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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Bethel is located in Limestone 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 Limestone County: Lauderdale, Lawrence, Madison, Morgan, Giles (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
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:
- Limestone County (The home county of Bethel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Caro
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Caro is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Ardmore
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Center Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Pettusville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Elkmont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Fairmount
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Hay's Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Capshaw
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Athens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Country Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Bethel
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Confluence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Estep ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Anderson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Cedar Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Rogersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Dells Vista Shores
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Corum ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Lawrence County
- Hillsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Toney
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Madison Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Elkwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elkwood is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwood
- Harvest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jeff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Monrovia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Hazel Green
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Meridianville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rideout Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Key's Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Key's Mill is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key's Mill
- Madison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Normal
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Decatur
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Moulton Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Austinville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Simpson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Russell Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Trinity
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Priceville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Burningtree Mountain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Flint City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Winton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Lacey's Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Ardmore
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Wheelerton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Prospect
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stella
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Pisgah
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pisgah is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Bradshaw ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bradshaw is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradshaw
- Frankewing
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Aymett Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Aymett Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aymett Town
- Green Field
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Appleton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Fall River
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Cash Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Coldwater
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Dellrose
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Camargo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Molino
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Pearl City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pearl City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Park City Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Harms
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Harms is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harms
- Boonshill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Boonshill is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonshill
- Howell Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Marshall County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Delina
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Delina is located in Marshall County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delina
- Cornersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- New Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- New Town is located in Marshall County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Talley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Talley is located in Marshall County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talley
- Yell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Yell is located in Marshall County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yell
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.
- Jones Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Johnson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Milhouse Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hardin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hatchett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Motes Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- German Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Adams - Crutcher Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Golightly Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Delap - Clemant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Concord Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (1263 more) ...
- Mitchell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crutcher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tibbs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
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 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.
- Caro
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Caro is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Sand Spring ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sand Spring is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Spring
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Elkmont Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Cash Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Madison Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Pettusville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Cluttsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cluttsville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cluttsville
- Blanche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Blanche is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Elkmont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hay's Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Jeff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Elkton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Gladstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Gladstone is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
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 26 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 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. 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 start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Limestone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Madison County
- Morgan County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Lincoln County
- Marshall 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 Bethel, 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' (or 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- Bethel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |