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 (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. 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 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 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.
Owens is located in Etowah 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 Etowah County: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Owens. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Owens:
- Etowah County (The home county of Owens)
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Hale ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Turkeytown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Coat's Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Ballplay
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Anderson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Keener
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Edwardsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Yancy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Duck Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Banner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Crudup
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Highmound
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Snead
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Colvins Gap
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Collins ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Oak Level
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Mack ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Southside
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Merrellton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Piedmont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Angel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Leesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Centre
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Sand Rock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Ball Flat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Moshat
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Tucker Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Cedar Bluff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Noah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Howells Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Borden Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Grantley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Palestine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Oak Level
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Collinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Cotnam
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Mount Vernon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Rodentown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Dawson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Crossville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Dog Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Sigsbee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Rains ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Floy ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Floy is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floy
- Jackson County
- Rock City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Boaz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Albertville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Peters ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Whitesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Rabbit Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Horton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Gregory
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Douglas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Hyatt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Saint Clair County
- Steele
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chattooga County (GA)
- Chattoogaville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Cave Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Coosa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Etna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Owens, see our County-by-County Page for Owens.
Cemeteries Near Owens ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Owens.
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 - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Owens covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Beulah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Shepard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Croft Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Owens Memorial Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Black Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Smith Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mackey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (390 more) ...
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Morrison Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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 Owens in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Owens.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Owens, with the one closest to Owens listed first.
- Oak Hill ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Oak Hill is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Slackland
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Slackland is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackland
- Turkeytown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Coat's Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Maple Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Mackey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mackey is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Tabor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tabor is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
- Leonard
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Leonard is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Upton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Upton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
- Leesburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Keener
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Brice
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Brice is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Plano
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Yancy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Chumley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chumley is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chumley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Owens. See our List of 1890's Communities around Owens.
Newspapers Published in Owens ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Owens.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Owens, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Owens.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Polk 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> | 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- Owens) 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 Owens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |