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 Downs (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 Downs. 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.
Downs is located in Macon 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 Macon County: Bullock, Elmore, Lee, Montgomery, Russell & Tallapoosa.
Below are the counties that are near Downs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Downs:
- Macon County (The home county of Downs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Fort Davis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hardaway
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hardaway is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardaway
- Armstrong
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Armstrong is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- La Place
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- La Place is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Place
- Calebee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Calebee is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calebee
- Tuskegee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shorter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hornady
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hornady is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornady
- Tysonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tysonville is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tysonville
- Liberty City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Liberty City is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
- Notasulga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Society Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Society Hill is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Society Hill
- Barbour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Comer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Comer is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Spring Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Hill is located in Barbour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Bullock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Fitzpatrick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fitzpatrick is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzpatrick
- Union Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mitchell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mitchell is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Three Notch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Three Notch is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Notch
- Inverness
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Postoak
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Postoak is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
- Pine Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Grove is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
- Midway
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Midway is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 457 people
- Smuteye
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Smuteye is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smuteye
- Perote
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Perote is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perote
- Elmore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Tallassee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ware
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ware is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Fusihatchi ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fusihatchi is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fusihatchi
- Kent
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Claud
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Claud is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claud
- Blue Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Ridge is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
- Eclectic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Loachapoka
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgewood Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgewood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Village
- Marvyn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marvyn is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvyn
- Roxana
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Roxana is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
- Auburn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beauregard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beauregard is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Cecil
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cecil is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Waugh
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Waugh is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Mount Meigs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mount Meigs is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Meigs
- Pine Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Level is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Pike Road
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Center Point
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Center Point is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Sunshine Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sunshine Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine Village
- Red Level
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Red Level is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
- Madison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Madison is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Ramer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grady
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ada
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ada is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
- Capitol Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Capitol Heights is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol Heights
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Saco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Saco is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saco
- Linwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Linwood is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- Orion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Orion is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Needmore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Needmore is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Meeksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Meeksville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeksville
- McClure Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- McClure Town is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClure Town
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Hurtsboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hurtsboro is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 597 people
- Rutherford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rutherford is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Hatchechubbee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hatchechubbee is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchechubbee
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- East Tallassee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- East Tallassee is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tallassee
- Tallapoosa City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Tallapoosa City is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallapoosa City
- Reeltown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Reeltown is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeltown
- Church Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Church Hill is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Downs, see our County-by-County Page for Downs.
Cemeteries Near Downs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Downs.
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 Downs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Downs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Grimm Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Mark Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Ivory Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Penile Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elizabeth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hardaway Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ft. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fitzpatrick Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Paul Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (288 more) ...
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mt. Andrews Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Green - Cook Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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 Downs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Downs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Downs, with the one closest to Downs listed first.
- Fort Davis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Thompson
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Thompson is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Cotton Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cotton Valley is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Valley
- Cross Keys
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cross Keys is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Union Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- La Place
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- La Place is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Place
- Hector
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hector is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hector
- Suspension
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Suspension is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suspension
- Tuskegee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shorter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shopton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Shopton is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopton
- Warriorstand
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Warriorstand is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warriorstand
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Franklin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mount Hillard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Hillard is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hillard
- Aberfoil
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Aberfoil is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberfoil
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Downs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Downs.
Newspapers Published in Downs ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Downs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Downs, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Downs.
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 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 Downs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Macon County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barbour County
- Bullock County
- Elmore County
- Lee County
- Montgomery County
- Pike County
- Russell County
- Tallapoosa 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 Downs, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Downs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |