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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 College Woods (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 College Woods. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

College Woods is located in Mobile 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 Mobile County: Baldwin, Washington, George (MS), Greene (MS) & Jackson (MS).

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

  • Mobile County     (The home county of College Woods)
    • The following are listed by their distance from College Woods, with the one closest to College Woods listed first.
    • Saraland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Eight Mile
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Chickasaw
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Prichard
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Satsuma
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Country Club Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
    • Mobile
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Semmes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Creola
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Creola is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
    • Chunchula
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Chunchula is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
    • Axis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Axis is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axis
    • Barry Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Barry Village is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry Village
    • Tillmans Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from College Woods, with the one closest to College Woods listed first.
    • Spanish Fort
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bromley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
    • Park City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Park City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • Whitehouse Forks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Whitehouse Forks is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse Forks
    • Daphne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Stapleton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Stockton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Montrose
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bay Minette
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Fairhope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Loxley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Point Clear
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Latham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Latham is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from College Woods, with the one closest to College Woods listed first.
    • Fairford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Fairford is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairford
    • Malcolm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Malcolm is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
    • Sims Chapel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Sims Chapel is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sims Chapel
  • George County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from College Woods, with the one closest to College Woods listed first.
    • Howell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Howell is located in George County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Agricola
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Lucedale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Greene County (MS)
    • Brown Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Brown Town is located in Greene County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from College Woods, with the one closest to College Woods listed first.
    • Hurley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
    • Americus ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Americus is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
    • Wade
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
    • Helena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena

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

Cemeteries Near College Woods ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of College Woods.

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 College Woods - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Myers Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Whispering Pines Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Elam Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Whistler Colored Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Prichard Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Whistler Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Saraland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Baileys Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • West Gethsemane Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Indian Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Wolf Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Newell Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (240 more) ...
    • Shiloh Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mauvilla Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bear Fork Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)

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.<2>

While we didn't find College Woods in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of College Woods.

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

  • Kushla
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Kushla is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
  • Whistler
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Whistler is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
  • Prichard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Plateau
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Plateau is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
  • Oak Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Spring Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
  • Mobile
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Chunchula
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chunchula is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
  • Creola
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Creola is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
  • Cox
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Cox is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
  • Bromley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
  • Theodore
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Chastang
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Chastang is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chastang
    • Daphne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • D'Olive
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • D'Olive is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Olive

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

Newspapers Published in College Woods ...

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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around College Woods.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of College Woods, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for College Woods.

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 College Woods:

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>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 College Woods, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- College Woods) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.