Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Big Spring. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Big Spring to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Big Spring, 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 Big Spring (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 Big Spring. 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.
Name Variations for Big Spring ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Spring: Big Spg. (or less commonly used: Big Spng. or Big Sprng.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Spring. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Spring.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 doctors 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Big Spring is historic, it would have been located within present day Marshall 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 Marshall County: Blount, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Madison & Morgan.
Below are the counties that are near Big Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Spring:
- Marshall County (The home county of Big Spring)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Hyatt
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Street ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Askea Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Askea Grove is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Askea Grove
- Horton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Douglas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Grassy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Grassy is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
- Gregory
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Arab
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- McLarty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Bright Star
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Highmound
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Brooksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Summit
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Craig
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Snead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Birdie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Birdie is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdie
- Clarence
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Susan Moore
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Liberty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Joppa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Baileyton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Holly Pond
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Baileytown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Fairview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Simcoe
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Simcoe is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simcoe
- Berlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- White City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- East Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- East Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Point
- Hanceville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Cullman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rains ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Rogers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Whiton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Rodentown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Crossville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Geraldine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Grove Oak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Grove Oak is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Oak
- Chigger Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Cotnam
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Dawson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Walnut Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Altoona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Aurora
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Greer ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Mountainboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Nix ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Carlisle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Sardis City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Egypt
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Howelton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Benson ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Woodville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Langston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Paint Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Aspel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- New Hope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Whitesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Owens' Cross Roads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Berkley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Berkley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- English Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Big Cove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Big Cove is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cove
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Slaughter Landing is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter Landing
- Slaughter Landing has also been known as:
- Slaughter Ferry
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Hulaco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Ryan Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Apple Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Briscoe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Morgan City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Florette
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Eva
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lacey's Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Valhermoso Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Winton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Somerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Lacon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lacon is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Steele
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Whitney Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Spring, see our County-by-County Page for Big Spring.
Cemeteries Near Big Spring ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Spring.
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 Big Spring - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Spring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Nixons Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cox Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Nesmith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Red Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Berry - Brookshire Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ebell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hopewell MB Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (526 more) ...
- Holland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Zion Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Concord Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.
While we didn't find Big Spring in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Spring.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
- Red Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Red Hill is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- McLarty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Hyatt
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Bright Star
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Sidney
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sidney is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
- Summit
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Brooksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Highmound
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Street ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Diamond
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Diamond is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
- Strawberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Strawberry is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Horton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Snead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Grassy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Grassy is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Spring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Spring.
Newspapers Published in Big Spring ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Spring.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Spring, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Spring.
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 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 Big Spring:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Marshall County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Madison County
- Morgan County
- Saint Clair County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
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 Big Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Big Spring) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |