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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Brent (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 Brent. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Brent is located in Bibb 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 Bibb County: Chilton, Hale, Jefferson, Perry, Shelby & Tuscaloosa.

Below are the counties that are near Brent. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brent:

  • Bibb County     (The home county of Brent)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brent, with the one closest to Brent listed first.
    • Centreville
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • East Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • East Town is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Town
    • Scottsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Pratt Ferry ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Pondville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Egypt ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Egypt is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
    • Fikestown ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Fikestown is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fikestown
    • Active
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Blocton ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Blocton is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
    • Bucktown ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Bucktown is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
    • Corinne ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Corinne is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
    • West Blocton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Burmah ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Burmah is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
  • Autauga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brent, with the one closest to Brent listed first.
    • Vine Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jones
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Chilton County
  • Dallas County
    • Plantersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Plantersville is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plantersville
  • Hale County
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brent, with the one closest to Brent listed first.
    • Kimbrell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Kimbrell is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrell
    • McCalla
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • North Johns
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • North Johns is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johns
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
    • Greenwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Adger
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Perry County
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brent, with the one closest to Brent listed first.
    • Aden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wilton is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
      • Former names for Wilton:
      • Birmingham Junction
      • Bismarck
      • Catoosa
      • Woods
      • Woodsborough
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilton
      • From Brent to Wilton
    • Montevallo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sawmill Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
    • Brantleyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Maylene
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bamford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bamford is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
    • Calera
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Tulse
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tulse is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
    • Alabaster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Saginaw
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
    • Siluria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Tuscaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brent, with the one closest to Brent listed first.
    • Pearson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hagler
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Vance
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Vance is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
    • Duncanville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Duncanville is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
    • Coaling
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
    • Tannehill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
    • Brookwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake View
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Abernant
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Cottondale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Peterson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Alberta City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Alberta City is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta City
    • Holt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Holt is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brent, see our County-by-County Page for Brent.

Cemeteries Near Brent ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brent.

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 Brent - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brent covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brent, with the one closest to Brent listed first.

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 Brent in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brent.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Brent, with the one closest to Brent listed first.

  • Centreville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Harrisburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Harrisburg is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Abercrombie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Abercrombie is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abercrombie
  • Scottsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Pondville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Trio
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Trio is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trio
  • Bethlehem
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Oakmulgee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jericho
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Adler
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Adler is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adler
  • Blocton ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Blocton is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
  • Hagler
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Ironville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Ironville is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
    • Levert
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Levert is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levert
    • Pinetucky
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Pinetucky is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinetucky

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brent. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brent.

Newspapers Published in Brent ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brent.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brent, 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 Brent.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Brent:

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 Brent, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Brent) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.