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 Driftwood (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 Driftwood. 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.
Driftwood 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 Driftwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Driftwood:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Driftwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Toadvine
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Toadvine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toadvine
- Oak Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Black Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Black Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
- Ezra
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ezra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezra
- Short Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Rock Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Rock Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Sylvan Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Concord
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Concord is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- West Jefferson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Maytown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Maytown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Adger
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hueytown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- North Johns
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- North Johns is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Green Pond
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Blocton Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- North Bibb
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Burmah ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Burmah is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
- West Blocton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Belle Ellen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Bucktown ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bucktown is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
- Corinne ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Corinne is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
- Italian Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Red Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Red Hill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- Warrior
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cullman County
- Arkadelphia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Alta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alta is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Berry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bankston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bankston is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Bamford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Helena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tacoa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Falliston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Tulse
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Aden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Aden is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aden
- Sawmill Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
- Alabaster
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Springs Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
- Brantleyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brantleyville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantleyville
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Bull City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Kellerman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Abernant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Lake View
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Brookwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Tannehill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Peterson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
- Samantha
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Samantha is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samantha
- Vance
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Holt
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Holt is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
- Lake Front Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Front Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Front Village
- Wood Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wood Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Village
- New Lexington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- New Lexington is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Goodsprings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Goodsprings is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Reeds Ferry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Twilley Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Barney
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- America
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- America is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America
- Parrish
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Parrish is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 929 people
- Quinton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Red Star
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Yerkwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Dovertown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Dovertown is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
- Burnwell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Wyatt
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Oakman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakman is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
- Former names for Oakman:
- Day's Gap
- Marietta
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakman <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Driftwood, see our County-by-County Page for Driftwood.
Cemeteries Near Driftwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Driftwood.
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 Driftwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Driftwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Heard Shoal Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Dug Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Warrior Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Toadvine Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Weaver Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Prescott Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- High Hill Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Hill Church Cemetery
- The High Hill Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- High Hill Cemetery
- Providence Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Miller Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Patton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rowe Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Liberty Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Cemetery
- The Liberty Cemetery has also been known as:
- Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2162604 <2>
- Continue List (418 more) ...
- Busby Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Prudes Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Salter Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<3>
While we didn't find Driftwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Driftwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
- Toadvine
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Toadvine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toadvine
- Ezra
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ezra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezra
- Short Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Porter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Porter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Sumter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sumter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
- Adger
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wiley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wiley is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
- Parrish
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Parrish is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 929 people
- Yolande
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Yolande is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yolande
- Chinn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chinn is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinn
- Bullard Shoals ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bullard Shoals is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard Shoals
- McAdory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- McAdory is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdory
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Collins
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Collins is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Dolomite
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Dora
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Driftwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Driftwood.
Newspapers Published in Driftwood ...
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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Driftwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Driftwood, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Driftwood.
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 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 Driftwood:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Fayette County
- Shelby County
- Tuscaloosa 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 Driftwood, 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' (or 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- Driftwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |