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 Ferry Shores (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 Ferry Shores. 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.
Name Variations for Ferry Shores ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Ferry Shores: Ferry Shrs.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 and doctors 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.
Ferry Shores is located in Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County: Colbert, Lawrence, Limestone, Tishomingo (MS), Giles (TN), Hardin (TN), Lawrence (TN) & Wayne (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Ferry Shores. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ferry Shores:
- Lauderdale County (The home county of Ferry Shores)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Dells Vista Shores
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Rogersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Confluence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Cedar Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Estep ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Elgin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Corum ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Anderson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Comer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Lexington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Killen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Ford City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Leighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Nitrate City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Muscle Shoals
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Spring Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- South Florence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Sheffield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Tuscumbia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- White House Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- White House Springs is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Springs
- Franklin County
- Russellville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Red Bank
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Wheeler Dam Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- North Courtland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Courtland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Town Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Edmond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Chalybeate Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Hatton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Concord
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Poplar Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Ripley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Lentzville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Cairo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lester
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lester is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Athens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Tanner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Harris Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Hay's Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Orrville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Elkmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Country Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Trinity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Austinville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Simpson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Decatur
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Russell Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Flint City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Danville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burningtree Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Priceville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Minor Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Stella
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Prospect
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Green Field
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Ardmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elkmont Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Appleton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Rascal Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Liberty Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Saint Joseph
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Loretto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Busby
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Iron City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Fall River
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Leoma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Westpoint
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Wayne County (TN)
- Corning ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ferry Shores, see our County-by-County Page for Ferry Shores.
Cemeteries Near Ferry Shores ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ferry Shores.
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 Ferry Shores - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ferry Shores covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Haraway Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Nance Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Yates Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Fuqual Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Watkins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Weaver Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Little Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cunningham Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cox Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cooper Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Oliver - Bedingfield Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (822 more) ...
- Truitt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lyle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Tweedy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
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 Ferry Shores in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ferry Shores.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ferry Shores, with the one closest to Ferry Shores listed first.
- Rogersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Courtland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Town Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Ripley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Poplar Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Lentzville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Hillsboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Comer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Leighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Edmond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Lexington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Mountain Home
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Good Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Good Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Springs
- Bingham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bingham is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ferry Shores. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ferry Shores.
Newspapers Published in Ferry Shores ...
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 Ferry Shores.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ferry Shores, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ferry Shores.
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 Ferry Shores:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lauderdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Franklin County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Morgan County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Wayne 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 Ferry Shores, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ferry Shores) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |