Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Browns Valley. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Browns Valley to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Browns Valley, please Contact Us.
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 Browns Valley (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 Browns Valley. 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 Browns Valley ...
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 Browns Valley: Browns Vly. (or less commonly used: Browns Vally. or Browns Vlly.)
- While the name of this community is Browns Valley, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<2>. So Browns Valley may originally have been Brown's Valley.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Browns Valley might be written as Brown Valley.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Browns Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Browns Valley.
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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Browns Valley is historic, it would have been located within present day Jackson 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 Jackson County: DeKalb, Madison, Marshall, Dade (GA), Franklin (TN) & Marion (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Browns Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Browns Valley:
- Jackson County (The home county of Browns Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Haynes Crossing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Haynes Crossing is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossing
- New Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Bridgeport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bridgeport is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
- Former name for Bridgeport:
- Jonesville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <3>
- Stevenson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Copenhagen ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Copenhagen is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
- Long Island
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Long Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- Rash
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Rash is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rash
- Bryant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Eliza
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Eliza is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Higdon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fackler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fackler is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fackler
- Narrows ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Narrows is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrows
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Cartersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cartersville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
- Beaty Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Beaty Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaty Crossroads
- Ider
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Henagar
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Snake Creek ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Snake Creek is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snake Creek
- Kaolin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kaolin is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaolin
- Sylvania
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sylvania is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvania
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,860 people
- Hammondville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hammondville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammondville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Mentone
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Head
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Powell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Powell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 908 people
- Bankhead
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bankhead is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankhead
- Cordell ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cordell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordell
- Catoosa County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Fort Oglethorpe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lakeview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lakeview is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Midway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Midway is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Newnan Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Newnan Springs is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newnan Springs
- Estimated population in 2019: 41,581 people
- Dade County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Cole City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
- Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
- Stewart Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Stewart Town is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart Town
- Trenton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rising Fawn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Morganville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Morganville is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganville
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,835 people
- Wildwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Walker County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Durham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Durham is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,257 people
- Thompsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Thompsonville is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Estimated population in 2019: 6,528 people
- Cassandra
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cassandra is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassandra
- Chattanooga Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Chattanooga Valley is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga Valley
- Lookout Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Moons
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Moons is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moons
- Flintstone
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Kensington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rock City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rock City is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Fantasy Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fantasy Hills is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fantasy Hills
- Estimated population in 2019: 316 people
- Happy Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Happy Valley is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Estimated population in 2019: 192 people
- Chickamauga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fairview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fairview is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Coffee County (TN)
- Ruthledge Ford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ruthledge Ford is located in Coffee County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthledge Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,116 people
- Franklin County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Anderson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Sal City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Sal City is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sal City
- Saint Marys
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Marys is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
- Estimated population in 2014: 785 people
- Sand Switch
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Sand Switch is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Switch
- Cowan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cowan is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,668 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowan <3>
- Sewanee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Estimated population in 2014: 318 people
- Greenhaw
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greenhaw is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhaw
- Decherd
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Beans Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Beans Creek is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
- Huntland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Grundy County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Monteagle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Lankford Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lankford Town is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Town
- White City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Tracy City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sartain Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sartain Springs is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartain Springs
- Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
- Pelham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Coalmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Coalmont is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
- Hamilton County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Lookout Mountain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Tiftonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Tiftonia is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiftonia
- Saint Elmo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Saint Elmo is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Lake Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Village is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
- Valley Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Valley Village is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Village
- Chattanooga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Midvale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Signal Hills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Signal Hills is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Signal Hills
- Signal Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Milbro Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Milbro Heights is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milbro Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,834 people
- Orchard Knob
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Orchard Knob is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Knob
- Ridgedale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ridgedale is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgedale
- Fountain Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fountain Village is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Village
- Marion County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Richard City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Richard City is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richard City
- Orme
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Orme is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orme
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- South Pittsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- New Hope
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Hope is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- Ketchall ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ketchall is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchall
- Kimball
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jasper
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Comfort
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Comfort is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comfort
- Vulcan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vulcan is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
- Whiteside
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Whiteside is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteside
- Whitwell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Powells Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Powells Crossroads is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powells Crossroads
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,352 people
- Greentown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Greentown is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Browns Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Browns Valley.
Cemeteries Near Browns Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Browns Valley.
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 Browns Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Browns Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Wilson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brown - Cox Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Greer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Potts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Walker Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hackworth Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cargile Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wimberley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cawlfield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ridley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Maxwell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (682 more) ...
- Abbott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Loyd Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Spring Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
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.
While we didn't find Browns Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Browns Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Browns Valley, with the one closest to Browns Valley listed first.
- Stevenson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bridgeport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bridgeport is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
- Former name for Bridgeport:
- Jonesville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <3>
- Fabius
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Fabius is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Long Island
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Long Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- South Pittsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Higdon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Wannville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wannville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wannville
- Ketchall ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ketchall is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchall
- Kirby Creek ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Kirby Creek is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby Creek
- Fackler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fackler is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fackler
- Cole City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
- Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Shellmound ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shellmound is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellmound
- Kimball
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rosalie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Rosalie is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosalie
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Browns Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Browns Valley.
Newspapers Published in Browns Valley ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Browns Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Browns Valley, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Browns Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Browns Valley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Catoosa County
- Dade County
- Walker County
- Coffee County
- Franklin County
- Grundy County
- Hamilton County
- Marion County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Browns Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Browns Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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. |