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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Brentwood is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Jackson, Limestone, Marshall, Morgan, Franklin (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
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:
- Madison County (The home county of Brentwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Madison
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Rideout Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Monrovia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Chelsea
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Triana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Huntsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jeff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Slaughter Landing is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter Landing
- Slaughter Landing has also been known as:
- Slaughter Ferry
- Lincoln
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Greenwycke Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Harvest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- English Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Normal
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Cullman County
- Joppa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Paint Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Trenton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Woodville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hollytree
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Princeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Pleasant Groves
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Groves is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Groves
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Confluence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Dells Vista Shores
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Hillsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Oakville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Chalybeate Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Capshaw
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Swancott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Westlake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Belle Mina
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Mooresville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmount
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Center Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Country Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Harris Station
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Orrville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Tanner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Athens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Ruth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Union Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hog Jaw
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hog Jaw is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Jaw
- Friendship
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Friendship is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Pine Lake Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Lake Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake Village
- Arab
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Deposit ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Deposit is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Deposit
- Grassy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grassy is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
- Scant City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Scant City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scant City
- Grant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Winton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Lacey's Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Valhermoso Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Priceville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Somerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Burningtree Mountain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Simpson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Austinville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Flint City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Moulton Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Russell Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Ardmore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Elkmont Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Wheelerton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Prospect
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stella
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brentwood, with the one closest to Brentwood listed first.
- Cash Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Camargo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Coldwater
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Dellrose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Molino
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Park City Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Howell Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Pearl City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pearl City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Corder Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Corder Crossroads is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corder Crossroads
- Flintville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Flintville is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 627 people
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.
- Camper Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Gooch - Dublin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Royal Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Madison Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Faith Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Green Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Farley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Washington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Bibb Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Palmer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Moore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Betts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (1016 more) ...
- Bailey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Whitworth Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Withers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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 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.
- Greenbrier
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Greenbrier is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbrier
- Monrovia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Swancott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Triana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Huntsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jeff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Cluttsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cluttsville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cluttsville
- Mooresville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Talucah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Talucah is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talucah
- Mercury
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Harris Station
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Whitesburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Haden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Haden is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Gladstone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gladstone is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
- Decatur Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Decatur Junction is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Junction
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 82 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 9 miles [14.5 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 start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- Jackson County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Giles County
- Lincoln 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 Brentwood, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Brentwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |