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 Columbus City (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 Columbus City. 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.
Columbus City is located in Marshall 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 Marshall County: Blount, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Madison & Morgan.
Below are the counties that are near Columbus City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Columbus City:
- Marshall County (The home county of Columbus City)
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Columbus City Ferry
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Columbus City Ferry is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City Ferry
- Mid ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Grant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- North ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- North is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
- Fort Deposit ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fort Deposit is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Deposit
- Rayburn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rayburn is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Wyeth City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Wyeth City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeth City
- Guntersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Guntersville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guntersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,676 people
- Former names for Guntersville:
- Gunter's Ferry
- Gunter's Landing
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guntersville <1>
- Peters ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Mill Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Hustleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- McLarty
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Highmound
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Bright Star
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Summit
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Summit is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Brooksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Snead
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Birdie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Birdie is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdie
- Craig
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Wynnville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Clarence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Liberty
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Cherokee County
- Sand Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Joppa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Baileyton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Holly Pond
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Grove Oak
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Grove Oak is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Oak
- Rogers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Whiton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Chigger Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Hix ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hix is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hix
- Gibson Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Gibson Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson Crossroads
- Lakeview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lakeview is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Geraldine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rains ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Luttrell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Luttrell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luttrell
- Floy ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Floy is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floy
- Crossville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Sardis City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Greer ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Mountainboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Whitesboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitesboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesboro
- Aurora
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Carlisle
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Yancy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Duck Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Keener
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Egypt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Crudup
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Langston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Aspel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Woodville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Dry Cove ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dry Cove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Cove
- Lim Rock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lim Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lim Rock
- Paint Rock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Rock City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Section
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Larkinsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Larkinsville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkinsville
- Ferncliff ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ferncliff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncliff
- Scottsboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- New Hope
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Owens' Cross Roads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Berkley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Berkley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Gurley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Big Cove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Big Cove is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cove
- Whitesburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- English Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Brownsboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwycke Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Maysville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Maysville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Ryland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chelsea
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Morgan City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Briscoe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Apple Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Lacey's Spring
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ryan Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Hulaco
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Valhermoso Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Florette
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Winton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Columbus City, see our County-by-County Page for Columbus City.
Cemeteries Near Columbus City ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbus City.
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 Columbus City - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Columbus City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Chandler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kennamer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Prospect Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- McDonald Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Henry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Henryville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Haney Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Troup Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stewart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Troup Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Old Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cooper Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (665 more) ...
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Free Home Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Columbus City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Columbus City.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Columbus City, with the one closest to Columbus City listed first.
- Henryville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Henryville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henryville
- Meltonsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Meltonsville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meltonsville
- Grant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- North ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- North is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
- Mid ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Bucksnort
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bucksnort is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksnort
- Preston
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Preston is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Keel ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Keel is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keel
- Cottonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cottonville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
- Manchester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Manchester is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Martling
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Martling is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martling
- Pendergrass ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pendergrass is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendergrass
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Swearengin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Swearengin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swearengin
- Guntersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Guntersville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guntersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,676 people
- Former names for Guntersville:
- Gunter's Ferry
- Gunter's Landing
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guntersville <1>
- Jink ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jink is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jink
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Columbus City. See our List of 1890's Communities around Columbus City.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Columbus City ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbus City.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Columbus City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Columbus City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Columbus City.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3> of Columbus City.
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 either 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 Columbus City:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Marshall County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Madison County
- Morgan 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> | 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 Columbus City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Columbus City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |