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 Paragon (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 Paragon. 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 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.
Paragon is located in Choctaw 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 Choctaw County: Clarke, Marengo, Sumter, Washington, Clarke (MS), Lauderdale (MS) & Wayne (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Paragon. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Paragon:
- Choctaw County (The home county of Paragon)
- The following are listed by their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Gilbertown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Okatuppa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Okatuppa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okatuppa
- Toxey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Toxey is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Souwilpa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Souwilpa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Souwilpa
- Melvin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Melvin is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Emory
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Emory is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emory
- Needham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Needham is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
- Bolinger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bolinger is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolinger
- Silas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Isney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Isney is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isney
- Aquilla
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Aquilla is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquilla
- Cullomburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cullomburg is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullomburg
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- West Bend
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- West Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
- Fakit Chipunta ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fakit Chipunta is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fakit Chipunta
- Coffeeville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Morvin
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Morvin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morvin
- Salitpa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Salitpa is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salitpa
- Winn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Winn is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
- Marengo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Putnam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Barrons ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Barrons is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrons
- Nanafalia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Healing Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Healing Springs is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Mehaffey ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mehaffey is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehaffey
- Millry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Frankville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Frankville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Barlow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Barlow is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Copeland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Copeland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
- Bigbee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bigbee is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigbee
- Chatom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Stephen's
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hobson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hobson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson
- Clarke County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Junction City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Junction City is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Gin ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Gin is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gin
- Shubuta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Shubuta is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shubuta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 399 people
- De Soto
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- De Soto is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Quitman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Stonewall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stonewall is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 946 people
- Greene County (MS)
- State Line
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- State Line is located in Greene County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
- Lauderdale County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Increase
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Increase is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Increase
- Increase has also been known as:
- Causeyville
- Whynot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Whynot is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whynot
- Wayne County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Matherville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Matherville is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherville
- Waynesboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Robinsons Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Robinsons Junction is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Junction
- Chicora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chicora is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicora
- Clara
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clara is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara
- Whistler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whistler is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Paragon, see our County-by-County Page for Paragon.
Cemeteries Near Paragon ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Paragon.
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 Paragon - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Paragon covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Paragon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Smiths Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bonner Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Old Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gilbertown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mosley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mosley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Springbank Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Harrison Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (257 more) ...
- Barrytown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Old Lusk Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Paragon in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Paragon.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Paragon, with the one closest to Paragon listed first.
- Souwilpa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Souwilpa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Souwilpa
- Emory
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Emory is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emory
- Melvin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Melvin is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Isney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Isney is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isney
- Silas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lusk
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lusk is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Aquilla
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Aquilla is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquilla
- Womack Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Womack Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack Hill
- Matherville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Matherville is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherville
- Tokio
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tokio is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tokio
- Rescueville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rescueville is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescueville
- Carmichael
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Carmichael is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmichael
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- West Bend
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- West Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
- Ararat
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ararat is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
- Hinton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hinton is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Paragon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Paragon.
Newspapers Published in Paragon ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Paragon.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Paragon, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Paragon.
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 helpful 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 Paragon:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Choctaw County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Marengo County
- Washington County
- Clarke County
- Greene County
- Lauderdale County
- Wayne 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> | 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 Paragon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Paragon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |