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 Cedar 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 Cedar 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 Cedar 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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Cedar Valley: Cedar Vly. (or less commonly used: Cedar Vally. or Cedar Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Cedar Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Cedar 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Cedar Valley is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Jackson, Limestone, Marshall, Morgan, Franklin (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Cedar Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cedar Valley:
- Madison County (The home county of Cedar Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Normal
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chase
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Chase is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
- Mercury
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Meridianville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Rideout Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Country Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Country Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Huntsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jeff
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Monrovia
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Moore's Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moore's Mill is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Mill
- Chelsea
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Greenwycke Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Paint Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Hollytree
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Princeton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Trenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Beachboro ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Beachboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachboro
- Pleasant Groves
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Groves is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Groves
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Woodville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Francisco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Francisco is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
- Baileytown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Baileytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Estillfork
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Estillfork is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estillfork
- Lim Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lim Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lim Rock
- Cumberland Mountain Farm Colony ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Aspel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Capshaw
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Center Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Caro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Caro is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Fairmount
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Ardmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Swancott
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Country Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Belle Mina
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Westlake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Mooresville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Athens
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Grant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Ruth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ruth is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Fort Deposit ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Deposit is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Deposit
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Lacey's Spring
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Valhermoso Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Winton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Morgan City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Briscoe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Priceville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Somerville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Burningtree Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Moulton Heights
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Simpson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Austinville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Franklin County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Huntland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Creek is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
- Lexie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lexie is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexie
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Ardmore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Wheelerton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Prospect
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Frankewing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bradshaw ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bradshaw is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradshaw
- Pisgah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pisgah is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Camargo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Howell Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Cash Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Park City Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Coldwater
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Corder Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Corder Crossroads is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corder Crossroads
- Flintville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Flintville is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 627 people
- Molino
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Clarks Ferry
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Clarks Ferry is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
- Pearl City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pearl City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Dellrose
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cedar Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Cedar Valley.
Cemeteries Near Cedar Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cedar 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 Cedar Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cedar Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Jude Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Battle Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Cornelius Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wade Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Eldridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Dement Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Kelly Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Seay Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Taylor Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Johnson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harris Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (1151 more) ...
- Union Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Humphrey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Strong Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
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 Cedar Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cedar Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cedar Valley, with the one closest to Cedar Valley listed first.
- Gladstone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gladstone is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
- Mercury
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Meridianville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Monrovia
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Huntsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jeff
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Moore's Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moore's Mill is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Mill
- Cluttsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cluttsville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cluttsville
- Bell Factory
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Bell Factory is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Factory
- Madison Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Deposit
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Deposit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deposit
- Haden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Haden is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Brownsboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Maysville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Maysville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Key's Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Key's Mill is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key's Mill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cedar Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cedar Valley.
Newspapers Published in Cedar 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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cedar Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cedar Valley, 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 Cedar Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Cedar Valley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Jackson County
- Limestone County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Franklin County
- Giles County
- Lincoln 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 Cedar Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Cedar Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |