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 Morning Sun Villas (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 Morning Sun Villas. 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 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.
Morning Sun Villas is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Jefferson, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Morning Sun Villas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Morning Sun Villas:
- Shelby County (The home county of Morning Sun Villas)
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Meadowbrook
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Inverness
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Lake Purdy
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Bridgeton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Shoal Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Indian Springs Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
- Chelsea
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Westover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Dunavant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Vandiver
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Dunnavant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Tacoa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Eddings
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Brierfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Green Pond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seymour
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- Woodstock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ashby is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Belle Ellen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Blocton Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Italian Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- North Bibb
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Dale ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Compton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- County Line
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Remlap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Selfville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Warrior
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Dallas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Coosa County
- Aucheucaula ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Aucheucaula is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheucaula
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Cahaba Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Brook
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Vestavia Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cahaba Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cahaba Landing is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Landing
- Mountain Brook Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hoover
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- English Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- English Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Homewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Irondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Avondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Avondale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Gate City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gate City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City
- Marks Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Marks Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marks Village
- Mason City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mason City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Woodland Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Vincent
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Moody
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
- Brompton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Acmar
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Parsons
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Cook's Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Argo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Margaret
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbough Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Odenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- East Bend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Logan Martin Dam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Childersburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bon Air
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bon Air is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Fayetteville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Talladega Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Talladega Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talladega Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Zubers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Zubers is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zubers
- Alpine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Comerdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Comerdale is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comerdale
- Nottingham ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Nottingham is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Former name for Nottingham:
- Jones Camp Ground
- Oak Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
- Gantts Quarry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gantts Quarry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantts Quarry
- Mignon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mignon is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Tannehill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Abernant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Quinton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Wyatt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Oakahalla
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Reeds Ferry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Morning Sun Villas, see our County-by-County Page for Morning Sun Villas.
Cemeteries Near Morning Sun Villas ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Morning Sun Villas.
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 Morning Sun Villas - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Morning Sun Villas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- McDaniel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Allen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Harris Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bryan Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bold Springs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wise Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Croft Acton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bailey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Old Acton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Springs First Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (343 more) ...
- Brashers Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cahaba Heights Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brasher Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Morning Sun Villas in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Morning Sun Villas.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Morning Sun Villas, with the one closest to Morning Sun Villas listed first.
- Bridgeton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Pelham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Avondale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Irondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gate City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gate City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City
- Woodlawn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Woodlawn is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Rock Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Rock Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Ridge
- Ruffner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ruffner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruffner
- Spaulding
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Spaulding is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
- Oxmoor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Oxmoor is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxmoor
- East Birmingham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Birmingham is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Birmingham
- Vanderbilt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vanderbilt is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderbilt
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Weems
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Weems is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weems
- Birmingham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Powderly
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Powderly is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powderly
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Morning Sun Villas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Morning Sun Villas.
Newspapers Published in Morning Sun Villas ...
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 1 newspapers that have been published in the area around Morning Sun Villas.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Morning Sun Villas, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Morning Sun Villas.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Morning Sun Villas:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Blount County
- Coosa County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Tuscaloosa County
- Walker 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 Morning Sun Villas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Morning Sun Villas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |