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 Dudley (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 Dudley. 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.
Dudley is located in Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa County: Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson & Pickens.
Below are the counties that are near Dudley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dudley:
- Tuscaloosa County (The home county of Dudley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- Vance
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Coaling
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
- Brookwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Peterson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
- Hagler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hagler is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagler
- Cottondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pearson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pearson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
- Abernant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Duncanville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Duncanville is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
- Holt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Holt is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
- Kellerman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Alberta City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Alberta City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta City
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- North Bibb
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Blocton Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- Burmah ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Burmah is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
- West Blocton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Woodstock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Green Pond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Egypt ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Egypt is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Fikestown ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fikestown is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fikestown
- Scottsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Scottsville is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsville
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Bucktown ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bucktown is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
- Corinne ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Corinne is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
- Greene County
- Knoxville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Knoxville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- Hale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- Phipps ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Phipps is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phipps
- Moundville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Powers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Powers is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- Kimbrell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kimbrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrell
- North Johns
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- North Johns is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Adger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- McCalla
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Ezra
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ezra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezra
- Bullard Shoals ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bullard Shoals is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard Shoals
- Greenwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Mobile Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Mobile Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile Junction
- Toadvine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Toadvine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toadvine
- Hueytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Old Jonesboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Old Jonesboro is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Jonesboro
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- Jericho
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jericho is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Bethlehem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethlehem is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Brush Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Brush Creek is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
- Morgan Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Morgan Springs is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Springs
- Oakmulgee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oakmulgee is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakmulgee
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- Aden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Aden is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aden
- Sawmill Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
- Bamford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Tulse
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Wilton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wilton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Former names for Wilton:
- Birmingham Junction
- Bismarck
- Catoosa
- Woods
- Woodsborough
- Brantleyville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Brantleyville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantleyville
- Maylene
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Montevallo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Falliston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Helena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Alabaster
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Siluria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Siluria is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siluria
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dudley, see our County-by-County Page for Dudley.
Cemeteries Near Dudley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dudley.
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 Dudley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dudley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- Evergreen Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Enterprise Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Thomas Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Asia Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Coaling Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Ward Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Big Hurricane Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mt. Gillard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Burns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (396 more) ...
- Johnstown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Banks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Shuttlesworth Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Dudley had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dudley, with the one closest to Dudley listed first.
- Vance
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Coaling
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
- Brookwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bibbville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bibbville is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bibbville
- Hagler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hagler is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagler
- Cottondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Blocton Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- Giles
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Giles is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles
- Scottsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Scottsville is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsville
- Woodstock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Green Pond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chamblee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chamblee is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblee
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Yolande
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yolande is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yolande
- University
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- University is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dudley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dudley.
Newspapers Published in Dudley ...
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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dudley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dudley, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dudley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Dudley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Tuscaloosa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Greene County
- Hale County
- Jefferson County
- Perry County
- Shelby 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> | 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- Dudley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Dudley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |