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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 Benevola (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 Benevola. 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 hospitals and 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.

Benevola is located in Pickens 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 Pickens County: Fayette, Greene, Lamar, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Lowndes (MS) & Noxubee (MS).

Below are the counties that are near Benevola. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Benevola:

  • Pickens County     (The home county of Benevola)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.
    • Olney
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Aliceville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Carrollton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • McMullen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • McMullen is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9 people
    • Garden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Beaver Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Beaver Town is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Town
    • Bell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Gordo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Gordo is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordo <1>
    • Stansel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Reform
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Archer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Memphis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Memphis is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26 people
  • Fayette County
  • Greene County
  • Hale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.
    • Oak Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Village is located in Hale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Village
    • Akron
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Powers
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Moundville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Sawyerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Phipps ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.
    • Panola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Gainesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Geiger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Epes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Epes is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
  • Tuscaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.
    • Ralph
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Elrod
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Elrod is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
    • Buhl
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Buhl is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buhl
    • Foster's
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Coker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Coker is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 953 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coker <1>
    • Echola
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Echola is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echola
    • Ingleside Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ingleside Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside Village
    • Northport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Sahama Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Sahama Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sahama Village
    • Tuscaloosa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • University
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Front Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Front Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Front Village
  • Kemper County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.
    • Binnsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Giles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Noxubee County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.
    • Cooksville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Ravine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Harlan ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Harlan is located in Noxubee County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Benevola, see our County-by-County Page for Benevola.

Cemeteries Near Benevola ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Benevola.

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 Benevola - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Benevola covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.

  • Bethesda Churchyard Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Forest Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Sixteenth Section Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Henderson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Manatua Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Zion Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Eatman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ellis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hopewell Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (450 more) ...
    • Shea Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Shedd Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Screptah Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Benevola had a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Benevola, with the one closest to Benevola listed first.

  • Pleasant Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Grove is located in Pickens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
  • Mantua
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Olney
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lewiston
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Union
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Union is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
  • Pleasant Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Ridge is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
  • Dillburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dillburg is located in Pickens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillburg
  • Bridgeville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bridgeville is located in Pickens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeville
  • Knoxville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Knoxville is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
  • Romulus
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Romulus is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romulus
  • Clinton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Garden
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Vienna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Vienna is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
    • West Greene
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sylvan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Sylvan is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Benevola. See our List of 1890's Communities around Benevola.

Newspapers Published in Benevola ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Benevola.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Benevola, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Benevola.

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 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 Benevola:

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 Benevola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Benevola) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.