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 Mount Olive (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 Mount Olive. 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 Mount Olive ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Mount Olive: Mt. Olive
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mount Olive. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mount Olive.
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 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.
Mount Olive is located in Blount 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 Blount County: Cullman, Etowah, Jefferson, Marshall, Saint Clair, Walker & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Mount Olive. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mount Olive:
- Blount County (The home county of Mount Olive)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Hayden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bangor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bangor is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Adville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Locust Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blount Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Dallas
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Little Warrior
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Nectar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nectar is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- County Line
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Selfville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Smoke Rise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- Deavers
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Reid's
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Garden City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Black Bottom
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Damascus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Hanceville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Colony
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- White City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Dodge City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Arkadelphia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Good Hope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Good Hope is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
- Bremen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Baileytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Altoona
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nix ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Walnut Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Trafford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Masseyline
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Bradford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Majestic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Majestic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
- Village Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Kimberly
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crosston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Crosston is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
- Palmerdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Morris
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Morris is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
- Pinson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ayres
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Corner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner
- Clay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Douglas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Askea Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Askea Grove is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Askea Grove
- Hog Jaw
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hog Jaw is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Jaw
- Pine Lake Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pine Lake Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake Village
- Arab
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hyatt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Eva
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hulaco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Lacon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lacon is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
- Ryan Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- 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 Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Springville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Argo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Saint Clair Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Turnbough Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Margaret
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Branchville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Parsons
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Whitney Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Odenville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Moody
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Ashville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Woodland Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Dunnavant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Creel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Powellville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Powellville is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Sumiton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
- Sipsey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Sipsey is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipsey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Oakahalla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Burnwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Dora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wyatt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Burrows Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Burrows Crossroads is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrows Crossroads
- Quinton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Red Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Red Rock is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- Winston County
- Arley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mount Olive, see our County-by-County Page for Mount Olive.
Cemeteries Near Mount Olive ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Olive.
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 Mount Olive - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mount Olive covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Union Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Graves Gap Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Guinns Cove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Moore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Harrell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Elvester Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Bluff Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Garden City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Holston Chapel UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- County Line Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Vandiver Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (376 more) ...
- Lilly Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Love Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Brown - Hudson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<3>
While we didn't find Mount Olive in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mount Olive.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Adville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Bangor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bangor is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Blount Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Garden City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Selfville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Little Warrior
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Reid's
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Linton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Linton is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linton
- Coaldale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coaldale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Compton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Warrior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Remlap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Viola ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Viola is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Joy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Joy is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
- Gum Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gum Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mount Olive. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mount Olive.
Newspapers Published in Mount Olive ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Olive.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mount Olive, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mount Olive.
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 Mount Olive:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Blount County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Walker County
- Winston 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> | 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. |
| <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 Mount Olive, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mount Olive) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |