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 Ferguson (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 Ferguson. 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.
Ferguson 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 Ferguson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ferguson:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Ferguson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Noah
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Tucker Crossroads
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Moshat
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Howells Crossroads
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Centre
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Exie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Lawrence
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Kirk's Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Kirk's Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk's Grove
- Sterling ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sterling is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Piedmont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Collins ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Dailey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Colvins Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- 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
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Merrellton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Abernathy ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Abernathy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Jacksonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mack ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Angel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Palestine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Borden Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Grantley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Fruithurst
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Edwardsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Muscadine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Lickskillet
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Mount Vernon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Sigsbee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Dog Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Collinsville
(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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Cotnam
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Fort Payne
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Dawson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Bootsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bootsville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootsville
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Ballplay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Banner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Hale ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Coat's Bend
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Hokes Bluff
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Anderson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Edwardsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Keener
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Yancy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Burns Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- 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
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Cloudland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Summerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pennville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pennville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Cave Spring
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Coosa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oreburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Robealou Acres
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Atlanta Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Lindale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Rosemont Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rosemont Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont Park
- Silver Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Brice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Brice is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Chiaha ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Chiaha is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiaha
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,256 people
- Rome
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,764 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome <1>
- Central Grove ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Central Grove is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Grove
- Estimated population in 2019: 377 people
- Mount Berry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Haralson County (GA)
- Felton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Etna
(14 miles [22.5 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
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Grady ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Grady is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Estimated population in 2019: 290 people
- Seney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Seney is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seney
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,412 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ferguson, see our County-by-County Page for Ferguson.
Cemeteries Near Ferguson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ferguson.
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 Ferguson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ferguson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Noah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Moshat Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hebron Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Calcedonia Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Piney Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Fife Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Howell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bates Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Neal Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Neal Hill Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Centre.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24852 <2>
- Providence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Friendship Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ebenezer Alexis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (394 more) ...
- Centre Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cherokee Memory Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Bluff Cemetery
(5 miles [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.<3>
While we didn't find Ferguson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ferguson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ferguson, with the one closest to Ferguson listed first.
- Noah
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Moshat
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Bomar
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bomar is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomar
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Key
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Key is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Alexis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Alexis is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexis
- Centre
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Exie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Plano
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Waterhouse
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Waterhouse is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterhouse
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Lawrence
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Round Mountain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Round Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Mountain
- Forney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Forney is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forney
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ferguson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ferguson.
Newspapers Published in Ferguson ...
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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ferguson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ferguson, 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 Ferguson.
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 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 Ferguson:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Haralson 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> | 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 Ferguson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Ferguson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |