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 Chinn (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 Chinn. 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 and hospitals 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.
Chinn 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 Chinn. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chinn:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Chinn)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chinn, with the one closest to Chinn listed first.
- Bullard Shoals ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bullard Shoals is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard Shoals
- McCalla
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Adger
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- North Johns
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- North Johns is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Mobile Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mobile Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile Junction
- Old Jonesboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Old Jonesboro is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Jonesboro
- Hueytown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bessemer
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Blue Creek Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Creek Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Creek Junction
- New Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Village
- Concord
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Industrial City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Industrial City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industrial City
- Kimbrell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kimbrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrell
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chinn, with the one closest to Chinn listed first.
- Green Pond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodstock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Blocton Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- North Bibb
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Eddings
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Belle Ellen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Burmah ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Burmah is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
- Italian Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Seymour
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- West Blocton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Blount County
- Dale ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chinn, with the one closest to Chinn listed first.
- Bamford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Helena
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Falliston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Tacoa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Tulse
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Sawmill Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
- Alabaster
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brantleyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brantleyville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantleyville
- Aden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Aden is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aden
- Maylene
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Siluria
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Siluria is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siluria
- Indian Springs Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- 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
- Pelham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chinn, with the one closest to Chinn listed first.
- Tannehill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(8 miles [12.9 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Bull City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Kellerman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Vance
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brookwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Coaling
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
- Peterson
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
- Cottondale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Holt is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
- Wood Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Wood Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Village
- Alberta City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alberta City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta City
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chinn, with the one closest to Chinn listed first.
- Quinton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Reeds Ferry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Twilley Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Yerkwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Wyatt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Burnwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Oakahalla
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Red Star
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Goodsprings
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Goodsprings is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Barney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Dora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Dovertown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dovertown is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
- Sumiton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- 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>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chinn, see our County-by-County Page for Chinn.
Cemeteries Near Chinn ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chinn.
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 Chinn - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chinn covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chinn, with the one closest to Chinn listed first.
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Lincoln Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Adger Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adger Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Adger Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Adger.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21198 <2>
- Valley Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Virginia Mines Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Beth-El Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- George Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairington Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bucksville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Smithson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Massey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (368 more) ...
- Sadlers Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Highland Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 in 1895, Chinn had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chinn, with the one closest to Chinn listed first.
- Bullard Shoals ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bullard Shoals is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard Shoals
- McCalla
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- McAdory
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- McAdory is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdory
- Adger
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sumter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sumter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
- Old Jonesboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Old Jonesboro is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Jonesboro
- Bessemer
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Blue Creek Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Creek Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Creek Junction
- Sloss
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sloss is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloss
- Brickyard Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brickyard Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Junction
- Tannehill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Woodward Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Woodward Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward Junction
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Collins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Collins is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Ezra
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ezra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezra
- Morgan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Morgan is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chinn. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chinn.
Newspapers Published in Chinn ...
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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chinn.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chinn, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chinn.
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 Chinn:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Blount 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 Chinn, 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 from Point A (ie- Chinn) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |