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 Oak Leaf (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 Oak Leaf. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Oak Leaf is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Jackson, Limestone, Marshall, Morgan, Franklin (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Oak Leaf. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Leaf:
- Madison County (The home county of Oak Leaf)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Chelsea
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Huntsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Greenwycke Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Rideout Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- English Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Big Cove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Big Cove is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cove
- Normal
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Chase
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Chase is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
- Madison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mercury
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Monrovia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Slaughter Landing ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Slaughter Landing is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughter Landing
- Slaughter Landing has also been known as:
- Slaughter Ferry
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Joppa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Baileyton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Paint Rock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Woodville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Trenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Hollytree
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Pleasant Groves
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Groves is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Groves
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Princeton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Lim Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lim Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lim Rock
- Aspel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Beachboro ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beachboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachboro
- Dry Cove ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dry Cove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Cove
- Larkinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Larkinsville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkinsville
- Baileytown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Baileytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Cumberland Mountain Farm Colony ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Capshaw
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Swancott
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Westlake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Belle Mina
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Center Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Mooresville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Fairmount
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Country Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Harris Station
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Caro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Caro is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Orrville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Tanner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Union Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ruth is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Fort Deposit ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Deposit is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Deposit
- Friendship
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Friendship is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Grant
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hog Jaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hog Jaw is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Jaw
- Pine Lake Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pine Lake Village is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake Village
- Grassy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grassy is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
- Scant City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Scant City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scant City
- Arab
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Columbus City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Columbus City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- North ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- North is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Lacey's Spring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Valhermoso Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Winton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Briscoe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Morgan City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Somerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Priceville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Florette
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Burningtree Mountain
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Decatur
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Flint City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Ardmore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Wheelerton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Cash Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Howell Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Camargo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Park City Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Coldwater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Corder Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Corder Crossroads is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corder Crossroads
- Flintville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Flintville is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 627 people
- Molino
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Leaf, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Leaf.
Cemeteries Near Oak Leaf ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Leaf.
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 Oak Leaf - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Leaf covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Matkins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jones Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- McDonnell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Landman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jordan - Lanier Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Lanier Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Donegan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Sivley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Merrimack Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fennil Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (993 more) ...
- Jordan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jones Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Perkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
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 Oak Leaf in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Leaf.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Leaf, with the one closest to Oak Leaf listed first.
- Huntsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Haden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Haden is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Whitesburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Mercury
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Monrovia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Triana
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Triana is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,327 people
- Talucah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Talucah is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talucah
- Brownsboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jeff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Swancott
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Owens' Cross Roads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Berkley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Berkley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Meridianville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Maysville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Maysville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Bell Factory
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bell Factory is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Factory
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Leaf. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Leaf.
Newspapers Published in Oak Leaf ...
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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Leaf.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Leaf, 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 Oak Leaf.
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 Oak Leaf:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- Jackson County
- Limestone County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Giles County
- Lincoln 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 Oak Leaf, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Leaf) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |