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 Matilda (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 Matilda. 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 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.
Matilda is located in Tallapoosa 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 Tallapoosa County: Chambers, Clay, Coosa, Elmore, Lee, Macon & Randolph.
Below are the counties that are near Matilda. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Matilda:
- Tallapoosa County (The home county of Matilda)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Daviston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Frog Eye
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Frog Eye is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Eye
- Dudleyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dudleyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudleyville
- New Site
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Emuckfaw
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Cowpens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Goldville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Slaughters ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Slaughters is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughters
- Jacksons' Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Truett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
- Dadeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Camp Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Agricola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Agricola is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agricola
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Blackman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blackman is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackman
- Penton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Penton is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penton
- Abanda
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Abanda is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanda
- Milltown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Milltown is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Chapel Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Chapel Hill is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
- Red Level
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Red Level is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
- Clackville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clackville is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clackville
- LaFayette
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Waverly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Waverly is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Five Points
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Five Points is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Doublehead
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Doublehead is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doublehead
- Boyds
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Boyds is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyds
- Stroud
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Stroud is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroud
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Motley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Motley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Mellow Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Cragford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Millerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Harkins Crossroads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Ashland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Lineville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Barfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Hollins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hollins is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
- Chambers Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Erin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Fishpond
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fishpond is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishpond
- Kellyton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Ray
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ray is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Goodwater
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cottage Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Cottage Grove is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Nixburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Nixburg is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
- Hissop
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Mount Olive
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Equality
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Equality is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Elmore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Irma ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Irma is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irma
- Jordan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jordan is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Kent
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Seman is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seman
- Eclectic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hale County
- Erie ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Erie is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Roxana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Roxana is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxana
- The Bottle
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- The Bottle is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Bottle
- Loachapoka
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ridgewood Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ridgewood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Village
- Auburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gwen Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gwen Mill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwen Mill
- Opelika
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Liberty City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Liberty City is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
- Notasulga
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Almond
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Almond is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
- Wadley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Forester Chapel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forester Chapel is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester Chapel
- Malone Ferry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Malone Ferry is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone Ferry
- Peavy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Peavy is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peavy
- Roanoke
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ofelia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- West
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- West is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West
- Rock Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Mills is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Mills
- Wedowee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Corbin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- High Shoals
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- High Shoals is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
- Christiana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Talladega County
- Chandler Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Heard County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Glenn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- O'Neals Crossroad
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- O'Neals Crossroad is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neals Crossroad
- Troup County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Evansville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Evansville is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- Abbottsford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Abbottsford is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsford
- West Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- North West Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- North West Point is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North West Point
- Vernon ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Vernon is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Matilda, see our County-by-County Page for Matilda.
Cemeteries Near Matilda ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Matilda.
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 Matilda - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Matilda covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Germany Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Punkin Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buttston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eagle Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gillam Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dudleyville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Sanders Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hutchinson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Concord Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- County Line Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (372 more) ...
- Bibby Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Daviston Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daviston Cemetery
- The Daviston Cemetery has also been known as:
- Daviston Baptist Church Cemetery
- Daviston Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Matilda had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Matilda, with the one closest to Matilda listed first.
- Buttston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buttston is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttston
- Tohopeka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tohopeka is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tohopeka
- Easton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Easton is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Zana ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zana is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
- Denver
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Denver is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Dudleyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dudleyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudleyville
- Daviston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Site
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Emuckfaw
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Bosworth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bosworth is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosworth
- Jacksons' Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Goldville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cowpens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Dadeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Judson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Judson is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Matilda. See our List of 1890's Communities around Matilda.
Newspapers Published in Matilda ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Matilda.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Matilda, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Matilda.
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 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 Matilda:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Tallapoosa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chambers County
- Clay County
- Coosa County
- Elmore County
- Hale County
- Lee County
- Macon County
- Randolph County
- Talladega County
- Heard County
- Troup 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 Matilda, 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- Matilda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |