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 Elrath (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 Elrath. 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 and hospitals 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.
Elrath is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Calhoun, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Chattooga (GA), Floyd (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Elrath. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elrath:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Elrath)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Centre
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Anderson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Leesburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Moshat
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Sand Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Ball Flat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Tucker Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Noah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Cedar Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Howells Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Collins ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Colvins Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Piedmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Merrellton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Dailey
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Nances Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Mack ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Angel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Oak Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Borden Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Collinsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dog Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Lickskillet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Sigsbee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Cotnam
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Dawson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Rodentown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Crossville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Adamsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Adamsburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Douglas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Hale ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Ballplay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Banner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Coat's Bend
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Anderson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Keener
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Edwardsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Hokes Bluff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Yancy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Duck Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Jackson County
- Rock City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Boaz
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Peters ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Hustleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Albertville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Whitesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Saint Clair County
- Steele
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Lyerly
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menlo <1>
- Berryton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Cloudland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Cave Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Coosa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Robealou Acres
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Etna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elrath, see our County-by-County Page for Elrath.
Cemeteries Near Elrath ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elrath.
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 Elrath - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elrath covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Shiloh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sewell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Smith Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Parker Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pratt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Morrison Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Weaver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Garrett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Centre Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (383 more) ...
- Yellow Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mackey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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 Elrath in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Elrath.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elrath, with the one closest to Elrath listed first.
- Maple Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Plano
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Leesburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Centre
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mackey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mackey is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Slackland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Slackland is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackland
- Oak Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Round Mountain
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Round Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Mountain
- Leonard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leonard is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Sand Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Moshat
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Turkeytown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Coat's Bend
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elrath. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elrath.
Newspapers Published in Elrath ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elrath.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elrath, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elrath.
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 Elrath:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Polk 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 Elrath, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Elrath) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |