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 Clear Springs (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 Clear Springs. 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 Clear Springs ...
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 Clear Springs: Clear Spgs. (or less commonly used: Clear Spngs. or Clear Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Clear Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Clear Springs.
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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Clear Springs is located in Talladega 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 Talladega County: Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Saint Clair & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Clear Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Clear Springs:
- Talladega County (The home county of Clear Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Lincoln
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Colony
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Talladega
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Grant Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Coldwater
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- McElderry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Silver Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Ironaton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Logan Martin Dam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Nottingham ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Nottingham is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Former name for Nottingham:
- Jones Camp Ground
- Waldo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Straight Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Appalachian
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Dale ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Allgood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Remlap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Compton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Hoods Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Oneonta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Eastaboga
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Macon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Bynum
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Eulaton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Eulaton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulaton
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Morrisville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Ohatchee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cobb Town is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
- Bera ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bera is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bera
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Erin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Chambers Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Elder
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Haynes Crossroad
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Delta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ashland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Barfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Harkins Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Lineville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Abel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Hollis Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Rainbow City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cobb City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Attalla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Glencoe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Nix ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Burns Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Alabama City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Alabama City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama City
- East Gadsden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Leeds
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Breakstone Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- Ayres
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Cedar Grove ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Roper
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Roper is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Scott City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Scott City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Cahaba Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Lola City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lola City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola City
- Trussville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Clay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McCombs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Alton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Riverside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Seddon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Avondale Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Coal City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Cropwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Pell City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Ragland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Cook's Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Odenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Calcis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Sterrett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Vandiver
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dunnavant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Harpersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Dunavant
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Westover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Shoal Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Bridgeton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Clear Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Clear Springs.
Cemeteries Near Clear Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clear Springs.
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 Clear Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Clear Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- McCellan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Robert Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mays Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Refuge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Walkers Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pattons Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Old Mitchell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wester Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Valley Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Valley Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the south of Pell City.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26861 <3>
- Continue List (293 more) ...
- Groce - Montgomery Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Plum Springs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Creswell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Clear Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Clear Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clear Springs, with the one closest to Clear Springs listed first.
- Lincoln
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Eureka
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Eureka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Riverside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Refuge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Refuge is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
- Seddon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Stemley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stemley is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stemley
- Cropwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Turner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Turner is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Eastaboga
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Coal City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Pell City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Eden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Fairview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fairview is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Clear Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clear Springs.
Newspapers Published in Clear Springs ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clear Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clear Springs, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clear Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Clear Springs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Talladega County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby 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> | 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- Clear Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Clear Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |