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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 Morris (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 Morris. 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.

Morris is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.

Below are the counties that are near Morris. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Morris:

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Morris)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.
    • Kimberly
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Majestic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Majestic is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
    • Crosston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Crosston is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
    • Mount Olive
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Trafford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gardendale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Masseyline
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
    • New Castle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Corner is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner
    • Pinson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Watson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Watson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
    • Brookside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.
    • Warrior
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • County Line
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Reid's
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Smoke Rise
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
    • Selfville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Selfville is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
    • Red Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Red Hill is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
    • Hayden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Compton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dallas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dallas is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Remlap
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Blount Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Adville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Dale ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Dale is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
  • Cullman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.
    • Baltimore ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Baltimore is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
    • Arkadelphia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Bottom
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Colony
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • The Colony
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • The Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Damascus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Garden City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bremen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dodge City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Dodge City is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
    • Hanceville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • White City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • White City is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Ardell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Good Hope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Good Hope is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.
    • Argo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Argo is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
    • Springville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Parsons
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Margaret
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Turnbough Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
    • Acmar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodland Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Moody
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brompton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Branchville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
    • Saint Clair Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Odenville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Cook's Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.
    • Bridgeton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Dunnavant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Purdy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
    • Dunavant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Inverness
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Inverness is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
    • Meadowbrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Shoal Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Vandiver
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Springs Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Sterrett
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Chelsea
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Pelham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Tacoa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Tacoa is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.
    • Creel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Creel is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
    • Empire
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Sumiton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
    • Oakahalla
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Quinton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Wyatt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Burnwell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Burnwell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
    • Dora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Sipsey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Twilley Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Twilley Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
    • Yerkwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Red Star
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Red Star is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Morris, see our County-by-County Page for Morris.

Cemeteries Near Morris ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Morris.

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 Morris - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Morris covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Morris had a population of 156 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Morris had a population of 2,182 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Morris, with the one closest to Morris listed first.

  • Warrior
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Cunningham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cunningham is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
  • Coaldale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Coaldale is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
  • Linton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Linton is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linton
  • Bradford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • New Castle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Reid's
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Cardiff
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Brookside
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Selfville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Selfville is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
  • Linn Crossing
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Linn Crossing is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Crossing
  • Coalburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Coalburg is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
    • Former name for Coalburg:
    • Coalburgh
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Sloan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sloan is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
    • Robbins Crossroads
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Blossburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Blossburg is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossburg

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Morris. See our List of 1890's Communities around Morris.

Newspapers Published in Morris ...

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 4 newspapers that have been published in the area around Morris.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Morris, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Morris.

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 helpful 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 Morris:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Morris) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Morris, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.