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 Lawson (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 Lawson. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Lawson is located in Limestone 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 Limestone County: Lauderdale, Lawrence, Madison, Morgan, Giles (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Lawson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lawson:
- Limestone County (The home county of Lawson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Ripley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Tanner
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Orrville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Athens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harris Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Country Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Lentzville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Cairo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Belle Mina
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Fairmount
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Hay's Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Garner ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Leighton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ford City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- 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
- Nitrate City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Dells Vista Shores
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Confluence
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Estep ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- 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>
- Anderson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Cedar Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Bethel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Corum ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Elgin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Comer
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Hillsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Courtland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- North Courtland
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Chalybeate Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Mountain Home
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Red Bank
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Wheeler Dam Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Oakville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Town Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Moulton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hatton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Edmond
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Madison
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Monrovia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Harvest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Triana
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Jeff
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Rideout Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Toney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Crossroads
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Slaughter Landing is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter Landing
- Slaughter Landing has also been known as:
- Slaughter Ferry
- Chelsea
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Huntsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Elkwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Elkwood is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwood
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Trinity
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Moulton Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Austinville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Decatur
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Simpson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Burningtree Mountain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Priceville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Hartselle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Danville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Winston County
- Upshaw
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Upshaw is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upshaw
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Prospect
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Stella
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Ardmore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elkmont Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Minor Hill
(23 miles [37 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
- Dickson Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Anthony Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Green Field
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Wheelerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Appleton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Liberty Grove
(28 miles [45.1 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Fall River
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Cash Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Dellrose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lawson, see our County-by-County Page for Lawson.
Cemeteries Near Lawson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lawson.
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 Lawson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lawson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Proctor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Benford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Binford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cox Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hatchett Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Malone Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Riddle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Round Island Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sunny Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wallace Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mason Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (973 more) ...
- Nebo Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Yarbrough Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Baker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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 Lawson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lawson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
- Ripley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Blackburn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Blackburn is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Poplar Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Harris Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Athens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Decatur Junction is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur Junction
- O'Neal
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- O'Neal is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Lentzville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Simpson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Decatur
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Cartwright
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Cartwright is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Gipsy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Gipsy is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gipsy
- Mooresville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hay's Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lawson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lawson.
Newspapers Published in Lawson ...
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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lawson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lawson, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lawson.
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 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 Lawson:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Limestone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Madison County
- Morgan County
- Winston County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Lincoln 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> | 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 Lawson, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lawson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |