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.
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 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 northeast 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 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.
Blue Springs is located in Covington 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 Covington County: Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Escambia, Geneva, Okaloosa (FL) & Walton (FL).
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:
- Covington 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.
- Onycha
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Onycha is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onycha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Horn Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Horn Hill is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Beulah
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Beulah is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Babbie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Babbie is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 599 people
- Opp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Opp is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,313 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Opp <1>
- County Line
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- County Line is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Sanford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sanford is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Libertyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Libertyville is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Red Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Red Oak is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Antioch
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Antioch is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Andalusia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carolina
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Carolina is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
- Butler County
- Oaky Streak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oaky Streak is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaky Streak
- Coffee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Kinston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Alberton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alberton is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberton
- Curtis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Curtis is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Danleys Crossroads
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Danleys Crossroads is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danleys Crossroads
- Goodman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Goodman is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodman
- Pine Level
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pine Level is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Elba
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Battens Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Battens Crossroads is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battens Crossroads
- Central City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Central City is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- New Brockton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Zoar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Zoar is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoar
- Clintonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clintonville is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
- Conecuh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Paul
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Paul is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paul
- Brooklyn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Brooklyn is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Mount Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Union is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Crenshaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Dozier
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bullock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bullock is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullock
- Leon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Leon is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Brantley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Merrill Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Merrill Mill is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill Mill
- Peacock ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Peacock is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock
- Escambia County
- Bradley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bradley is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Geneva County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Samson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Coffee Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Coffee Springs is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Chancellor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Chancellor is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor
- Costilla ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Costilla is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costilla
- Scranton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Scranton is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scranton
- Geneva
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Eunola ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Eunola is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eunola
- Bellwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bellwood is located in Geneva County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Okaloosa County (FL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Svea
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Svea is located in Okaloosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
- Laurel Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Okaloosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Walton County (FL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
- Paxton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Walton County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
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.
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Beulah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oakey Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bethany Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peaceful Acres Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Acres Memorial Gardens
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Peaceful Acres Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Opp.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #25315 <2>
- Adams Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sanford Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Five Runs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Kinston Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Judson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Harrison Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (202 more) ...
- New Chapel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rhoades Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hillside Memorial Gardens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
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.
- Green Bay
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Green Bay is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bay
- Wiggins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Wiggins is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiggins
- Opine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Opine is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opine
- Alberton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alberton is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberton
- Andalusia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Florala
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Curtis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Curtis is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- River Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- River Falls is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Rose Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rose Hill is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Beda
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Beda is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beda
- Damascus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Damascus is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Fairfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fairfield is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Elba
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Edwardsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Edwardsville is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Dozier
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
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 42 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 17 miles [27.4 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 Covington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Butler County
- Coffee County
- Conecuh County
- Crenshaw County
- Escambia County
- Geneva County
- Okaloosa County
- Walton 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Blue Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |