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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 Cloverdale (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 Cloverdale. 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 northwest 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 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.

Cloverdale 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 Cloverdale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cloverdale:

  • Lauderdale County     (The home county of Cloverdale)
  • Colbert County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cloverdale, with the one closest to Cloverdale listed first.
    • Sheffield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • South Florence
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilson Dam
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
    • Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
    • Doubleheads Village ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Doubleheads Village is located in Colbert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doubleheads Village
    • Tuscumbia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Gatesville ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Gatesville is located in Colbert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
    • Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Muscle Shoals
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Crows Camp ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Crows Camp is located in Colbert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crows Camp
    • Cherokee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ford City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ford City is located in Colbert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
    • Chickasaw ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Chickasaw is located in Colbert County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
  • Franklin County
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cloverdale, with the one closest to Cloverdale listed first.
    • Wheeler Dam Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
    • Red Bank
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Edmond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Town Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Avoca ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Avoca is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
    • Mehama ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Tishomingo County (MS)
  • Hardin County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cloverdale, with the one closest to Cloverdale listed first.
    • Lowryville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Walnut Grove ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Hardin County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
    • Gibbs ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Gibbs is located in Hardin County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs
    • Bruton Branch
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • White Sulphur ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • White Sulphur is located in Hardin County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Sulphur
    • Smiths Fork ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Smiths Fork is located in Hardin County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Fork
    • Slab Town ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Slab Town is located in Hardin County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Town
    • Pyburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Nixon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Nixon is located in Hardin County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
      • Estimated population in 2014: 718 people
    • Nash Landing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Lawrence County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cloverdale, with the one closest to Cloverdale listed first.
    • Iron City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
    • Saint Joseph
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Rascal Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Westpoint
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Loretto
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Loretto is located in Lawrence County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loretto
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,781 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loretto <1>
    • Liberty Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
    • Busby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Leoma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Appleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Wayne County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cloverdale, with the one closest to Cloverdale listed first.
    • Cypress Inn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
    • Corning ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
    • Collinwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lutts
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lutts is located in Wayne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lutts
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,080 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lutts <1>
    • Sorby ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Sorby is located in Wayne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorby
    • Waynesboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Cloverdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cloverdale.

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 Cloverdale - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Paulk Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Wesley Chapel UMC Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Dowdy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Simmons Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Richardson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Parsonage Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Lindsey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Austin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pearson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Lipscomb Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Nolen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Darby Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (754 more) ...
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Sherrod Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Winbourn Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Cloverdale had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cypress Inn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Oakland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Oakland is located in Lauderdale County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
  • Webster ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Webster is located in Lauderdale County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
  • Kendell ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Kendell is located in Lauderdale County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendell
  • Rhodesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Rhodesville is located in Lauderdale County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodesville
  • Jacksonburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Gravelly Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Gravelly Springs is located in Lauderdale County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelly Springs
  • Mars Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Valley ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Pleasant Valley is located in Wayne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
  • Saint Florian
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Pruitton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Light ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Light is located in Wayne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light
    • Smithsonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Smithsonia is located in Lauderdale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithsonia
    • Florence
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Cloverdale ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cloverdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cloverdale, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cloverdale.

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 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 Cloverdale:

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- Cloverdale) 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 Cloverdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.