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 Heritage 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 Heritage 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 Heritage 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 Heritage Estates: Heritage Ests.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Heritage Estates. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Heritage Estates.
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 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.
Heritage Estates is located in Morgan 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 Morgan County: Cullman, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Heritage Estates. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Heritage Estates:
- Morgan County (The home county of Heritage Estates)
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Trinity
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Austinville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Moulton Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Simpson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Russell Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Decatur
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Flint City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Burningtree Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Priceville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Danville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hartselle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Cedar Plains
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cedar Plains is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Plains
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Garner ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Leighton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Ford City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Nitrate City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Central
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Central is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- West Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- West Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
- Jones' Chapel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jones' Chapel is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones' Chapel
- Vinemont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- South Vinemont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Vinemont is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vinemont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 636 people
- Chances Crossroad
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Chances Crossroad is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chances Crossroad
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Dells Vista Shores
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Confluence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Rogersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Estep ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Cedar Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Anderson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Elgin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Corum ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Bethel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Comer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Hillsboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chalybeate Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Oakville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Mountain Home
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- North Courtland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Moulton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Courtland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Wren
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wren is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Muck City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Muck City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muck City
- Hatton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Red Bank
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Town Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Concord
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Harris Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Orrville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Mooresville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Belle Mina
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Tanner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ripley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Westlake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Poplar Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Swancott
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Athens
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Country Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Lentzville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Fairmount
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Triana
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Madison
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Slaughter Landing is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter Landing
- Slaughter Landing has also been known as:
- Slaughter Ferry
- Monrovia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Harvest
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Rideout Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Chelsea
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- English Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Huntsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Whitesburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Toney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Upshaw
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Upshaw is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upshaw
- Grayson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grayson is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Addison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ellaville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ellaville is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellaville
- Giles County (TN)
- Prospect
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Heritage Estates, see our County-by-County Page for Heritage Estates.
Cemeteries Near Heritage Estates ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Heritage 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 Heritage Estates - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Heritage Estates covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Gunn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Morris Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Stockton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fennell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Fuller Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Wimbley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Crow Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lile Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lile Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bell - Nebo Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Grayson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Trotter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (877 more) ...
- Thrasher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Raper Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chapel Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<3>
While we didn't find Heritage Estates in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Heritage Estates.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Heritage Estates, with the one closest to Heritage Estates listed first.
- Simpson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Decatur
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Decatur Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Decatur Junction is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Junction
- Harris Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Hillsboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Neel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Neel is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neel
- Oakville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Priceville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mooresville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mountain Home
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Ripley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Hartselle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Jesseton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jesseton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesseton
- Greenbrier
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Greenbrier is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbrier
- Moulton
(14 miles [22.5 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 Heritage Estates. See our List of 1890's Communities around Heritage Estates.
Newspapers Published in Heritage 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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Heritage Estates.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Heritage Estates, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Heritage Estates.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Heritage Estates:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Morgan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Madison County
- Winston County
- Giles 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 Heritage 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Heritage Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |