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 McGees Ferry (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 McGees Ferry. 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.
Name Variations for McGees Ferry ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
While the name of this community is McGees Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So McGees Ferry may originally have been McGee's Ferry.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case McGees Ferry might be written as McGee Ferry.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
McGees Ferry is located in Talladega 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 Talladega County: Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Saint Clair & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near McGees Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McGees Ferry:
- Talladega County (The home county of McGees Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Talladega Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Talladega Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talladega Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Fayetteville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Gantts Quarry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Gantts Quarry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantts Quarry
- Oak Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
- Childersburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Comerdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Comerdale is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comerdale
- Zubers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Zubers is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zubers
- Mignon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mignon is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
- Sylacauga
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bon Air
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bon Air is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Oldfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Sycamore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sycamore is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Autauga County
- Marbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Brierfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ashby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ashby is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Oakley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Oakley is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
- Randolph
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Randolph is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Tucker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tucker is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- Eddings
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Seymour
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- Chilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Jumbo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jumbo is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Jemison
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Thorsby
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Clanton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Verbena
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Verbena is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
- Mountain Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mountain Creek is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Creek
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Hollins
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hollins is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
- Chambers Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Aucheucaula ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Aucheucaula is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheucaula
- Weogufka
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Weogufka is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
- Stewartville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Stewartville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Dollar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dollar is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dollar
- Mount Olive
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Rockford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hissop
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Goodwater
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pentonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pentonville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentonville
- Kellyton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Cottage Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cottage Grove is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Nixburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nixburg is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
- Elmore County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Lightwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lightwood is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightwood
- Titus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Hoover
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cahaba Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cedar Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cahaba Landing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cahaba Landing is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Landing
- Greenwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Mountain Brook
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vestavia Hills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Scott City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Scott City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Homewood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Brook Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shannon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shannon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Vincent
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Merrell Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Merrell Beach is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrell Beach
- Pine Grove Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Grove Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Village
- Shelby
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wilsonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Columbiana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Calera
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Harpersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Westover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Chelsea
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Saginaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saginaw is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
- Pelham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Montevallo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to McGees Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for McGees Ferry.
Cemeteries Near McGees Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McGees Ferry.
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 McGees Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McGees Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Blue Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Talladega Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ft. Williams Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Marble Valley Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crumpton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Good Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Shelby Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Gardens of Rest
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Heaslet Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Beaver Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Heaton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (426 more) ...
- Brasher Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Old Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find McGees Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McGees Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McGees Ferry, with the one closest to McGees Ferry listed first.
- Talladega Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Talladega Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talladega Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Marble Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Marble Valley is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
- Fayetteville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Shelby
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wilsonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Columbiana
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gold Branch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gold Branch is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Branch
- Quinsey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Quinsey is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinsey
- Jumbo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jumbo is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Shelby Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Shelby Springs is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby Springs
- Weogufka
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Weogufka is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
- Zubers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Zubers is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zubers
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Childersburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Moriah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moriah is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
- Stewartville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Stewartville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around McGees Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around McGees Ferry.
Newspapers Published in McGees Ferry ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around McGees Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McGees Ferry, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McGees Ferry.
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 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 McGees Ferry:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Talladega County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Autauga County
- Bibb County
- Chilton County
- Clay County
- Coosa County
- Elmore County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 McGees Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- McGees Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |