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 Bowden Grove (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 Bowden Grove. 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 Bowden Grove ...
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 Bowden Grove: Bowden Grv.
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.
Bowden Grove is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Cleburne, Coosa, Randolph, Talladega & Tallapoosa.
Below are the counties that are near Bowden Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bowden Grove:
- Clay County (The home county of Bowden Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Erin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Ashland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Lineville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Barfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Harkins Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Elder
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Haynes Crossroad
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Delta
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cragford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Millerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Mellow Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Chambers Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Motley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Motley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Chinnabee ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Chinnabee is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinnabee
- Friendship
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Friendship is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Hobson City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hobson City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Oxford
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bynum
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Cobb Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Cobb Town is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
- De Armanville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Eulaton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Eulaton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulaton
- Oxanna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Eastaboga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anniston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Choccolocco
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Abanda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Abanda is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanda
- Red Level
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Red Level is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
- Clackville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clackville is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clackville
- Milltown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Milltown is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Abel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Hollis Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Micaville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Heflin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hightower
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Goodwater
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Kellyton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Stewartville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stewartville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Christiana
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Ofelia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Milner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Almond
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Almond is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
- Malone Ferry
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Malone Ferry is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone Ferry
- Rockdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Wedowee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Morrison Crossroad
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Forester Chapel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Forester Chapel is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester Chapel
- Wadley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Corbin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- Newell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Cropwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Riverside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Seddon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Avondale Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Glen City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Pell City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Chandler Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Ironaton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Waldo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- McElderry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Kentuck
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Munford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Grant Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Silver Run
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Talladega
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coldwater
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Abihka ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Abihka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abihka
- Rendalia
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rendalia is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
- Winterboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Winterboro is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterboro
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Goldville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Hackneyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Emuckfaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Cowpens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- New Site
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Daviston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Truett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
- Frog Eye
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Frog Eye is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Eye
- Matilda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Alexander City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bowden Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Bowden Grove.
Cemeteries Near Bowden Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowden Grove.
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 Bowden Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bowden Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Poplar Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hassell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Campbell Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Concord Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Springhill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Old Noles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Old Field Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ashland City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (314 more) ...
- County Memory Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Old Macedonia Primitive Baptist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Bowden Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bowden Grove.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bowden Grove, with the one closest to Bowden Grove listed first.
- Ashland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Lineville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Chandler Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Ironaton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Gibsonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Gibsonville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
- Millerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Hopeful
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hopeful is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeful
- Delta
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Waldo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Bluff Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bluff Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Mellow Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Dingler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Dingler is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dingler
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Christiana
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- McElderry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Hatchet Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hatchet Creek is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchet Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bowden Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bowden Grove.
Newspapers Published in Bowden Grove ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowden Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowden Grove, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowden Grove.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Bowden Grove:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Clay County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Chambers County
- Cleburne County
- Coosa County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Tallapoosa 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> | 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 Bowden Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bowden Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |