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 Owens' Cross Roads (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 Owens' Cross Roads. 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 Owens' Cross Roads ...
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 Owens' Cross Roads: Owens Xrds.
- While the name of this town is Owens' Cross Roads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So you may find that Owens' Cross Roads has been called Owen's' Cross Roads.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Owens' Cross Roads might be written as Owen' Cross Roads..
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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Owens' Cross Roads 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 Owens' Cross Roads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Owens' Cross Roads:
- Madison County (The home county of Owens' Cross Roads)
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Berkley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Berkley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Big Cove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Big Cove is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cove
- New Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Gurley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- English Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- English Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Greenwycke Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Brownsboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Maysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Maysville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Ryland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Chelsea
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chelsea is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Huntsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Summit
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- McLarty
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Birdie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Birdie is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdie
- Bright Star
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Brooksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 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 Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Joppa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Baileyton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fairview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Grove Oak
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grove Oak is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Oak
- Whiton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Rogers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Hix ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hix is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hix
- Chigger Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Gibson Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Gibson Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson Crossroads
- Geraldine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeview is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Paint Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Woodville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Trenton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aspel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Lim Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lim Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lim Rock
- Pleasant Groves
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Groves is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Groves
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Dry Cove ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Dry Cove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Cove
- Hollytree
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Larkinsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Larkinsville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkinsville
- Langston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Princeton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Beachboro ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beachboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachboro
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Swancott
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Westlake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Capshaw
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Belle Mina
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Mooresville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Center Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Fairmount
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Country Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Harris Station
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Orrville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Grant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fort Deposit ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Deposit is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Deposit
- Columbus City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Columbus City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Friendship
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Scant City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Scant City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scant City
- Columbus City Ferry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Columbus City Ferry is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City Ferry
- North ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- North is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
- Grassy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Grassy is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
- Ruth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ruth is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Warrenton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Warrenton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenton
- Mid ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Lacey's Spring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Briscoe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Valhermoso Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Winton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Florette
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Ryan Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Hulaco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Somerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Eva
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Priceville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Owens' Cross Roads, see our County-by-County Page for Owens' Cross Roads.
Cemeteries Near Owens' Cross Roads ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Owens' Cross Roads.
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 Owens' Cross Roads - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Owens' Cross Roads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Moon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Byrd Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Baker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Glover Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Brazelton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Parker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Neal Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Buford Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Chandler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Allison Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hines Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Vann Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Continue List (870 more) ...
- Fleming Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fleming Cemetery is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the southeast of Huntsville.
- Cobb Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Cross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Owens' Cross Roads had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Owens' Cross Roads had a population of 2,233 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Owens' Cross Roads, with the one closest to Owens' Cross Roads listed first.
- Lowe ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lowe is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowe
- Berkley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Berkley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- New Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Whitesburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Nebo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nebo is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
- Haden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Haden is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Paint Rock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Gurley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Keel ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Keel is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keel
- Woodville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bucksnort
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bucksnort is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksnort
- Brownsboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Garth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Garth is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garth
- Maysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Maysville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Cottonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cottonville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Owens' Cross Roads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Owens' Cross Roads.
Newspapers Published in Owens' Cross Roads ...
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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Owens' Cross Roads.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Owens' Cross Roads, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Owens' Cross Roads.
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 Owens' Cross Roads:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Colbert County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Jackson County
- Limestone County
- Marshall County
- Morgan 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Owens' Cross Roads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Owens' Cross Roads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |