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 Jena (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 Jena. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Jena is located in Greene 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 Greene County: Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter & Tuscaloosa.
Below are the counties that are near Jena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jena:
- Greene County (The home county of Jena)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
- Mantua
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mantua is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantua
- Knoxville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Knoxville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Union is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Lewiston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lewiston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
- Clinton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clinton is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- West Greene
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- West Greene is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Greene
- Eutaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lizzieville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lizzieville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizzieville
- Boligee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fayette County
- Ashcraft Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Ashcraft Corner is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcraft Corner
- Hale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
- Moundville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Powers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Powers is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
- Oak Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oak Village is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Village
- Akron
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Phipps ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Phipps is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phipps
- Sawyerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pickens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
- Benevola
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Benevola is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benevola
- Olney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Olney is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olney
- Gordo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bell is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Carrollton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Carrollton is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 935 people
- Stansel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stansel is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stansel
- Aliceville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Reform
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Garden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Garden is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden
- McMullen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McMullen is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9 people
- Lubbub
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lubbub is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lubbub
- Beaver Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Beaver Town is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Town
- Sumter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
- Panola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Panola is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
- Gainesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gainesville is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
- Ralph
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Foster's
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Elrod
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Elrod is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
- Buhl
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Buhl is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buhl
- Coker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Echola
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Echola is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echola
- Ingleside Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Ingleside Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside Village
- Sahama Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sahama Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sahama Village
- Tuscaloosa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Northport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- University
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- University is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
- Alberta City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Alberta City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta City
- Noxubee County (MS)
- Ravine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ravine is located in Noxubee County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jena, see our County-by-County Page for Jena.
Cemeteries Near Jena ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jena.
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 Jena - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Zion Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Old Shiloh Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Romulus Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jordan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sealy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (496 more) ...
- Holly Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hawthorne Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Caledonia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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 Jena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jena.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jena, with the one closest to Jena listed first.
- Pleasant Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Romulus
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Romulus is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romulus
- Benevola
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Benevola is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benevola
- Mantua
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mantua is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantua
- Sylvan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvan is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
- Foster's
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Union is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Knoxville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Knoxville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- Lewiston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lewiston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
- Olney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Olney is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olney
- Coker
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gordo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Pleasant Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Powers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Powers is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
- Bell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bell is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jena.
Newspapers Published in Jena ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jena.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jena, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jena.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Jena:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Greene County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Hale County
- Pickens County
- Sumter County
- Tuscaloosa County
- Noxubee 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 Jena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Jena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |