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 Betta - Life (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 Betta - Life. 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 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.
Betta - Life is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Betta - Life. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Betta - Life:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Betta - Life)
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Jacksonville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Booker T City
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Booker T City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker T City
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Merrellton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Angel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Blue Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Springs
- Weaver
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Weaver is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,030 people
- White Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Mack ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Fort McClellan ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fort McClellan is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McClellan
- Alexandria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Ball Flat
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Spring Garden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Exie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Rock Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Moshat
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Tecumseh
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Centre
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Leesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Noah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Elder
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Delta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Barfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Grantley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Heflin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Oak Level
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Abel
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Fruithurst
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Borden Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Hollis Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Ai
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Muscadine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Hopewell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- DeKalb County
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Cobb City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Glencoe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hokes Bluff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Banner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Markton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Burns Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Ballplay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- East Gadsden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Edwardsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Christiana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Milner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Morrison Crossroad
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Ragland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Steele
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Riverside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Seddon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Coal City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Wattsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Whitney Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Coldwater
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Kentuck
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Grant Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- McElderry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Lincoln
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ironaton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Colony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Tallapoosa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Budapest
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Esom Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Etna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Betta - Life, see our County-by-County Page for Betta - Life.
Cemeteries Near Betta - Life ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Betta - Life.
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 Betta - Life - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Betta - Life covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Jacksonville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Greenlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Munger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Whites Gap Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tredagar - Boozer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fourmile Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McCain's Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCain's Chapel Cemetery
- The McCain's Chapel Cemetery has also been known as:
- McCain Cemetery
- McCain's Chapel Methodist Cemetery
- McCain's Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24288 <2>
- Moore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Community Congregational Holiness Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wellborn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (310 more) ...
- Boozer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Halls Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Betta - Life in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Betta - Life.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Betta - Life, with the one closest to Betta - Life listed first.
- Jacksonville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Merrellton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- White Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Jenkins
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jenkins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
- Sulphur Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Mack ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Alexandria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Nances Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Leatherwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Duke
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Duke is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
- Peaceburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Peaceburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceburg
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Colvins Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Blue Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Betta - Life. See our List of 1890's Communities around Betta - Life.
Newspapers Published in Betta - Life ...
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 Betta - Life.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Betta - Life, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Betta - Life.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Betta - Life:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Haralson 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 Betta - Life, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Betta - Life) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |