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 Leonard (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 Leonard. 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 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.
Leonard is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Calhoun, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Chattooga (GA), Floyd (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Leonard. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Leonard:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Leonard)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Sand Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Leesburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Centre
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Cedar Bluff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Moshat
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Taft
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Ball Flat
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Tucker Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Blanche
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blanche is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Colvins Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Collins ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Oak Level
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Mack ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Piedmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Southside
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Merrellton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Angel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Dailey
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Borden Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Collinsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Vernon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Cotnam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Dawson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Crossville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Dog Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Lickskillet
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Sigsbee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Floy ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Floy is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floy
- Geraldine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Hale ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Keener
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Turkeytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Yancy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Coat's Bend
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Ballplay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Anderson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Duck Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Crudup
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Edwardsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Rock City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Section
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Langston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dutton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Ferncliff ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ferncliff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncliff
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Boaz
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Peters ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Hustleville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Albertville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Whitesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Rabbit Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Mid ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Gregory
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Horton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Rayburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Rayburn is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Columbus City Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Columbus City Ferry is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City Ferry
- Saint Clair County
- Steele
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Lyerly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menlo <1>
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Cloudland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Cave Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Coosa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Etna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Leonard, see our County-by-County Page for Leonard.
Cemeteries Near Leonard ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leonard.
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 Leonard - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Leonard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hunts Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Black Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mackey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Lookout Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Boyd Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Shepard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Collins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (413 more) ...
- Yellow Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kerley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Kerley Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Collinsville.
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 in 1895, Leonard had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Leonard, with the one closest to Leonard listed first.
- Mackey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mackey is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Slackland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Slackland is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackland
- Leesburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Collinsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Tabor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tabor is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
- Oak Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Oak Hill is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Maple Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Chumley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Chumley is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chumley
- Keener
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Portersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Portersville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
- Cotnam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Yancy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Turkeytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Plano
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Leonard. See our List of 1890's Communities around Leonard.
Newspapers Published in Leonard ...
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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leonard.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leonard, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leonard.
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 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 Leonard:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Polk 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 Leonard, 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- Leonard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |