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 Bethel (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 Bethel. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Bethel 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 Bethel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethel:
- Cleburne County (The home county of Bethel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Muscadine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Fruithurst
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Oak Level
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Edwardsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Borden Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Ai
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Hopewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Heflin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hightower
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Ranburne
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Micaville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Abernathy ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Abernathy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Dailey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Piedmont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nances Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Iron City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- White Plains
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Collins ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Choccolocco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Jacksonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Merrellton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Fort McClellan ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Fort McClellan is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McClellan
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Tecumseh
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Spring Garden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Rock Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Exie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Ball Flat
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Noah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Tucker Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Moshat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Howells Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Kirk's Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Kirk's Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk's Grove
- Grantville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Grantville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Clay County
- Delta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Banner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Ballplay
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Hokes Bluff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Graham
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Graham is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Newell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Morrison Crossroad
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Cambridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Sewell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Sewell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
- Milner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Rockdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Woodland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bartow County (GA)
- Taylorsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Carroll County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Jake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jake is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jake
- Estimated population in 2019: 146 people
- Mount Zion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bowdon Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jonesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jonesville is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Bowdon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Temple
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn Estates
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fairlawn Estates is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 736 people
- Carrollton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Driskolls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Driskolls is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driskolls
- Hart Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hart Town is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart Town
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,437 people
- Tyus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tyus is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyus
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,525 people
- Roopville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Douglas County (GA)
- Villa Rica
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Cave Spring
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Brice
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Brice is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Silver Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wax
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wax is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wax
- Lindale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Atlanta Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Robealou Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Rosemont Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rosemont Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont Park
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Tallapoosa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Budapest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Tabernacle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tabernacle is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
- Buchanan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Felton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Waco
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Bremen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Morgan
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Morgan is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Heard County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Ephesus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ephesus is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Roosterville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Roosterville is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roosterville
- Paulding County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Braswell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Braswell is located in Paulding County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braswell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 386 people
- Hanlin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hanlin is located in Paulding County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlin
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,298 people
- Home Place Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Home Place Acres is located in Paulding County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Place Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,350 people
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Esom Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Etna
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Cedartown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grady ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Grady is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Estimated population in 2019: 290 people
- Rockmart
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Seney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Seney is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seney
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,412 people
- Aragon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethel, see our County-by-County Page for Bethel.
Cemeteries Near Bethel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethel.
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 Bethel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Perry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion West Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mann Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mars Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Steadman Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cherry Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Riverside Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Poplar Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Roe Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (405 more) ...
- Liner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Edgewood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Bethel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethel.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Coldwater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Coldwater is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Muscadine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Hooper
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hooper is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
- Poplar Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Poplar Springs is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Springs
- Tallapoosa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Little Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Little Creek is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Creek
- Edwardsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Dugdown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dugdown is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugdown
- Abernathy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Abernathy is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Palestine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Esom Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Felton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Borden Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethel.
Newspapers Published in Bethel ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethel, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethel.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Bethel:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cleburne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Etowah County
- Randolph County
- Bartow County
- Carroll County
- Douglas County
- Floyd County
- Haralson County
- Heard County
- Paulding 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 Bethel, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bethel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |