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 Bessie Junction (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 Bessie Junction. 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 Bessie Junction ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Bessie Junction: Bessie Jct. (or less commonly used: Bessie Jctn.)
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Bessie Junction is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Bessie Junction. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bessie Junction:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Bessie Junction)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Media
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Media is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
- West Jefferson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- West Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Alden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Alden is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
- Graysville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pinkney City
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pinkney City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney City
- Adamsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Brookside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brookside is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
- Cardiff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Daisey City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Daisey City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisey City
- Sayre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sayre is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayre
- Maytown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Maytown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Mulga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Green Pond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Blocton Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- North Bibb
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Woodstock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Red Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Red Hill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- Warrior
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reid's
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Smoke Rise
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- Dale ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- County Line
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Hayden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Blount Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Selfville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Compton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Dallas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Remlap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Arkadelphia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Colony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Black Bottom
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Ardell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ardell is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
- Bremen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Damascus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Dodge City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Garden City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Fayette County
- Alta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Alta is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Argo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Parsons
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Woodland Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Inverness
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Lake Purdy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Bamford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Bridgeton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Indian Springs Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
- Meadowbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Tacoa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Helena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Falliston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Pelham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shoal Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Tulse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Bull City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Abernant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Lake View
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Kellerman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Tannehill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Quinton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Yerkwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Oakahalla
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Wyatt
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Reeds Ferry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Dora
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Red Star
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Sumiton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
- Barney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Dovertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dovertown is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
- Winston County
- Falls City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Falls City is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bessie Junction, see our County-by-County Page for Bessie Junction.
Cemeteries Near Bessie Junction ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bessie Junction.
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 Bessie Junction - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bessie Junction covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Maben Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bagley Bend Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Linn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Adams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shanghai Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Atwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Salter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Adams - Heaton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Crestview Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (329 more) ...
- Glasgow Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Linns Crossing Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Brasfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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>
While we didn't find Bessie Junction in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bessie Junction.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bessie Junction, with the one closest to Bessie Junction listed first.
- Porter
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Porter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Linn Crossing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Linn Crossing is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Crossing
- Adamsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Blossburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Blossburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossburg
- Brookside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brookside is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
- Cardiff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Short Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Dora
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Robbins Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
- Sandusky
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sandusky is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Pratt Mines ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pratt Mines is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Mines
- Coalburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Coalburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
- Former name for Coalburg:
- Coalburgh
- Continue List (23 more) ...
- Toadvine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Toadvine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toadvine
- Wylam
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wylam is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylam
- Ensley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ensley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bessie Junction. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bessie Junction.
Newspapers Published in Bessie Junction ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bessie Junction.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bessie Junction, 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 Bessie Junction.
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 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 Bessie Junction:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Fayette County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Tuscaloosa 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 Bessie Junction, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bessie Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |