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 Brooks Estates (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 Brooks Estates. 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 Brooks Estates ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Brooks Estates: Brooks Ests.
- While the name of this community is Brooks Estates, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Brooks Estates may originally have been Brook's Estates.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Brooks Estates might be written as Brook Estates.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Brooks Estates. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Brooks Estates.
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 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.
Brooks Estates 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 Brooks Estates. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brooks Estates:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Brooks Estates)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Centre
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Moshat
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Tucker Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Anderson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Leesburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Noah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Howells Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Cedar Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ball Flat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Exie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Collins ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Piedmont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Dailey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Merrellton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Nances Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Mack ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Angel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Jacksonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Borden Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(22 miles [35.4 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 Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Lickskillet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Sigsbee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Collinsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dog Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Cotnam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Adamsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Adamsburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Dawson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Douglas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Rodentown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Bootsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bootsville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootsville
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Ballplay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Hale ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Banner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Coat's Bend
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Hokes Bluff
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Keener
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Edwardsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Yancy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Duck Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Boaz
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Peters ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Hustleville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Lyerly
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 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 <2>
- Berryton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Cloudland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Summerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Cave Spring
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Coosa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oreburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Robealou Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Atlanta Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Lindale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Brice
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Brice is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Chiaha ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Chiaha is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiaha
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,256 people
- Mount Berry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rosemont Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rosemont Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont Park
- Silver Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Central Grove ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Central Grove is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Grove
- Estimated population in 2019: 377 people
- Rome
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,764 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome <2>
- Haralson County (GA)
- Felton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Etna
(18 miles [29 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Grady ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Grady is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Estimated population in 2019: 290 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brooks Estates, see our County-by-County Page for Brooks Estates.
Cemeteries Near Brooks Estates ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brooks Estates.
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 Brooks Estates - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brooks Estates covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Cherokee Memory Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Garrett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Centre Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Neal Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Neal Hill Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Centre.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24852 <3>
- Parker Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Piney Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pratt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sewell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- 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]<4> 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>
- Providence Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (391 more) ...
- Sand Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Morrison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<5>
While we didn't find Brooks Estates in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brooks Estates.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brooks Estates, with the one closest to Brooks Estates listed first.
- Centre
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Plano
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Moshat
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Maple Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Bomar
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bomar is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomar
- Leesburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Round Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Round Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Mountain
- Noah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Cedar Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mackey
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mackey is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Key
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Key is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key
- Gnatville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gnatville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gnatville
- Exie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brooks Estates. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brooks Estates.
Newspapers Published in Brooks Estates ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brooks Estates.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brooks Estates, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brooks Estates.
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 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 Brooks Estates:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Marshall County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Haralson County
- Polk County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Brooks Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Brooks Estates, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |