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 Brentwood (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 Brentwood. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Brentwood is located in Blount 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 Blount County: Cullman, Etowah, Jefferson, Marshall, Saint Clair, Walker & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Brentwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brentwood:
- Blount County (The home county of Brentwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Compton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Remlap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Dallas
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- County Line
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Adville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Locust Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Deavers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Allgood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Hayden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dale ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Black Bottom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Garden City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Colony
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Damascus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Hanceville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Arkadelphia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- White City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Dodge City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Bremen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Baileytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Nix ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Altoona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Walnut Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Village Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Palmerdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Masseyline
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Ayres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Clay
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Crosston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crosston is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
- Pinson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Trafford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Majestic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Majestic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
- Chalkville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Grayson Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Grayson Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson Valley
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Argo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Margaret
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Parsons
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Saint Clair Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Acmar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Branchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Moody
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
- Odenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Brompton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Dunnavant
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Vandiver
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Shoal Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Lake Purdy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Sterrett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Inverness
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Calcis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Indian Springs Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
- Westover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Colony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Logan Martin Dam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- East Bend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Lincoln
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Creel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Sumiton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
- Oakahalla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Burnwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Dora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Quinton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sipsey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sipsey is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipsey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Wyatt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Twilley Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brentwood, see our County-by-County Page for Brentwood.
Cemeteries Near Brentwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brentwood.
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 Brentwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brentwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Hopewell UMC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Old Compton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Remlap Methodist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Ayres.
- Lees Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Love Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Vandiver Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- County Line Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Creel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hughes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pinson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (326 more) ...
- Holston Chapel UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Springs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty - Minter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty - Minter Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Liberty - Minter Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northeast of Morris.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #190975 <2>
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.<4>
While we didn't find Brentwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brentwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Compton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Remlap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Ayres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Selfville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Clay
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Viola ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Viola is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Adville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Chalkville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Argo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Woodward
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Woodward is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Little Warrior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Coaldale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Coaldale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Morris
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Morris is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brentwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brentwood.
Newspapers Published in Brentwood ...
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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brentwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brentwood, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brentwood.
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 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 Brentwood:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Blount County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega County
- Walker 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> | 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- Brentwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Brentwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |