Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Otipalin. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Otipalin to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Otipalin, please Contact Us.
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 Otipalin (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 Otipalin. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Otipalin is historic, it would have been located within present day Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Otipalin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otipalin:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Otipalin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Ohatchee
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Macon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Grayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Clark ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Clark is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Southside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Morrisville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morrisville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Straight Mountain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Appalachian
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Taits Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Bird ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Hoods Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Oneonta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fridays Crossing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Wynnville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Allgood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Clarence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Rosa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rosa is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
- Snead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Ball Flat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Clay County
- Elder
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Abel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Grantley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Heflin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hollis Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Rodentown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Rainbow City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Cobb City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Glencoe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Attalla
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burns Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- East Gadsden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Alabama City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Alabama City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama City
- Gadsden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bennettsville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bennettsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville
- Black Creek Falls ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Black Creek Falls is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek Falls
- Jefferson County
- Ayres
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Whitesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Boaz
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Douglas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Horton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Ragland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Steele
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ashville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Whitney Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Coal City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Riverside
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Avondale Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Pell City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Cropwell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Lincoln
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Coldwater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Colony
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Grant Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- McElderry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Kentuck
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Talladega
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ironaton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Waldo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Logan Martin Dam
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otipalin, see our County-by-County Page for Otipalin.
Cemeteries Near Otipalin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otipalin.
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 Otipalin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otipalin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Ten Island Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Green Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ragan Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ohatchee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Middleton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Heald Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Box Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Morning Star Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Green Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Crooks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (284 more) ...
- Hebron Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Wester Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hampton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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.
While we didn't find Otipalin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otipalin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otipalin, with the one closest to Otipalin listed first.
- Ohatchee
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ottery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ottery is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottery
- Francis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Francis is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
- Macon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Grayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Ragland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Peek's Hill ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peek's Hill is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peek's Hill
- Markton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Morrisville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morrisville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Etowahton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Etowahton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowahton
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Hood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hood is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Fairview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otipalin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otipalin.
Newspapers Published in Otipalin ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otipalin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otipalin, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otipalin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Otipalin:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Otipalin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | 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- Otipalin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |