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 Blue Springs (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 Blue Springs. 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 Blue Springs ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Blue Springs: Blue Spgs. (or less commonly used: Blue Spngs. or Blue Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Blue Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Blue Springs.
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 hospitals and 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.
Blue Springs 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 Blue Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blue Springs:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Blue Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Weaver
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Weaver is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,030 people
- Alexandria
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Booker T City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Booker T City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker T City
- Angel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Wellington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wellington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Leatherwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Peaceburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Peaceburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceburg
- Jacksonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Saks
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Saks is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saks
- Clark ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Clark is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- Bera ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bera is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bera
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Ball Flat
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Spring Garden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Exie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Moshat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Rock Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Centre
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Leesburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tecumseh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Anderson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Elder
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Delta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Erin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Barfield
(29 miles [46.7 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 Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Grantley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Abel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Heflin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Hollis Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Oak Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Fruithurst
(23 miles [37 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
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Ai
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Palestine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Micaville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Muscadine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Cobb City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Glencoe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Markton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Hokes Bluff
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Burns Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Banner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- 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
- Rainbow City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ballplay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Christiana
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- 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
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Ragland
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Steele
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Ashville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coal City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Wattsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Avondale Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Whitney Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Cropwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Pell City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Coldwater
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Kentuck
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Grant Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- McElderry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Lincoln
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ironaton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Colony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Talladega
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Waldo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Esom Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Etna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blue Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Blue Springs.
Cemeteries Near Blue Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Springs.
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 Blue Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blue Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Halls Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Alexandria Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Anniston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fourmile Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- New Mt. Sellers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Prisoner of War Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ft. McClellan Military Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tredagar - Boozer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gladden Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (289 more) ...
- Hampton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Seven Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Edgemont Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Blue Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blue Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Alexandria
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Peaceburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Peaceburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceburg
- Leatherwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Sulphur Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Blue Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Jacksonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bera ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bera is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bera
- Mack ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Duke
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Duke is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
- Morrisville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Morrisville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Anniston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Grayton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Oxanna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- White Plains
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blue Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blue Springs.
Newspapers Published in Blue Springs ...
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 Blue Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Springs, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Springs.
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 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 Blue Springs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Etowah County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega 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 Blue Springs, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |