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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 Half Acre (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 Half Acre. 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 Half Acre ...

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.

Over the years, Half Acre had several name changes:

  • Prior to its current name of Half Acre, it was known as Hell's Half Acre.
  • Before changing to Hell's Half Acre, it was named Luther's Store.
  • Half Acre was originally named Luther's Store

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Half Acre. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Half Acre.

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.

A Few Details for Half Acre ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

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 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.

Half Acre is located in Marengo 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 Marengo County: Choctaw, Clarke, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Perry, Sumter & Wilcox.

Below are the counties that are near Half Acre. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Half Acre:

  • Marengo County     (The home county of Half Acre)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Acre, with the one closest to Half Acre listed first.
    • Myrtlewood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Aimwell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Beckleys ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Beckleys is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckleys
    • Blue Lock ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Blue Lock is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Lock
    • Sweet Water
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Moss ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Moss is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
    • Barrons ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Barrons is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrons
    • Nanafalia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Griffins ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Griffins is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins
    • Linden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pin Hook
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Dixon's Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dixon's Mills is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon's Mills
    • Providence
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Providence is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
  • Choctaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Acre, with the one closest to Half Acre listed first.
    • Tompkinsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cedahoma ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedahoma is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedahoma
    • Pennington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Pennington is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
    • Choctaw City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Choctaw City is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw City
    • Lavaca
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pelham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Pelham is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
    • Jachin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jachin is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jachin
    • Butler
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Cromwell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Cromwell is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
    • Lisman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Red Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Pushmataha
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Needham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Needham is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
  • Clarke County
  • Dallas County
  • Hale County
  • Perry County
  • Sumter County
  • Wilcox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Half Acre, with the one closest to Half Acre listed first.
    • Lamison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Arlington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Anne Manie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Anne Manie is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anne Manie
    • Kimbrough
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Kimbrough is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrough
    • Pine Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Hill is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
    • Bethel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bethel is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Catherine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Gastonburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Alberta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Alberta is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Prairie Bluff ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Yellow Bluff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Yellow Bluff is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Bluff
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
    • Millers Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Millers Ferry is located in Wilcox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Ferry
    • Rehoboth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Half Acre, see our County-by-County Page for Half Acre.

Cemeteries Near Half Acre ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Half Acre.

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 Half Acre - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Half Acre covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Half Acre, with the one closest to Half Acre listed first.

  • Community Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • James Chapel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Beaver Creek Baptist Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Campground Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Geneva Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Aimwell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Berry Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Rembert Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Clover Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Howell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Nanafalia Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (266 more) ...
    • Bethlehem Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Mt. Mariah Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Paul Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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 Half Acre in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Half Acre.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Half Acre, with the one closest to Half Acre listed first.

  • Rembert
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Rembert is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rembert
  • Myrtlewood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
  • Aimwell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Tompkinsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Nanafalia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sweet Water
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Moss ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Moss is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
  • Octagon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Octagon is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Octagon
  • Linden
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Dixon's Mills
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dixon's Mills is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon's Mills
  • Shiloh
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shiloh is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
  • Williamsburg ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Williamsburg is located in Marengo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Nicholsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Nicholsville is located in Marengo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholsville
    • Robjohn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Robjohn is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robjohn
    • Putnam
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Half Acre. See our List of 1890's Communities around Half Acre.

Newspapers Published in Half Acre ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Half Acre.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Half Acre, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Half Acre.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Half Acre:

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 Half Acre, 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 from Point A (ie- Half Acre) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.