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 French 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 French 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 French 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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for French Mill: French Ml. (or less commonly used: French Mll.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named French Mill. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for French 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 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.
French Mill is located in Limestone 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 Limestone County: Lauderdale, Lawrence, Madison, Morgan, Giles (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
Below are the counties that are near French Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to French Mill:
- Limestone County (The home county of French Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Fairmount
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Country Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Capshaw
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Athens
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Tanner
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Center Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Belle Mina
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Orrville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Hay's Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Mooresville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Harris Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Confluence
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Dells Vista Shores
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Estep ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Rogersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Anderson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Bethel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Cedar Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Corum ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Elgin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Hillsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chalybeate Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Mountain Home
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Courtland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- North Courtland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Oakville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Red Bank
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Wheeler Dam Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Moulton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Town Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Madison
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Monrovia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Harvest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Rideout Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Toney
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Triana
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Chelsea
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Huntsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lincoln
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Elkwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elkwood is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwood
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Decatur
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Moulton Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Simpson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Austinville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Russell Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Priceville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Trinity
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burningtree Mountain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Flint City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Winton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Somerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Ardmore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Elkmont Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Prospect
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wheelerton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Stella
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Minor Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Green Field
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Aymett Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Aymett Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aymett Town
- Pisgah
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Pisgah is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Anthony Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Lawrence County (TN)
- Appleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Cash Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Coldwater
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Dellrose
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Camargo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Molino
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Pearl City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pearl City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Park City Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Howell Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Harms
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harms is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harms
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to French Mill, see our County-by-County Page for French Mill.
Cemeteries Near French Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of French 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 French Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for French Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Menefee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cambridge Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Martin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Isom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Johnson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wiggins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Polly Malone Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fletcher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (1118 more) ...
- Fairview Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Donaldson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<2>
While we didn't find French Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of French Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from French Mill, with the one closest to French Mill listed first.
- Athens
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Greenbrier
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Greenbrier is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbrier
- Cluttsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cluttsville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cluttsville
- Harris Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Mooresville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Monrovia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Hay's Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Jeff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Sand Spring ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Sand Spring is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Spring
- O'Neal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- O'Neal is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Blackburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Blackburn is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Decatur Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur Junction is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Junction
- Swancott
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Elkmont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around French Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around French Mill.
Newspapers Published in French 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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around French Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of French Mill, 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 French Mill.
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 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 French Mill:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Limestone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Madison County
- Morgan County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Lincoln 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 French Mill, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- French Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |