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 Pea Ridge (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 Pea Ridge. 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 Pea Ridge ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pea Ridge: Pea Rdg. (or less commonly used: Pea Rdge. or Pea Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pea Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pea Ridge.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Pea Ridge is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Jefferson, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Pea Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pea Ridge:
- Shelby County (The home county of Pea Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Sawmill Town
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
- Aden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Aden is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aden
- Brantleyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Brantleyville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantleyville
- Maylene
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Montevallo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
- Former names for Wilton:
- Birmingham Junction
- Bismarck
- Catoosa
- Woods
- Woodsborough
- Tulse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Siluria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Siluria is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siluria
- Bamford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Alabaster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Saginaw
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Saginaw is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
- Helena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Calera
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Eddings
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Seymour
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- Brierfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Belle Ellen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Ashby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ashby is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Bucktown ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bucktown is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
- Corinne ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Corinne is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
- Italian Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Oakley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Oakley is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
- Burmah ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Burmah is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
- Chilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Jemison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thorsby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jumbo
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Jumbo is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Maplesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Clanton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stanton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Stanton is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
- Adams
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Adams is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Coosa County
- Aucheucaula ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Aucheucaula is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheucaula
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Greenwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Greenwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Kimbrell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kimbrell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrell
- McCalla
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mobile Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mobile Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile Junction
- New Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- New Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Village
- Old Jonesboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Old Jonesboro is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Jonesboro
- Bessemer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bullard Shoals ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bullard Shoals is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard Shoals
- Shannon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Shannon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon
- North Johns
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Johns is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johns
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Blue Creek Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Blue Creek Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Creek Junction
- Hoover
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Adger
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Oakmulgee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Oakmulgee is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakmulgee
- Bethlehem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bethlehem is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Talladega Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Talladega Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talladega Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Fayetteville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Fayetteville is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Tannehill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Vance
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Abernant
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Brookwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Coaling
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
- Pearson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Pearson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
- Kellerman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Hagler
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hagler is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagler
- Bull City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Peterson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
- Cottondale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Duncanville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Duncanville is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pea Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Pea Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Pea Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pea Ridge.
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 Pea Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pea Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Macedonia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Linholm Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Antioch Cemetery #2
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- King Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wildwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ryan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Maylene Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Boothton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Montevallo Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Alabama National Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Moores Crossroads Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (417 more) ...
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- McKinney Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Carlton Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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 Pea Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pea Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pea Ridge, with the one closest to Pea Ridge listed first.
- Dogwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dogwood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
- Gurnee
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gurnee is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurnee
- Anita
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anita is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
- Boothton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Boothton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boothton
- Montevallo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Maylene
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Tulse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Brierfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Siluria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Siluria is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siluria
- Bamford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Ashby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ashby is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Longview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Longview is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Helena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Calera
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pea Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pea Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Pea Ridge ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pea Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pea Ridge, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pea Ridge.
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 Pea Ridge:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Chilton County
- Coosa County
- Jefferson County
- Perry County
- Talladega County
- Tuscaloosa 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Pea Ridge) 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 Pea Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |