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 Burnwell (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 Burnwell. 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 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 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.
Burnwell is located in Walker 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 Walker County: Blount, Cullman, Fayette, Jefferson, Marion, Tuscaloosa & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Burnwell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Burnwell:
- Walker County (The home county of Burnwell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Oakahalla
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Wyatt
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Dora
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Yerkwood
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Red Star
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Quinton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sumiton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Twilley Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Reeds Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Dovertown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dovertown is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
- Barney
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Cordova
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Red Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Hill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- Warrior
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Reid's
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Smoke Rise
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- County Line
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Blount Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Hayden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Dale ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Dallas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Bangor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bangor is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Compton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Adville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Arkadelphia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Ardell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ardell is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
- Colony
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- 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 northeast)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Black Bottom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Bremen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Damascus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Dodge City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Crane Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Trimble
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Trimble is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Garden City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Good Hope
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Good Hope is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Alta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Alta is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Berry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Media
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Media is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
- West Jefferson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Robbins Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
- Sayre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sayre is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayre
- Graysville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Alden is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
- Cardiff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Corner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner
- Black Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Black Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
- Short Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Adamsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brookside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brookside is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
- Pinkney City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pinkney City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney City
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Bridgeton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Indian Springs Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- 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
- Inverness
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Lake Purdy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Meadowbrook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Bull City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Kellerman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Abernant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Lake View
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Tannehill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Falls City ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Falls City is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
- Arley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Slick Ford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Slick Ford is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slick Ford
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Burnwell, see our County-by-County Page for Burnwell.
Cemeteries Near Burnwell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Burnwell.
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 Burnwell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Burnwell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Brasfield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Shanghai Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Friendship Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bagley Bend Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Adams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lawler Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Horizon Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fuller Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Maben Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Good Hope Baptist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (360 more) ...
- Mt. Cedrum Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fords Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Phillips Freewill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<3>
While we didn't find Burnwell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Burnwell.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Burnwell, with the one closest to Burnwell listed first.
- Dora
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Robbins Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
- Porter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Porter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Cordova
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Linn Crossing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Linn Crossing is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Crossing
- Blossburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Blossburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossburg
- Cardiff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Short Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Adamsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brookside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brookside is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
- Parrish
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Parrish is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 929 people
- Sloan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sloan is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Powellville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Powellville is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Jasper
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Toadvine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Toadvine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toadvine
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Burnwell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Burnwell.
Newspapers Published in Burnwell ...
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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Burnwell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Burnwell, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Burnwell.
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 either 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 Burnwell:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Walker County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Fayette County
- Jefferson County
- Shelby County
- Tuscaloosa County
- Winston 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> | 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 Burnwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Burnwell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |