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 Bristow (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 Bristow. 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 hospitals and 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.
Bristow is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Calhoun, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Chattooga (GA), Floyd (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Bristow. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bristow:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Bristow)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Leesburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Anderson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Centre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Cedar Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Moshat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Tucker Crossroads
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Ball Flat
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Gaylesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Collins ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Colvins Gap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Piedmont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Mack ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Merrellton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Dailey
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Oak Level
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Nances Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Borden Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Collinsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sigsbee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Cotnam
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Dog Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Lickskillet
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Dawson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Crossville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Adamsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Adamsburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Hale ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Ballplay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Turkeytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Coat's Bend
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Keener
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Anderson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Yancy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Banner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Edwardsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Duck Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Rock City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Dutton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Langston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Section
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Boaz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Peters ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Hustleville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Albertville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Whitesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Mid ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Rabbit Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Horton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Rayburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rayburn is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Columbus City Ferry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Columbus City Ferry is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City Ferry
- Saint Clair County
- Steele
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Lyerly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Menlo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menlo <1>
- Cloudland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Cave Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Coosa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Etna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bristow, see our County-by-County Page for Bristow.
Cemeteries Near Bristow ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bristow.
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 Bristow - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bristow covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Mackey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Yellow Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hunts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Lookout Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Rock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pratt Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the north of Centre.
- The Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tates Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26599 <3>
- Continue List (396 more) ...
- Chesnut Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<4>
While we didn't find Bristow in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bristow.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bristow, with the one closest to Bristow listed first.
- Mackey
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mackey is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Leesburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Sand Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Leonard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Leonard is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Slackland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Slackland is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackland
- Maple Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Round Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Round Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Mountain
- Plano
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Centre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Collinsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Hill ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Hill is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Tabor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Tabor is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Portersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Portersville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
- Loveless
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Loveless is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveless
- Turkeytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bristow. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bristow.
Newspapers Published in Bristow ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bristow.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bristow, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bristow.
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 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 Bristow:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Polk 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bristow) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Bristow, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |