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 Fosters Mill (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 Fosters Mill. 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 Fosters Mill ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Fosters Mill: Fosters Ml. (or less commonly used: Fosters Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Fosters Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Fosters Mill may originally have been Foster's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Fosters Mill might be written as Foster Mill.
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 northwest 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 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.
Fosters Mill is located in Colbert 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 Colbert County: Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence & Tishomingo (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Fosters Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fosters Mill:
- Colbert County (The home county of Fosters Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Ford City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Leighton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nitrate City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Muscle Shoals
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Spring Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- South Florence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Sheffield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Tuscumbia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Russellville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Churntown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Churntown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churntown
- Rockwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Elgin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Dells Vista Shores
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Rogersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- 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 <2>
- Killen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Corum ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Bainbridge ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bainbridge is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Comer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Confluence
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Atlas ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Atlas is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Red Bank
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Wheeler Dam Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Town Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- North Courtland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Edmond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Courtland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Hatton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Hillsboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Concord
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Lentzville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Poplar Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Ripley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Cairo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lester
(21 miles [33.8 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
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Athens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Orrville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Tanner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Harris Station
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Hay's Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Elkmont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Trinity
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Austinville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Simpson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Decatur
(27 miles [43.5 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 <2>
- Russell Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Danville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Minor Hill
(24 miles [38.6 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
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Prospect
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Rascal Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Saint Joseph
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Appleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Iron City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Loretto
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Westpoint
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Leoma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Fall River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Corning ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Cypress Inn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fosters Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Fosters Mill.
Cemeteries Near Fosters Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fosters Mill.
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 Fosters Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fosters Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Foster Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Hennigan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sheffield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Davenport Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Childers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mathews Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Perkins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Westmoreland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Midway Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cal Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Continue List (771 more) ...
- Fuqua Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Warren Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Troupe Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 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.<3>
While we didn't find Fosters Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fosters Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fosters Mill, with the one closest to Fosters Mill listed first.
- Town Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Leighton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rogersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- 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 <2>
- Bingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bingham is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
- Edmond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Courtland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Comer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Bailey Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Spring Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Saint Florian
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Hunter ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hunter is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Hatton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Lexington
(14 miles [22.5 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 Fosters Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fosters Mill.
Newspapers Published in Fosters Mill ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fosters Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fosters Mill, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fosters Mill.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Fosters Mill:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Colbert County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Morgan County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Wayne County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Fosters Mill, 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' (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- Fosters Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |