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 Bethlehem (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 Bethlehem. 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.
Bethlehem is located in Etowah 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 Etowah County: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Bethlehem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethlehem:
- Etowah County (The home county of Bethlehem)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Nix ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Altoona
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Howelton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Benson ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Ivalee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Egypt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Attalla
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Aurora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Ridgeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Bird ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Taits Gap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Hoods Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Fridays Crossing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Wynnville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Appalachian
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Straight Mountain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Clarence
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Snead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Susan Moore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Highland Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Highmound
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Southside
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Cochran Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Oak Level
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Ohatchee
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Macon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Grayton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Cherokee County
- Ball Flat
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Holly Pond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Baileytown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Baileyton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Joppa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Hanceville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Berlin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Berlin is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- White City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rains ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Rodentown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Rogers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Cotnam
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Crossville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Whiton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Dawson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Geraldine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Collinsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Ayres
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Village Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Clay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Masseyline
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Palmerdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Bradford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Breakstone Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Trafford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Douglas
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Whitesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Horton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Boaz
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Hyatt
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Albertville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Street ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Morgan County
- Hulaco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Steele
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitney Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ragland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Springville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Wattsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Coal City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Odenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Argo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Margaret
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Lincoln
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Colony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethlehem, see our County-by-County Page for Bethlehem.
Cemeteries Near Bethlehem ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
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 Bethlehem - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethlehem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Gallant Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Sauls Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Altoona Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Moody Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Moodys Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Robbins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mauldin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Conn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Deerman Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Altoona - Walnut Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (367 more) ...
- Brasher Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dillard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Morton Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Bethlehem in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethlehem.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Nix ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Steele
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stanfield ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Stanfield is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanfield
- Redbud
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Redbud is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud
- Walnut Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Howelton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Bird ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Whitney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Whitney is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Hood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hood is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Norton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Norton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Littleton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Littleton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
- Champion
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Champion is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
- Ashville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethlehem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethlehem.
Newspapers Published in Bethlehem ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethlehem.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethlehem, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethlehem.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bethlehem:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Jefferson County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Saint Clair 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bethlehem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Bethlehem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |