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 Exum (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 Exum. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Exum 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 Exum. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Exum:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Exum)
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Wylam
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Wylam is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylam
- McDonald Chapel
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- McDonald Chapel is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald Chapel
- Westfield ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Westfield is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Fairfield
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ensley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ensley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensley
- Minor
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Minor is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor
- Edgewater
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Edgewater is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
- Fairfield Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Village
- Pleasant Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Docena
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Docena is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Docena
- Midfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Dolomite
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Green Pond
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blocton Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- North Bibb
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Eddings
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Belle Ellen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Seymour
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Bucktown ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bucktown is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
- Burmah ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burmah is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Dale ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Warrior
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Red Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Red Hill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- County Line
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Reid's
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Smoke Rise
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- Compton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Selfville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Hayden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Dallas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Remlap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Blount Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Arkadelphia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Woodland Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Moody
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
- Acmar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Parsons
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Brompton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Argo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Margaret
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbough Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Tacoa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Indian Springs Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- 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
- Inverness
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Lake Purdy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Bamford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Falliston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Helena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Bridgeton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Pelham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tulse
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Alabaster
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Tannehill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Bull City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Abernant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Kellerman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Brookwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Quinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Reeds Ferry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Yerkwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Oakahalla
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Wyatt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Sumiton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
- Dora
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Red Star
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Barney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Dovertown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dovertown is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Exum, see our County-by-County Page for Exum.
Cemeteries Near Exum ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Exum.
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 Exum - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Exum covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Mason Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- George Washington Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Grove UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Forest Grove Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Joley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Valhalla Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fraternal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Brighton Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton Memorial Gardens
- The Brighton Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
- Brighton Cemetery
- Continue List (344 more) ...
- Roberts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Village Falls Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Crumley Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Exum in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Exum.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Exum, with the one closest to Exum listed first.
- Wylam
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Wylam is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylam
- Ensley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ensley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensley
- Dolomite
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pratt Mines ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pratt Mines is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Mines
- Sandusky
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Collins
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Collins is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Hillman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hillman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman
- Duncan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Powderly
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Powderly is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powderly
- Thomas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Thomas is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Woodward Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Woodward Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward Junction
- Ware
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ware is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ishkooda
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ishkooda is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ishkooda
- Spaulding
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Spaulding is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
- Adamsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Exum. See our List of 1890's Communities around Exum.
Newspapers Published in Exum ...
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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Exum.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Exum, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Exum.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Exum:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Saint Clair 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 Exum, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Exum) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |