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 Mays (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 Mays. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Mays 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 Mays. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mays:
- Etowah County (The home county of Mays)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Aurora
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Greer ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Howelton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Egypt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Benson ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Carlisle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Mountainboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Ivalee
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Ridgeville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Sardis City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Bennettsville ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bennettsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville
- Gallant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Walnut Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Highmound
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Snead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wynnville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Bird ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- McLarty
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Clarence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Susan Moore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Bright Star
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Craig
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Fridays Crossing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Hoods Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Taits Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Southside
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Cochran Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Ohatchee
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Colvins Gap
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Grayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Mack ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Wellington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wellington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Angel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Leesburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Anderson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Centre
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Joppa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Holly Pond
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Baileyton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baileytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rains ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Rodentown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Rogers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Crossville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whiton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Cotnam
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Dawson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Geraldine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Collinsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Lakeview
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Jackson County
- Langston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Whitesville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Boaz
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Douglas
(9 miles [14.5 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
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Albertville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hyatt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Rabbit Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Hustleville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Gregory
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Street ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Hulaco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Ryan Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Steele
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ragland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Springville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Coal City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Branchville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mays, see our County-by-County Page for Mays.
Cemeteries Near Mays ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mays.
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 Mays - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mays covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Armstrong Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jordan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Webb Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Howelton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Carnes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gilland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mizell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Walls Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Morton Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dillard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Red Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ivalee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (422 more) ...
- Noble Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Butler Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Robbins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Mays in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mays.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mays, with the one closest to Mays listed first.
- Aurora
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Howelton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Littleton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Littleton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
- Alice
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Alice is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Redbud
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Redbud is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud
- Mountainboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Norton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Norton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Red Apple ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Red Apple is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Apple
- Stanfield ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stanfield is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanfield
- Walnut Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Gallant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Fenton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fenton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Boaz
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Attalla
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mays. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mays.
Newspapers Published in Mays ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mays.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mays, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mays.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Mays:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Saint Clair 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 Mays, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mays) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |