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 Congo (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 Congo. 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 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.
Congo is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Calhoun, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Chattooga (GA), Floyd (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Congo. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Congo:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Congo)
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Taft
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Blanche
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blanche is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Ringgold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ringgold is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Gaylesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Springs ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cedar Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Broomtown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Broomtown is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomtown
- Lawrence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Sand Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- New Moon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Moon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moon
- Sterling ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sterling is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Anderson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Collins ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Piedmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Dailey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Palestine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Borden Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Lickskillet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Sigsbee
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Dog Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Adamsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Adamsburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Mount Vernon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Douglas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Fort Payne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bootsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bootsville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootsville
- Pine Ridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Ridge is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Collinsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Alpine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Alpine is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Hale ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Ballplay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coat's Bend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Keener
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Turkeytown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Yancy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Banner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Anderson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Duck Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Edwardsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Rock City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Central
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Central is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Dutton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Section
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ferncliff ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ferncliff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncliff
- Gray ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gray is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
- Pisgah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Langston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Peters ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Boaz
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hustleville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Mid ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Lyerly
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menlo <1>
- Cloudland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Summerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pennville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pennville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Euthtilloga ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Euthtilloga is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euthtilloga
- Population from the 2010 Census: 29,011 people
- Trion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Trion is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trion <1>
- Zula ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Zula is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zula
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Coosa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Cave Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Robealou Acres
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Central Grove ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Central Grove is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Grove
- Estimated population in 2019: 377 people
- Mount Berry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Armuchee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Atlanta Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Chiaha ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Chiaha is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiaha
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,256 people
- Glenwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Glenwood is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Rome
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,764 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome <1>
- Summerville Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Summerville Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville Park
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,243 people
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Etna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Walker County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Bronco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bronco is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronco
- Estimated population in 2019: 367 people
- Martindale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Martindale is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martindale
- Population from the 2010 Census: 35,795 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Congo, see our County-by-County Page for Congo.
Cemeteries Near Congo ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Congo.
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 Congo - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Congo covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Unity Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Black Oak Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Starling Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coffey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Daniels Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stories Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dixons Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cannon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Davis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Welcome Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Tuckers Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (415 more) ...
- Harris Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Randall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<2>
While we didn't find Congo in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Congo.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Congo, with the one closest to Congo listed first.
- Hurley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hurley is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
- Round Mountain
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Round Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Mountain
- Gaylesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ringgold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ringgold is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Loveless
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Loveless is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveless
- Cedar Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jamestown is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Sand Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Lawrence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Cedar Springs ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cedar Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Broomtown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Broomtown is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomtown
- Collbran
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Collbran is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collbran
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Sterling ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sterling is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Fullerton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fullerton is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerton
- New Moon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Moon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moon
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Congo. See our List of 1890's Communities around Congo.
Newspapers Published in Congo ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Congo.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Congo, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Congo.
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 Congo:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Polk 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> | 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 Congo, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Congo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |