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 Gray Hill (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 Gray Hill. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Gray Hill is located in Bibb 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 Bibb County: Chilton, Hale, Jefferson, Perry, Shelby & Tuscaloosa.
Below are the counties that are near Gray Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gray Hill:
- Bibb County (The home county of Gray Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Woodstock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Green Pond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Blocton Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- North Bibb
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Belle Ellen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Bucktown ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bucktown is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
- Corinne ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Corinne is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
- Eddings
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Burmah ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Burmah is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
- Chilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Jemison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Thorsby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Kimbrell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kimbrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrell
- McCalla
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- North Johns
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- North Johns is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Greenwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Adger
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mobile Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mobile Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile Junction
- Bullard Shoals ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Bullard Shoals is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard Shoals
- Old Jonesboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Old Jonesboro is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Jonesboro
- New Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- New Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Village
- Blue Creek Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Blue Creek Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Creek Junction
- Hueytown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bessemer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Bethlehem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bethlehem is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Oakmulgee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Oakmulgee is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakmulgee
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Aden
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Aden is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aden
- Sawmill Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
- Bamford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Tulse
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Brantleyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Brantleyville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantleyville
- Maylene
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Helena
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alabaster
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Falliston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Siluria
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Siluria is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siluria
- Tacoa
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Montevallo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Tannehill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Abernant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Vance
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Brookwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Kellerman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Coaling
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
- Bull City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Hagler
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hagler is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagler
- Pearson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pearson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
- Peterson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
- Cottondale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Walker County
- Twilley Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gray Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Gray Hill.
Cemeteries Near Gray Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gray Hill.
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 Gray Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gray Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Camp Branch Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Higganbotham Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hickman Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hebron Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McKensey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McKinney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bucksville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Boothton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- John T. Thrasher Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Caffee Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Antioch Cemetery #2
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (394 more) ...
- George Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hephzibah Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bibbville Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Gray Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gray Hill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gray Hill, with the one closest to Gray Hill listed first.
- Woodstock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Tannehill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Boothton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Boothton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boothton
- Green Pond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Anita
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Anita is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
- Gurnee
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Gurnee is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurnee
- Chamblee
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Chamblee is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblee
- Giles
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Giles is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles
- Blocton Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- Bibbville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bibbville is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bibbville
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Bamford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Tulse
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- McCalla
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Yolande
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Yolande is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yolande
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gray Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gray Hill.
Newspapers Published in Gray Hill ...
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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gray Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gray Hill, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gray Hill.
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 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 Gray Hill:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Bibb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chilton County
- Jefferson County
- Perry County
- Shelby County
- Tuscaloosa 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 Gray Hill, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Gray Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |