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 Cotton Ridge (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 Cotton Ridge. 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 Cotton Ridge ...
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 Cotton Ridge: Cotton Rdg. (or less commonly used: Cotton Rdge. or Cotton Ridg.)
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Cotton Ridge is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Cotton Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cotton Ridge:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Cotton Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Breakstone Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cahaba Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Ayres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Roper
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Roper is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Trussville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Grayson Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Grayson Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson Valley
- Chalkville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Lola City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lola City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola City
- Alton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- McCombs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Center Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Dale ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Remlap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Compton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Selfville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- County Line
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Dallas
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Locust Fork
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Adville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Allgood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Little Warrior
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Appalachian
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Straight Mountain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Macon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Black Bottom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Garden City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Colony
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Arkadelphia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Damascus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Hanceville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Nix ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Altoona
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Argo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Acmar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Parsons
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Margaret
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Woodland Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Moody
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
- Brompton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Branchville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cook's Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Saint Clair Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Dunnavant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Vandiver
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sterrett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Shoal Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Calcis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Lake Purdy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Inverness
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Westover
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Chelsea
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Harpersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Logan Martin Dam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Colony
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- East Bend
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Windsong Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Lincoln
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Alpine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Childersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nottingham ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nottingham is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Former name for Nottingham:
- Jones Camp Ground
- Bon Air
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bon Air is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Talladega
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Creel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Sumiton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
- Oakahalla
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Quinton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Burnwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Dora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Wyatt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cotton Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Cotton Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Cotton Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cotton Ridge.
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 Cotton Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cotton Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Trussville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trussville Cemetery
- The Trussville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cahawba Baptist Cemetery
- First Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26737 <2>
- Argo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Austin Olds Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Ayres.
- Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Chalkville
- The Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Taylors Chapel Cemetery
- Jefferson Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moody Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Moody Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Moody.
- Reed Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Alton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Henry Ellen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (318 more) ...
- Shiloh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Branchville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Cotton Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cotton Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cotton Ridge, with the one closest to Cotton Ridge listed first.
- Woodward
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodward is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
- Argo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Clay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trussville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ayres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Chalkville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Moody
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
- McCombs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Brompton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Huffman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Huffman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Leeds
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Weems
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Weems is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weems
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Rock Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Ridge
- Odenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cotton Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cotton Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Cotton Ridge ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cotton Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cotton Ridge, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cotton Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Cotton Ridge:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Cotton Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cotton Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |