RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Blount County >> Oneonta >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Oneonta (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 Oneonta. 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 Oneonta ...

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.

Another variation: Oneonto.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oneonta. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oneonta.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Oneonta is located in Blount County and is the County Seat.

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 Oneonta. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oneonta:

  • Blount County     (The home county of Oneonta)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oneonta, with the one closest to Oneonta listed first.
    • Rosa
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rosa is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
    • Allgood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Allgood is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
    • Taits Gap
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Hoods Crossroads
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
    • Appalachian
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Highland Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Highland Lake is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Cleveland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Straight Mountain
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
    • Deavers
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Deavers is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
    • Bird ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bird is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
    • Little Warrior
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Fridays Crossing
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Huldah ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Huldah is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huldah
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oneonta, with the one closest to Oneonta listed first.
    • Southside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cochran Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Macon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ohatchee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Level
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Boozer ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Boozer is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
    • Bruner ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bruner is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
    • Douthrittville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
    • Grayton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Cullman County
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oneonta, with the one closest to Oneonta listed first.
    • Mount Zion ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rains ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rains is located in DeKalb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
  • Etowah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oneonta, with the one closest to Oneonta listed first.
    • Nix ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Nix is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
    • Altoona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Clear Springs ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
    • Walnut Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Gallant
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Howelton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Benson ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Benson is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
    • Ivalee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Aurora
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Egypt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Greer ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Greer is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
    • Attalla
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ridgeville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ridgeville is located in Etowah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oneonta, with the one closest to Oneonta listed first.
    • Ayres
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Masseyline
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
    • Village Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
    • Palmerdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Clay
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Trafford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Crosston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Crosston is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
    • Majestic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Majestic is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
    • Pinson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Breakstone Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
    • East Trussville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
    • Chalkville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oneonta, with the one closest to Oneonta listed first.
    • Douglas
      (17 miles [27.4 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
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
    • Big Spring ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Big Spring is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
    • Bowen ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Bowen is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
    • Bartlett ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Bartlett is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
    • Horton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitesville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hyatt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Askea Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Street ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Street is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
    • Arab
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Boaz
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Rabbit Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oneonta, with the one closest to Oneonta listed first.
    • Hulaco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Hulaco is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
    • Ryan Crossroads
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Eva
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Eva is located in Morgan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eva
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eva <1>
  • Saint Clair County
  • Shelby County
  • Talladega County
    • Colony
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Colony is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony

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

Cemeteries Near Oneonta ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oneonta.

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

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

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

  • Oakhill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Valley View Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Antioch Methodist Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Daileys Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Chitwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Clements Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Blackwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Tidwell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Bynum Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (365 more) ...
    • Painter Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mt. Joy Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Greens Chapel Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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 in 1895, Oneonta had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Oneonta had a population of 6,601 people.

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

  • Champion
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Champion is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
  • Chepultepec
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Chepultepec is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepultepec
  • Cleveland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Little Warrior
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Viola ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Viola is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
  • Bird ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Bird is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
  • Royal
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Huldah ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Huldah is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huldah
  • Clarence
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Adville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Nix ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Nix is located in Etowah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
  • Wynnville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Oneonta ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oneonta.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Oneonta. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Oneonta and those printed in the larger area surrounding Oneonta.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> of Oneonta.

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 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 Oneonta:

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' (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- Oneonta) 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 Oneonta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.