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 Bethleham (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 Bethleham. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Bethleham is located in Tallapoosa 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 Tallapoosa County: Chambers, Clay, Coosa, Elmore, Lee, Macon & Randolph.
Below are the counties that are near Bethleham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethleham:
- Tallapoosa County (The home county of Bethleham)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- New Site
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Goldville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Cowpens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Emuckfaw
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Daviston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Matilda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Frog Eye
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Frog Eye is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Eye
- Hackneyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Truett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
- Jacksons' Gap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dudleyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dudleyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudleyville
- Alexander City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Abanda
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Abanda is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanda
- Milltown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Milltown is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Red Level
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Red Level is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
- Penton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Penton is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penton
- Clackville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Clackville is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clackville
- Blackman
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Blackman is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackman
- Chapel Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Chapel Hill is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
- Doublehead
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Doublehead is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doublehead
- Five Points
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Five Points is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- LaFayette
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Waverly
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Waverly is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Stroud
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Stroud is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroud
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Motley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Motley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Mellow Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Harkins Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Millerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Cragford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ashland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Lineville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Barfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Hollins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hollins is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
- Erin
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Chambers Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Haynes Crossroad
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Goodwater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kellyton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Fishpond
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fishpond is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishpond
- Ray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ray is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Mount Olive
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Cottage Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cottage Grove is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Hissop
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Nixburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Nixburg is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
- Equality
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Equality is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Stewartville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stewartville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Rockford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elmore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Irma ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Irma is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irma
- Jordan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jordan is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Seman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Seman is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seman
- Hale County
- Erie ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Erie is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Roxana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Roxana is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
- The Bottle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- The Bottle is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Bottle
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Almond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Almond is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
- Wadley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Forester Chapel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forester Chapel is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester Chapel
- Malone Ferry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Malone Ferry is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone Ferry
- Peavy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Peavy is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peavy
- Ofelia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Roanoke
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Christiana
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Wedowee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- West
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- West is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West
- Corbin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- High Shoals
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- High Shoals is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Chandler Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Abihka ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Abihka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abihka
- Ironaton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Sycamore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sycamore is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Waldo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Oldfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Rendalia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rendalia is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
- Sylacauga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Mignon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mignon is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethleham, see our County-by-County Page for Bethleham.
Cemeteries Near Bethleham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethleham.
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 Bethleham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethleham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Harmony Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Old Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hutchinson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Old Vickers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Antioch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Milam Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bethany Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jackson Field Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (351 more) ...
- Ephesus Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Daviston Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Leander Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Bethleham in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethleham.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethleham, with the one closest to Bethleham listed first.
- New Site
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Zana ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Zana is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
- Goldville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Cowpens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Emuckfaw
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Tohopeka
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Tohopeka is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tohopeka
- Matilda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Daviston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bluff Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Denver
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Denver is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Mellow Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Hackneyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Easton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Easton is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Buttston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Buttston is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttston
- Truett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethleham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethleham.
Newspapers Published in Bethleham ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethleham.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethleham, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethleham.
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 websites either 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 Bethleham:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Tallapoosa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chambers County
- Clay County
- Coosa County
- Elmore County
- Hale County
- Lee County
- Randolph County
- Talladega 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 Bethleham, 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' (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- Bethleham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |