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 Douglas (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 Douglas. 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.
Douglas 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 Douglas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Douglas:
- Marshall County (The home county of Douglas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Horton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Whitesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Hyatt
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Street ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Gregory
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Rabbit Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Boaz
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Albertville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Askea Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Askea Grove is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Askea Grove
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Highmound
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- McLarty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Snead
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Bright Star
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Craig
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Wynnville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Clarence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Susan Moore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Brooksville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Fridays Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Bird ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Huldah ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Huldah is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huldah
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Southside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Oak Level
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Joppa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Holly Pond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Baileyton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Baileytown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Fairview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Simcoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Simcoe is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simcoe
- Berlin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Garden City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- East Point
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- East Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Point
- Hanceville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- White City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Cullman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rains ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Rodentown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Rogers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Whiton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Crossville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Geraldine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Grove Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Grove Oak is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Oak
- Dawson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Lakeview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Walnut Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Greer ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Aurora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Altoona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Carlisle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Mountainboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Sardis City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Egypt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Howelton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Gallant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Nix ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Benson ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Langston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- New Hope
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Owens' Cross Roads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Hulaco
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Ryan Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Apple Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Briscoe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Morgan City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Eva
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Florette
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Lacey's Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Valhermoso Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Steele
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitney Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Springville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ragland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Douglas, see our County-by-County Page for Douglas.
Cemeteries Near Douglas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Douglas.
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 Douglas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Douglas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Douglas Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- New Clear Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Concord Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Hebron Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Friendship Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Zion Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Holland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (455 more) ...
- Rock Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Nixons Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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 Douglas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Douglas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Douglas, with the one closest to Douglas listed first.
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Horton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Highmound
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Hyatt
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- McLarty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Snead
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Alice
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Alice is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Red Apple ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Red Apple is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Apple
- Bright Star
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Wynnville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Walnut Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Sidney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sidney is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
- Street ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Clarence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Douglas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Douglas.
Newspapers Published in Douglas ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Douglas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Douglas, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Douglas.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Douglas:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Marshall County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Madison County
- Morgan County
- Saint Clair 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 Douglas, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Douglas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |