RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Choctaw County >> Chapel Hill >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Chapel Hill (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 Chapel Hill. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Chapel Hill is located in Choctaw 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 Choctaw County: Clarke, Marengo, Sumter, Washington, Clarke (MS), Lauderdale (MS) & Wayne (MS).

Below are the counties that are near Chapel Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chapel Hill:

  • Choctaw County     (The home county of Chapel Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapel Hill, with the one closest to Chapel Hill listed first.
    • Jachin
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Jachin is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jachin
    • Pelham
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Pelham is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
    • Choctaw City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Choctaw City is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw City
    • Cromwell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Cromwell is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
    • Lisman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lisman is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
    • Pennington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Pennington is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
    • Lavaca
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Lavaca is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavaca
    • Tompkinsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Tompkinsville is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
    • Butler
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Pushmataha
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Pushmataha is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pushmataha
    • Cedahoma ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Cedahoma is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedahoma
    • Red Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Red Springs is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
    • Needham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Needham is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapel Hill, with the one closest to Chapel Hill listed first.
    • Morvin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Morvin is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morvin
    • Campbell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Campbell is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
    • West Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • West Bend is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
    • Glover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Glover is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
  • Marengo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapel Hill, with the one closest to Chapel Hill listed first.
    • Barrons ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrons is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrons
    • Myrtlewood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Griffins ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Griffins is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins
    • Nanafalia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
    • Beckleys ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Beckleys is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckleys
    • Half Acre
      (16 miles [25.7 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
    • Blue Lock ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Blue Lock is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Lock
    • Putnam
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Putnam is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
    • Aimwell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Aimwell is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aimwell
    • Pin Hook
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pin Hook is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Hook
    • Sweet Water
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sweet Water is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
    • Linden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Moss ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Moss is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapel Hill, with the one closest to Chapel Hill listed first.
    • Derby
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Derby is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
    • Kinterbish
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Kinterbish is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinterbish
    • Ward
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ward is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
    • Whitfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitfield is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
    • Intercourse
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Intercourse is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Intercourse
    • Bellamy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bellamy is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellamy
    • Arrington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Arrington is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrington
    • Cuba
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Cuba is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
    • Coatopa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Coatopa is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatopa
    • York
      (18 miles [29 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>
    • Brewersville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Brewersville is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewersville
    • Moore Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Moore Town is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Town
    • Livingston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Clarke County (MS)
    • Junction City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Junction City is located in Clarke County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
  • Lauderdale County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chapel Hill, with the one closest to Chapel Hill listed first.
    • Whynot
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Whynot is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whynot
    • Smith
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Smith is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
    • Increase
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Increase is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Increase
      • Increase has also been known as:
      • Causeyville
    • Vimville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Vimville is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vimville
    • Russell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Russell is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Lockhart
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lockhart is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
    • Marion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Marion is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chapel Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Chapel Hill.

Cemeteries Near Chapel Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chapel Hill.

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 Chapel Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chapel Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chapel Hill, with the one closest to Chapel Hill listed first.

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 Chapel Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Chapel Hill.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Chapel Hill, with the one closest to Chapel Hill listed first.

  • Robjohn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Robjohn is located in Choctaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robjohn
  • Gaston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Gaston is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
  • Kinterbish
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Kinterbish is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinterbish
  • Pushmataha
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pushmataha is located in Choctaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pushmataha
  • Butler
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Mount Sterling
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Mount Sterling is located in Choctaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
  • Tompkinsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Tompkinsville is located in Choctaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
  • Nanafalia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
  • Myrtlewood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
  • Hinton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hinton is located in Choctaw County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
  • Putnam
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Putnam is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
  • Cuba
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cuba is located in Sumter County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Whynot
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Whynot is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whynot
    • Ararat
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Ararat is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
    • Aimwell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Aimwell is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aimwell

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chapel Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chapel Hill.

Newspapers Published in Chapel Hill ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chapel Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chapel Hill, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chapel Hill.

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 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 Chapel Hill:

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 Chapel Hill, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chapel Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.