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 Nelson (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 Nelson. 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 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.
Nelson is located in Chambers 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 Chambers County: Lee, Randolph, Tallapoosa, Harris (GA) & Troup (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Nelson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Nelson:
- Chambers County (The home county of Nelson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Huguley
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Huguley is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguley
- Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cusseta
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eady City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Eady City is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eady City
- Lanett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plant City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plant City is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City
- River View
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- River View is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- Osanippa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Osanippa is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osanippa
- Boyds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Boyds is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyds
- LaFayette
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fredonia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Fredonia is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Five Points
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Five Points is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Blanton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Blanton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
- Gwen Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gwen Mill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwen Mill
- Opelika
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chewacla
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Chewacla is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewacla
- Salem
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bleecker
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bleecker is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleecker
- The Bottle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- The Bottle is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Bottle
- Beauregard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Beauregard is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard
- Auburn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Prince Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Prince Crossroads is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prince Crossroads
- Smith's Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Smith's Station is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith's Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,804 people
- Ridgewood Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgewood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Village
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Society Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Society Hill is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Society Hill
- Notasulga
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Roanoke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rock Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rock Mills is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Mills
- Peavy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Peavy is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peavy
- Wadley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- High Shoals
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- High Shoals is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
- Forester Chapel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Forester Chapel is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester Chapel
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Crawford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Crawford is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Ladonia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ladonia is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladonia
- Hugley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hugley is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugley
- Phenix City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fontaine Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fontaine Village is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontaine Village
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Dudleyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Dudleyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudleyville
- Camp Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Slaughters ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Slaughters is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughters
- Frog Eye
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Frog Eye is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Eye
- Matilda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Daviston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Truett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
- Agricola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Agricola is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agricola
- Dadeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Harris County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Pine Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Pine Lake is located in Harris County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake
- Mountain Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Hill is located in Harris County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Hill
- Population from the 2010 Census: 11,554 people
- Hamilton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pine Mountain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mountainbrook
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mountainbrook is located in Harris County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainbrook
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,108 people
- Pine Mountain Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cataula
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ellerslie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Waverly Hall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Heard County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Glenn
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Houston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Houston is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Population from the 2010 Census: 110 people
- O'Neals Crossroad
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- O'Neals Crossroad is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neals Crossroad
- Muscogee County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Fortson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Chapel
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Chapel is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Chapel
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,701 people
- Glenns
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Glenns is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenns
- Estimated population in 2019: 5,020 people
- Maridale Estates
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Maridale Estates is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maridale Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 60,867 people
- Bibb City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bibb City is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bibb City
- City Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- City Village is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City Village
- Lincoln Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lincoln Hills is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 833 people
- Columbus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hilton Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hilton Heights is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Heights
- Estimated population in 2018: 324 people
- East Edgewood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Edgewood is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Edgewood
- Estimated population in 2019: 569 people
- Midland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wynnton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wynnton is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnton
- Troup County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- West Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- North West Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- North West Point is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North West Point
- Pioneer Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pioneer Village is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- West Lake Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Lake Village is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lake Village
- Abbottsford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Abbottsford is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsford
- Evansville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Evansville is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- Vernon ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Vernon is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Rockwell Estates
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rockwell Estates is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell Estates
- LaGrange
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sassafrass Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sassafrass Hills is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassafrass Hills
- Estimated population in 2019: 255 people
- Sunny Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sunny Point is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Point
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,303 people
- Louise
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Louise is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louise
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,215 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Nelson, see our County-by-County Page for Nelson.
Cemeteries Near Nelson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nelson.
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 Nelson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Nelson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Huguley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Evangel Temple Assembly of God Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cusseta Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfax Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rehobeth Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hall Memorial CME Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rest Haven Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sweet Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (398 more) ...
- Providence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Glass Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Langdale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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 Nelson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Nelson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Nelson, with the one closest to Nelson listed first.
- Cusseta
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- River View
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- River View is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- West Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Osanippa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Osanippa is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osanippa
- Tuckersburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tuckersburg is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckersburg
- Beulah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beulah is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Boyds
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Boyds is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyds
- LaFayette
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Bowery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Bowery is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bowery
- Mechanicsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Gabbettville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gabbettville is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabbettville
- Long Cane
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Long Cane is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Cane
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Moorefield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Moorefield is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorefield
- Fredonia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Fredonia is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Whitesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Whitesville is located in Harris County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Nelson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nelson.
Newspapers Published in Nelson ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nelson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nelson, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nelson.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Nelson:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Chambers County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lee County
- Macon County
- Randolph County
- Russell County
- Tallapoosa County
- Harris County
- Heard County
- Muscogee County
- Troup 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 Nelson, 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- Nelson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |