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 Bellwood (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 Bellwood. 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 and doctors 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.
Bellwood is located in Geneva 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 Geneva County: Coffee, Covington, Dale, Houston, Holmes (FL) & Walton (FL).
Below are the counties that are near Bellwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bellwood:
- Geneva County (The home county of Bellwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Scranton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Scranton is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scranton
- Chancellor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Chancellor is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor
- Coffee Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coffee Springs is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Hartford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Costilla ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Costilla is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costilla
- Dundee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dundee is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Eunola ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Eunola is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eunola
- Geneva
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Black
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Black is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Slocomb
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Samson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Malvern
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Coffee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Central City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Central City is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Battens Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Battens Crossroads is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battens Crossroads
- Enterprise
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Goodman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Goodman is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodman
- New Brockton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clintonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Clintonville is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
- Alberton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Alberton is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberton
- Mixson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Mixson is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixson
- Kinston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Elba
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Java
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Java is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Java
- Curtis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Curtis is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Covington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- County Line
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- County Line is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Beulah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Beulah is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Opp
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Opp is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,313 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Opp <1>
- Onycha
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Onycha is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onycha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Dale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Clayhatchee
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clayhatchee is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayhatchee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
- Level Plains
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Level Plains is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Plains
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,952 people
- Daleville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Holiday Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Holiday Village is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
- Fort Rucker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Newton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newton is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,451 people
- Pinckard
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Midland City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ewell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ewell is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewell
- Ozark
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Grimes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grimes is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 556 people
- Napier Field
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Napier Field is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier Field
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Henry County
- Headland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Merritts Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Merritts Crossroads is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merritts Crossroads
- Parker Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Parker Village is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Village
- Taylor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Taylor is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,440 people
- Rehobeth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rehobeth is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehobeth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,699 people
- Dothan
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tidwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tidwell is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
- Parish
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hodgesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hodgesville is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodgesville
- Keyton's
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Keyton's is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyton's
- Madrid
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Madrid is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
- Population from the 2020 Census: 293 people
- Cowarts
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Kinsey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Kinsey is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,293 people
- Holmes County (FL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Esto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Esto is located in Holmes County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Noma
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Izagora
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Izagora is located in Holmes County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Izagora
- Cerrogordo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cerrogordo is located in Holmes County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
- Bonifay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Westville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Jackson County (FL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Graceville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Campbellton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jacob City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jacob City is located in Jackson County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacob City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Walton County (FL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Pleasant Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Walton County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Union is located in Walton County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Washington County (FL)
- Caryville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bellwood, see our County-by-County Page for Bellwood.
Cemeteries Near Bellwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bellwood.
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 Bellwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bellwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Bellwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cool Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sardis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Providence Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- County Line Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Consolation Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- El Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hartford City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (240 more) ...
- Union Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Gilead Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Coffee Springs 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.<2>
While we didn't find Bellwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bellwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- High Bluff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- High Bluff is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bluff
- Highfalls
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Highfalls is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfalls
- Clayhatchee
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clayhatchee is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayhatchee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
- Coffee Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coffee Springs is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Dundee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dundee is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
- Daleville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Level Plains
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Level Plains is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Plains
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,952 people
- Geneva
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Enterprise
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Marl
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Marl is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl
- Vaughanville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Vaughanville is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughanville
- Warwick ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Warwick is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Newton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newton is located in Dale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,451 people
- Damascus
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Clintonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Clintonville is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bellwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bellwood.
Newspapers Published in Bellwood ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bellwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bellwood, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bellwood.
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 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 Bellwood:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Geneva County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Coffee County
- Covington County
- Dale County
- Henry County
- Houston County
- Holmes County
- Jackson County
- Walton County
- Washington 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> | 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 Bellwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bellwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |