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 Hillsboro (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 Hillsboro. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Hillsboro is located in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County: Colbert, Cullman, Franklin, Limestone, Morgan & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Hillsboro. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hillsboro:
- Lawrence County (The home county of Hillsboro)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Chalybeate Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Mountain Home
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Courtland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- North Courtland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Moulton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Town Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Red Bank
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Oakville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Hatton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Muck City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Muck City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muck City
- Wheeler Dam Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Wren
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wren is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Garner ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Leighton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ford City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Nitrate City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Muscle Shoals
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Littleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Littleville is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
- White House Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- White House Springs is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Springs
- South Florence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Central
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Central is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Jones' Chapel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Jones' Chapel is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones' Chapel
- West Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Dells Vista Shores
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Confluence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Rogersville
(14 miles [22.5 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Cedar Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Elgin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Anderson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Corum ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Bethel
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Comer
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Ripley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Orrville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Poplar Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Harris Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Tanner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lentzville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Cairo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Athens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Belle Mina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Mooresville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Country Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Fairmount
(20 miles [32.2 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 Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Madison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Triana
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Harvest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Rideout Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Trinity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Austinville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Simpson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Decatur
(12 miles [19.3 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>
- Russell Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Flint City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Danville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Burningtree Mountain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Priceville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hartselle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Plains
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Plains is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Plains
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Upshaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Upshaw is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upshaw
- Grayson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Grayson is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Ellaville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ellaville is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellaville
- Addison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Minor Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Prospect
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Stella
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Appleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Liberty Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Rascal Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hillsboro, see our County-by-County Page for Hillsboro.
Cemeteries Near Hillsboro ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillsboro.
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 Hillsboro - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hillsboro covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Reynolds Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- McBride Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Rainwater Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Vaughan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Ennix Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Elliott Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cottingham Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Smith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Penny Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Barclay Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Graves Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Kelly Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (844 more) ...
- Swoope Cemetery #2
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- The Swoope Cemetery #2 is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swoope Cemetery #2
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2381338 <2>
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Clardy Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hillsboro had a population of 308 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hillsboro had a population of 512 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hillsboro, with the one closest to Hillsboro listed first.
- Mountain Home
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Courtland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ripley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Simpson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Poplar Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Moulton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur
(12 miles [19.3 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Decatur Junction is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Junction
- Harris Station
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Blackburn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Town Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Oakville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Neel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Neel is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neel
- Hatton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Rogersville
(14 miles [22.5 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>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hillsboro. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hillsboro.
Newspapers Published in Hillsboro ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillsboro.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hillsboro, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hillsboro.
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 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 Hillsboro:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- Lauderdale County
- Limestone County
- Madison County
- Morgan County
- Winston County
- Giles County
- Lawrence 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 Hillsboro, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hillsboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |