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 Center Star (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 Center Star. 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 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.
Center Star is located in Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County: Colbert, Lawrence, Limestone, Tishomingo (MS), Giles (TN), Hardin (TN), Lawrence (TN) & Wayne (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Center Star. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Center Star:
- Lauderdale County (The home county of Center Star)
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Elgin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Killen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Comer
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Atlas ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Atlas is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Arkdell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Arkdell is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkdell
- Corum ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Arnot
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Arnot is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnot
- Bailey Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Cedar Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Green Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Bainbridge ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bainbridge is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Ford City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nitrate City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Wilson Dam
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Leighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Muscle Shoals
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- South Florence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Sheffield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Tuscumbia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- White House Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- White House Springs is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Springs
- Franklin County
- Russellville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Wheeler Dam Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Red Bank
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Town Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Edmond
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Courtland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Courtland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Hatton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Hillsboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Concord
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Chalybeate Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Cairo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lentzville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Poplar Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Lester
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lester is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Ripley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Athens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Elkmont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Tanner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pettusville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Harris Station
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Orrville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Trinity
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Minor Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Stella
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Anthony Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Prospect
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Green Field
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Bodenham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bodenham is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodenham
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Rascal Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Saint Joseph
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Iron City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Loretto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Appleton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Busby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Westpoint
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Leoma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fall River
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Lawrenceburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- New Prospect
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Flatwoods
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Flatwoods is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Corning ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Cypress Inn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
- Collinwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Collinwood is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Center Star, see our County-by-County Page for Center Star.
Cemeteries Near Center Star ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Center Star.
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 Center Star - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Center Star covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Jordan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Old Tanyard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Harden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Crow Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hale Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Douglass Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Holden Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Barkley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Barkley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Elgin.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21402 <2>
- Butler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wilson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bluewater Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (774 more) ...
- Bailey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Peck Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Houston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
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 Center Star in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Center Star.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Center Star, with the one closest to Center Star listed first.
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Comer
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Bailey Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Green Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Lexington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rogersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Belew ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Saint Florian
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Leighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jacksonburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Jacksonburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonburg
- Mars Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mars Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Hill
- Saint Joseph
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Town Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pruitton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pruitton is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitton
- Webster ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Center Star. See our List of 1890's Communities around Center Star.
Newspapers Published in Center Star ...
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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Center Star.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Center Star, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Center Star.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Center Star:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lauderdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Franklin County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Morgan County
- Giles County
- Lawrence 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> | 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 Center Star, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Center Star) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |