown (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 Belltown. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Belltown 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 Belltown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Belltown:
- Cleburne County (The home county of Belltown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Heflin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hollis Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Abel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Micaville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Ai
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Edwardsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Hopewell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Hightower
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Fruithurst
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Muscadine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Ranburne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Grantley
(17 miles [27.4 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 Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Iron City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Choccolocco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- De Armanville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Friendship
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Friendship is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Fort McClellan ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort McClellan is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McClellan
- White Plains
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Chinnabee ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Chinnabee is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinnabee
- Oxford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Abernathy ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Abernathy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Anniston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Oxanna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Blue Mountain
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown 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
- Ball Flat
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Rock Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Tecumseh
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- 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 Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Delta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Elder
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Haynes Crossroad
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Barfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Lineville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cragford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Erin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Ashland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Harkins Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Mellow Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Cobb City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Banner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Glencoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hokes Bluff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Markton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Morrison Crossroad
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Milner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Christiana
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Newell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Cambridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Rockdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Ofelia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Graham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Woodland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wedowee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sewell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sewell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
- Corbin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Kentuck
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Coldwater
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Grant Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- McElderry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Ironaton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Waldo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Chandler Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Talladega
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Carroll County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Bowdon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jonesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jonesville is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Jake is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jake
- Estimated population in 2019: 146 people
- Mount Zion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Tyus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Tyus is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyus
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,525 people
- Bowdon Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn Estates
(28 miles [45.1 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Carrollton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Tallapoosa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Budapest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Waco
(25 miles [40.2 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tabernacle is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
- Bremen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Buchanan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Felton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Heard County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Ephesus
(24 miles [38.6 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Roosterville is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roosterville
- Yates Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Frolona is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frolona
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Esom Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Etna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Belltown, see our County-by-County Page for Belltown.
Cemeteries Near Belltown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belltown.
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 Belltown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Belltown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- New Harmony Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Evans Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Black Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Greens Chapel Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Heflin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beason Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Davistown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Old Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Evans Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Happy Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (341 more) ...
- New Prospect Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the New Prospect Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Choccolocco
- Hepsabah Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hanna Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Belltown had a population of 65 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Heflin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Chulafinnee
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chulafinnee is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulafinnee
- Iron City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Choccolocco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Abel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Micaville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- De Armanville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Edwardsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- White Plains
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Abernathy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Abernathy is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Delta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Oxford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Kentuck
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Hightower
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Belltown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Belltown.
Newspapers Published in Belltown ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belltown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belltown, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belltown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Belltown:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cleburne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Etowah 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> | 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 Belltown, 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- Belltown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |