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 Godwin Estates (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 Godwin Estates. 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 Godwin Estates ...
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 Godwin Estates: Godwin Ests.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Godwin Estates 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 Godwin Estates. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Godwin Estates:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Godwin Estates)
- The following are listed by their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Grayson Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Grayson Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson Valley
- Chalkville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Center Point
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cahaba Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Pinson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trussville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Huffman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Huffman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Breakstone Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Clay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Alton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- McCombs
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Lola City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lola City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola City
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Dale ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Compton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- County Line
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Remlap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Selfville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Dallas
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Warrior
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Adville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Locust Fork
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hayden
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Deavers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Allgood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Black Bottom
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Colony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- Arkadelphia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- The Colony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Garden City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Damascus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Hanceville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bremen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Parsons
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Acmar
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Moody
(9 miles [14.5 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>
- Argo
(9 miles [14.5 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
- Woodland Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Margaret
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Brompton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Springville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Branchville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Cook's Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Odenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Dunnavant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Bridgeton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Lake Purdy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Shoal Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Vandiver
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Sterrett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Calcis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Chelsea
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Indian Springs Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- 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
- Westover
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Logan Martin Dam
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- East Bend
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Colony
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Lincoln
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Childersburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Creel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Quinton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sumiton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Oakahalla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Twilley Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Wyatt
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Burnwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Dora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Red Star
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Godwin Estates, see our County-by-County Page for Godwin Estates.
Cemeteries Near Godwin Estates ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Godwin Estates.
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 Godwin Estates - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Godwin Estates covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Chalkville
- The Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Taylors Chapel Cemetery
- Reed Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pinson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Trussville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trussville Cemetery
- The Trussville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cahawba Baptist Cemetery
- First Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26737 <2>
- Bass Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Alton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Higgins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- East Lake Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Earltown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (332 more) ...
- Forest Crest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McCombs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sheritt Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Godwin Estates in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Godwin Estates.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Godwin Estates, with the one closest to Godwin Estates listed first.
- Chalkville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Woodward
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Woodward is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
- Huffman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Huffman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Trussville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- McCombs
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- East Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Lake is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lake
- Weems
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Weems is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weems
- Rock Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rock Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Ridge
- Cunningham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cunningham is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
- New Castle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Castle is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
- Gate City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gate City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ruffner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ruffner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruffner
- Irondale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bartonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bartonville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Godwin Estates. See our List of 1890's Communities around Godwin Estates.
Newspapers Published in Godwin Estates ...
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 5 newspapers that have been published in the area around Godwin Estates.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Godwin Estates, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Godwin Estates.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Godwin Estates:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega 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 Godwin Estates, 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 from Point A (ie- Godwin Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |