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 Cardiff (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 Cardiff. 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.
Cardiff is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Cardiff. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cardiff:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Cardiff)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Pinkney City
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Pinkney City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney City
- Brookside
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brookside is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
- Daisey City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Daisey City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisey City
- Alden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Alden is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
- Graysville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Watson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Watson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- New Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Town is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Scarlet Town
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Scarlet Town is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarlet Town
- Adamsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Westwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Westwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Forestdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Forestdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Warrior
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Red Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Red Hill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- Dale ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Reid's
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- County Line
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Smoke Rise
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- Hayden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Compton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Dallas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Blount Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Remlap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Arkadelphia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Colony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Black Bottom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Damascus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Bremen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ardell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ardell is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
- Dodge City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Garden City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Hanceville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Trimble
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Trimble is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Argo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Parsons
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Woodland Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Acmar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Moody
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
- Brompton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Margaret
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Springville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Inverness
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Lake Purdy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Bridgeton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Meadowbrook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Indian Springs Village
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Shoal Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Dunnavant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Tacoa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Dunavant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Bamford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Falliston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Helena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Bull City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Tannehill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Abernant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Kellerman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Quinton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Burnwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Oakahalla
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Wyatt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Twilley Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Yerkwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Dora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sumiton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Reeds Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Red Star
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Creel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cardiff, see our County-by-County Page for Cardiff.
Cemeteries Near Cardiff ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cardiff.
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 Cardiff - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cardiff covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Cardiff Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Glasgow Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bivens Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Linns Crossing Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Linn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Adams - Heaton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Crestview Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hodges Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Midway Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (332 more) ...
- Crumley Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Adams Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bagley Bend Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Cardiff had a population of 203 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cardiff had a population of 55 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cardiff, with the one closest to Cardiff listed first.
- Blossburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Blossburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossburg
- Brookside
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brookside is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
- Linn Crossing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Linn Crossing is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Crossing
- Adamsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coalburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coalburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
- Former name for Coalburg:
- Coalburgh
- Porter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Porter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Sandusky
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sandusky is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Pratt Mines ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pratt Mines is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Mines
- Robbins Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
- Thomas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Lewisburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lewisburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
- Wylam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Wylam is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylam
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Ensley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ensley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensley
- North Birmingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Birmingham is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Birmingham
- Bartonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bartonville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cardiff. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cardiff.
Newspapers Published in Cardiff ...
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 188 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cardiff.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cardiff, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cardiff.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Cardiff:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Tuscaloosa County
- Walker 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 Cardiff, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cardiff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |