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 Olivers Ferry (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 Olivers Ferry. 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 Olivers Ferry ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Olivers Ferry: Olivers Fry. (or less commonly used: Olivers Frry.)
- While the name of this community is Olivers Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Olivers Ferry may originally have been Oliver's Ferry.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Olivers Ferry might be written as Oliver Ferry.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Olivers Ferry. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Olivers Ferry.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Olivers Ferry is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia & Wilcox.
Below are the counties that are near Olivers Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Olivers Ferry:
- Monroe County (The home county of Olivers Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Claiborne
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Claiborne is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claiborne
- Perdue Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Perdue Hill is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue Hill
- Frisco City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mexia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mexia is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
- Finchburg ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Finchburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchburg
- Megargel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Megargel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Megargel
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Ollie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ollie is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
- Uriah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Goodway
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Goodway is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodway
- Excel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Excel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
- Scratch Ankle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Scratch Ankle is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scratch Ankle
- Baldwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Little River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Blacksher
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Blacksher is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacksher
- Tensaw
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tensaw is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tensaw
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Barlow Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barlow Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow Bend
- Gainestown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gainestown is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainestown
- Suggsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Suggsville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suggsville
- Alma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Alma is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Whatley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Whatley is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whatley
- Walker Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rockville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Rockville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Carlton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Grove Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Toddtown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Toddtown is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddtown
- Jackson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dickinson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dickinson is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickinson
- Conecuh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Repton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bermuda
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bermuda is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
- Range
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Range is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Range
- Lenox
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Belleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Belleville is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
- Ramah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ramah is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramah
- Escambia County
- Huxford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Huxford is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxford
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Carson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Carson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Leroy
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Leroy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
- Prestwick
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Prestwick is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prestwick
- Bassetts Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bassetts Creek is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassetts Creek
- Sunflower
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sunflower is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunflower
- Wagarville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Stephen's
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- McIntosh
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wilcox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Lower Peach Tree
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lower Peach Tree is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Peach Tree
- Asahel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Asahel is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asahel
- Coy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Coy is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coy
- Nellie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Nellie is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nellie
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Olivers Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for Olivers Ferry.
Cemeteries Near Olivers Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olivers Ferry.
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 Olivers Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Olivers Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Linder Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- McConnico Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Claiborne Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Franks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Morning Star Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cedar Fork Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Road Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Baas Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hearin Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mexia Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (210 more) ...
- Old Salem Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Carry Mt. Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Olivers Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Olivers Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Olivers Ferry, with the one closest to Olivers Ferry listed first.
- Barlow Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barlow Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow Bend
- Perdue Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Perdue Hill is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue Hill
- Claiborne
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Claiborne is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claiborne
- Gosport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Gosport is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosport
- Gainestown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gainestown is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainestown
- Suggsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Suggsville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suggsville
- Alma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Alma is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Finchburg ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Finchburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchburg
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Whatley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Whatley is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whatley
- Walker Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Vashti
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Vashti is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashti
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Monroeville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Axle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Axle is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axle
- Little River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Olivers Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around Olivers Ferry.
Newspapers Published in Olivers Ferry ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olivers Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Olivers Ferry, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Olivers Ferry.
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 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 Olivers Ferry:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Baldwin County
- Clarke County
- Conecuh County
- Escambia County
- Washington County
- Wilcox County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Olivers Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Olivers Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |