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 McMahans 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 McMahans 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 McMahans 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.
While the name of this community is McMahans Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So McMahans Ferry may originally have been McMahan's Ferry.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case McMahans Ferry might be written as McMahan 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
McMahans Ferry is located in Morgan 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 Morgan County: Cullman, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near McMahans Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McMahans Ferry:
- Morgan County (The home county of McMahans Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Lacey's Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan City
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Briscoe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Valhermoso Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Winton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Florette
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Ryan Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Somerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Hulaco
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Eva
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Summit
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Birdie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Birdie is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdie
- Brooksville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- McLarty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Bright Star
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Craig
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Highmound
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Liberty
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Liberty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Joppa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Baileyton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fairview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Simcoe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Simcoe is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simcoe
- Holly Pond
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Baileytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Berlin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Berlin is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- South Vinemont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- South Vinemont is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vinemont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 636 people
- Vinemont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Point is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Point
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Grove Oak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Grove Oak is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Oak
- Rogers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Whiton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Paint Rock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Woodville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Trenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Aspel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Lim Rock
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lim Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lim Rock
- Dry Cove ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dry Cove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Cove
- Pleasant Groves
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Groves is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Groves
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Hollytree
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Larkinsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Larkinsville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkinsville
- Langston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Princeton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Swancott
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Westlake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Belle Mina
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Mooresville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Capshaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Harris Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Center Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Country Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Fairmount
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Orrville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Tanner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Whitesburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- English Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Owens' Cross Roads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Big Cove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Big Cove is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cove
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- 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
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Berkley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berkley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Greenwycke Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Triana
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Huntsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Lincoln
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Union Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Ruth is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Friendship
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Friendship is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Fort Deposit ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Deposit is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Deposit
- Hog Jaw
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hog Jaw is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Jaw
- Pine Lake Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pine Lake Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake Village
- Grassy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grassy is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
- Scant City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Scant City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scant City
- Arab
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Grant
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Warrenton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Warrenton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to McMahans Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for McMahans Ferry.
Cemeteries Near McMahans Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McMahans 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 McMahans Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McMahans Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Walling Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Davidson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bloomfield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Logan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Campbell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hough Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Laceys Spring Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lipscomb Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dunlap Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Beard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Russell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (862 more) ...
- Lee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Farley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Black Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find McMahans Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McMahans Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McMahans Ferry, with the one closest to McMahans Ferry listed first.
- Whitesburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Owens' Cross Roads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Briscoe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Valhermoso Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lowe ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lowe is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowe
- Talucah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Talucah is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talucah
- Woodland Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland Mills is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Mills
- Oleander
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Oleander is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oleander
- Berkley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berkley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Haden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Haden is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Apple Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Triana
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Huntsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Union Grove
(12 miles [19.3 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 McMahans Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around McMahans Ferry.
Newspapers Published in McMahans 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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around McMahans Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McMahans Ferry, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McMahans Ferry.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 McMahans Ferry:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Morgan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Jackson County
- Limestone County
- Madison County
- Marshall 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> | 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 McMahans Ferry, 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 from Point A (ie- McMahans Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |