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 Butler (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 Butler. 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 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.
Butler is located in Choctaw County and is the County Seat.
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 Choctaw County: Clarke, Marengo, Sumter, Washington, Clarke (MS), Lauderdale (MS) & Wayne (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Butler. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Butler:
- Choctaw County (The home county of Butler)
- The following are listed by their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Red Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Red Springs is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Lisman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lisman is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Lavaca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lavaca is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavaca
- Cromwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Cromwell is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
- Jachin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jachin is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jachin
- Choctaw City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Choctaw City is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw City
- Pushmataha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pushmataha is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pushmataha
- Needham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Needham is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
- Pennington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pennington is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Pelham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pelham is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Tompkinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tompkinsville is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
- Toxey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Toxey is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Okatuppa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Okatuppa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okatuppa
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Morvin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Morvin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morvin
- Campbell
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- West Bend
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- West Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
- Coffeeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fakit Chipunta ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fakit Chipunta is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fakit Chipunta
- Glover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Glover is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Thomasville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marengo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Putnam
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Barrons ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Barrons is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrons
- Nanafalia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
- Aimwell
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Aimwell is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aimwell
- Half Acre
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Half Acre is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Acre
- Former names for Half Acre:
- Hell's Half Acre
- Luther's Store
- Myrtlewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Sweet Water
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sweet Water is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Beckleys ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beckleys is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckleys
- Griffins ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Griffins is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins
- Moss ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Moss is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
- Blue Lock ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Lock is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Lock
- Dixon's Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dixon's Mills is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon's Mills
- Pin Hook
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pin Hook is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Hook
- Sumter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Kinterbish
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Kinterbish is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinterbish
- Derby
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Derby is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Ward
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ward is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Whitfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Whitfield is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
- Intercourse
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Intercourse is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Intercourse
- Bellamy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bellamy is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellamy
- Cuba
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cuba is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
- Arrington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Arrington is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrington
- York
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- York is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,218 people
- Former names for York:
- New York Station
- York Station
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York <1>
- Coatopa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Coatopa is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatopa
- Brewersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Brewersville is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewersville
- Clarke County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Junction City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Junction City is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Gin ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gin is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gin
- Quitman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- De Soto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- De Soto is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Lauderdale County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Whynot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whynot is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whynot
- Increase
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Increase is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Increase
- Increase has also been known as:
- Causeyville
- Vimville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vimville is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vimville
- Smith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Smith is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
- Russell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Russell is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Wayne County (MS)
- Matherville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Matherville is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Butler, see our County-by-County Page for Butler.
Cemeteries Near Butler ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Butler.
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 Butler - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Butler covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Butler City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Canathan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Providence Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Marvin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sykes Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lily Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Resthaven Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wesley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Spencer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- White Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cedar Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (235 more) ...
- Bush Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Morning Star Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Butler had a population of 178 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Butler had a population of 1,694 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Butler, with the one closest to Butler listed first.
- Mount Sterling
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Sterling is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Lusk
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lusk is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Ararat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ararat is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
- Robjohn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Robjohn is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robjohn
- Pushmataha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pushmataha is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pushmataha
- Putnam
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Nanafalia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
- Tompkinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tompkinsville is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
- Hinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hinton is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
- Morvin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Morvin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morvin
- Cunningham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cunningham is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
- Womack Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Womack Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack Hill
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Kinterbish
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Kinterbish is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinterbish
- Gaston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gaston is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
- Melvin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Melvin is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Butler. See our List of 1890's Communities around Butler.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Butler ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Butler.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Butler. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Butler and those printed in the larger area surrounding Butler.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> of Butler.
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 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 Butler:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Choctaw County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Marengo County
- Sumter County
- Clarke County
- Lauderdale County
- Wayne 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 Butler, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Butler) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |