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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 Peterson (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 Peterson. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa County: Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson & Pickens.

Below are the counties that are near Peterson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Peterson:

  • Tuscaloosa County     (The home county of Peterson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peterson, with the one closest to Peterson listed first.
    • Cottondale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Holt
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Holt is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Brookwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Alberta City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Alberta City is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta City
    • Wood Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Wood Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Village
    • Coaling
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
    • University
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Tuscaloosa
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Sahama Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Sahama Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sahama Village
    • Ingleside Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Ingleside Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside Village
    • Northport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lake Front Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Front Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Front Village
    • Kellerman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Bibb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peterson, with the one closest to Peterson listed first.
    • North Bibb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • North Bibb is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
    • Blocton Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Egypt ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Egypt is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
    • Green Pond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Woodstock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Burmah ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Burmah is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
    • Fikestown ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Fikestown is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fikestown
    • Scottsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • West Blocton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Bucktown ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bucktown is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
    • Italian Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Italian Town is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
    • Blocton ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Blocton is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
    • Corinne ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Corinne is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
  • Fayette County
  • Greene County
    • Knoxville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Knoxville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
  • Hale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peterson, with the one closest to Peterson listed first.
    • Moundville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Phipps ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Powers
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Akron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Village is located in Hale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Village
  • Jefferson County
  • Perry County
  • Pickens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peterson, with the one closest to Peterson listed first.
    • Gordo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Gordo is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordo <1>
    • Lubbub
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peterson, with the one closest to Peterson listed first.
    • Aden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Sawmill Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
    • Bamford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Bamford is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
    • Tulse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Tulse is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Peterson, see our County-by-County Page for Peterson.

Cemeteries Near Peterson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Peterson.

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 Peterson - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Peterson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Peterson, with the one closest to Peterson listed first.

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 Peterson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Peterson.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Peterson, with the one closest to Peterson listed first.

  • Cottondale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Brookwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • University
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Coaling
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
  • Tuscaloosa
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Dudley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Dudley is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
  • Northport
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Englewood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Englewood is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
  • Vance
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Vance is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,807 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
  • Hagler
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Bibbville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bibbville is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bibbville
  • Yolande
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Yolande is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yolande
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Coker
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Coker is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 953 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coker <1>
    • Hull
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hull is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
    • Giles
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Giles is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Peterson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Peterson.

Newspapers Published in Peterson ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Peterson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Peterson, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Peterson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Peterson:

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>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.
<3>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- Peterson) 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 Peterson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.