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 Hokes Bluff (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 Hokes Bluff. 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 Hokes Bluff ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Hokes Bluff: Hokes Blf. (or less commonly used: Hokes Bluf.)
- While the name of this city is Hokes Bluff, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Hokes Bluff may originally have been Hoke's Bluff.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Hokes Bluff might be written as Hoke Bluff.
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 hospitals 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.
Hokes Bluff is located in 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 Hokes Bluff. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hokes Bluff:
- Etowah County (The home county of Hokes Bluff)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Edwardsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Glencoe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Banner
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Ballplay
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Cobb City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Burns Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Coat's Bend
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Anderson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- East Gadsden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Hale ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Turkeytown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Bird ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Taits Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Wynnville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Colvins Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Mack ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Oak Level
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Collins ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Angel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Wellington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Wellington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Merrellton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Southside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cochran Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Ball Flat
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Leesburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Anderson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Centre
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Moshat
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Spring Garden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Exie
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Sand Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Tucker Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Noah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Grantley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Borden Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Oak Level
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Edwardsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Heflin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fruithurst
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Collinsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Rodentown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Cotnam
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Crossville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dawson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Mount Vernon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Rains ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Sigsbee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Dog Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Geraldine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Boaz
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Albertville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas
(28 miles [45.1 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Hustleville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Peters ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Rabbit Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Steele
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ragland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ashville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Coldwater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Etna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hokes Bluff, see our County-by-County Page for Hokes Bluff.
Cemeteries Near Hokes Bluff ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hokes Bluff.
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 Hokes Bluff - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hokes Bluff covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- New Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Cemetery
- The Mountain View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery
- Trinity Christian Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2172971 <3>
- Reid Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Landers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Youngs Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Union Hill UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tillison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Patterson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Owens Memorial Park Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lincoln Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (360 more) ...
- Crestwood Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ohatchee #2 Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hokes Bluff had a population of 42 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Hokes Bluff had a population of 4,240 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hokes Bluff, with the one closest to Hokes Bluff listed first.
- Colvins Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Reaves
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Reaves is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reaves
- Coat's Bend
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Laney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Laney is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laney
- East Gadsden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Turkeytown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Upton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Upton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
- Mack ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Oak Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oak Hill is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Gadsden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Duke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Duke is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Brice
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brice is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Sulphur Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Gnatville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Gnatville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gnatville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hokes Bluff. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hokes Bluff.
Newspapers Published in Hokes Bluff ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hokes Bluff.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hokes Bluff, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hokes Bluff.
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 Hokes Bluff:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Polk County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hokes Bluff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Hokes Bluff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |