Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Gum Springs. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Gum Springs to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Gum Springs, please Contact Us.
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 Gum Springs (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 Gum Springs. 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 Gum Springs ...
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 Gum Springs: Gum Spgs. (or less commonly used: Gum Spngs. or Gum Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Gum Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Gum Springs.
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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Gum Springs is historic, it would have been located within present day Etowah 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 Etowah County: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Gum Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gum Springs:
- Etowah County (The home county of Gum Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Rainbow City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pilgrims Rest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Attalla
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Alabama City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Alabama City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama City
- Bennettsville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bennettsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville
- Burns Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Gadsden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ivalee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Black Creek Falls ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Black Creek Falls is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek Falls
- East Gadsden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Appalachian
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Bird ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Straight Mountain
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Taits Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Highland Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Hoods Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Wynnville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Snead
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clarence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Fridays Crossing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Highmound
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Oneonta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Southside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Cochran Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Ohatchee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Grayton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Mack ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Macon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Clark ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Clark is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Ball Flat
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Leesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Centre
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Moshat
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Spring Garden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Rodentown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Rains ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Cotnam
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Crossville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Collinsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Rogers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Geraldine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Whiton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Mount Vernon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Jefferson County
- Ayres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Whitesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Boaz
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Douglas
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Horton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Albertville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hyatt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Hustleville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Rabbit Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Steele
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ashville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ragland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Wattsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Coal City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Saint Clair Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Riverside
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Seddon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Branchville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Springville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Lincoln
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Coldwater
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Colony
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Silver Run
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Windsong Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Grant Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gum Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Gum Springs.
Cemeteries Near Gum Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gum Springs.
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 Gum Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gum Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Rainbow Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McCartney Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Heald Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Alabama City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hughes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Southern Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southern Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Southern Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Gadsden.
- The Southern Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sixth Street Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2297800 <3>
- Forrest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Crestwood Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (365 more) ...
- Lincoln Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ivalee Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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.
While we didn't find Gum Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gum Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
- Etowahton
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Etowahton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowahton
- Attalla
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hood is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Markton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Steele
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Norton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Norton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Gadsden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stanfield ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stanfield is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanfield
- East Gadsden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Littleton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Littleton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
- Ottery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ottery is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottery
- Peek's Hill ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Peek's Hill is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peek's Hill
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ohatchee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Laney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Laney is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laney
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gum Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gum Springs.
Newspapers Published in Gum Springs ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gum Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gum Springs, 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 Gum Springs.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Gum Springs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- DeKalb County
- Jefferson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Gum Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Gum Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |