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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Bethel. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Bethel to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bethel, please Contact Us.

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 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 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Bethel is historic, it would have been located within present day Sumter County.

To see how the shape of Alabama's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Sumter County: Choctaw, Greene, Marengo, Pickens, Kemper (MS), Lauderdale (MS) & Noxubee (MS).

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:

  • Sumter County     (The home county of Bethel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Sumterville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumterville
      • Sumterville is located in Sumter County
    • Sledge ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sledge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sledge
      • Sledge is located in Sumter County
    • Emelle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emelle
      • Emelle is located in Sumter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Boyd
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boyd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
      • Boyd is located in Sumter County
    • Epes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Epes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epes
      • Epes is located in Sumter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
    • Geiger
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geiger
      • Geiger is located in Sumter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
    • Gainesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gainesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
      • Gainesville is located in Sumter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
    • Livingston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livingston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Livingston is located in Sumter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Livingston <3>
    • Panola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Panola is located in Sumter County
    • Moore Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Town
      • Moore Town is located in Sumter County
    • York
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
      • York is located in Sumter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,218 people
      • Former names for York:
      • New York Station
      • York Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York <3>
    • Brewersville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewersville
      • Brewersville is located in Sumter County
    • Arrington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrington
      • Arrington is located in Sumter County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Miller
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miller have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
      • Miller is located in Greene County
    • Boligee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lizzieville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizzieville
      • Lizzieville is located in Greene County
    • West Greene
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Greene
      • West Greene is located in Greene County
    • Clinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Clinton is located in Greene County
    • Eutaw
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Forkland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkland
      • Forkland is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
    • Lewiston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewiston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
      • Lewiston is located in Greene County
    • Union
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
  • Marengo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Demopolis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Aigleville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aigleville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aigleville
      • Aigleville is located in Marengo County
  • Pickens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Aliceville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Memphis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memphis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Memphis is located in Pickens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26 people
    • McMullen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McMullen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullen
      • McMullen is located in Pickens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9 people
    • Garden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden
      • Garden is located in Pickens County
  • Kemper County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Giles
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles
      • Giles is located in Kemper County (MS)
    • Electric Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electric Mills
      • Electric Mills is located in Kemper County (MS)
    • Porterville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
      • Porterville is located in Kemper County (MS)
    • Scooba
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scooba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scooba
      • Scooba is located in Kemper County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scooba <3>
    • De Kalb
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
      • De Kalb is located in Kemper County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,005 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Kalb <3>
  • Lauderdale County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Lockhart
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockhart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
      • Lockhart is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
    • Smith
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
      • Smith is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
    • Daleville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daleville
      • Daleville is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
    • Russell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Russell is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Marion is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <3>
  • Noxubee County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
    • Cooksville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
      • Cooksville is located in Noxubee County (MS)
    • Shuqualak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shuqualak have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shuqualak
      • Shuqualak is located in Noxubee County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethel, see our County-by-County Page for 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 46 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 23 miles [37 km]<5>. 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:

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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.

  • Roy Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roy Cemetery
  • Hutchenson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hutchenson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hutchenson Cemetery
  • Central Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Central Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Central Cemetery
  • Bell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bell Cemetery
  • Old Side Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Side Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Side Cemetery
  • Brown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
  • Brown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
  • Boney Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boney Cemetery
  • Danner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Danner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Danner Cemetery
  • New Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Bethel Cemetery
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shiloh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shiloh Cemetery
  • McCainville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCainville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCainville Cemetery
  • Continue List   (314 more) ...
    • Boyd Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boyd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boyd Cemetery
    • Parker Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parker Cemetery
    • Souls Chapel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Souls Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Souls Chapel Cemetery

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.

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.

  • Hamner
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamner
    • Hamner is located in Sumter County
  • Sumterville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumterville
    • Sumterville is located in Sumter County
  • Boyd
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boyd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Boyd is located in Sumter County
  • Giles
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles
    • Giles is located in Kemper County (MS)
  • Livingston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livingston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
    • Livingston is located in Sumter County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,135 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Livingston <3>
  • Porterville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
    • Porterville is located in Kemper County (MS)
  • Narkeeta ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Narkeeta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narkeeta
    • Narkeeta is located in Kemper County (MS)
  • Miller
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miller have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
    • Miller is located in Greene County
  • Sucarnoochee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sucarnoochee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sucarnoochee
    • Sucarnoochee is located in Kemper County (MS)
  • Enondale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enondale
    • Enondale is located in Kemper County (MS)
  • Scooba
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scooba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scooba
    • Scooba is located in Kemper County (MS)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scooba <3>
  • Binnsville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Binnsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binnsville
    • Binnsville is located in Kemper County (MS)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Boligee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Tamola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamola
      • Tamola is located in Kemper County (MS)
    • Mount Hebron
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hebron have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hebron
      • Mount Hebron is located in Greene County

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.

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Bethel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bethel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.7299, Longitude: -88.2792       In this case, the coordinates for Bethel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024