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 Petrey (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 Petrey. 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.
Petrey is located in Crenshaw 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 Crenshaw County: Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, Montgomery & Pike.
Below are the counties that are near Petrey. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Petrey:
- Crenshaw County (The home county of Petrey)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Vernledge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vernledge is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernledge
- Vidette
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Vidette is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vidette
- Highland Home
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Luverne
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Social Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Social Town is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Social Town
- Rutledge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rutledge is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Cherokee Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cherokee Village is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Village
- Honoraville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Honoraville is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honoraville
- Glenwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Peacock ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Peacock is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock
- Brantley
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bullock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bullock is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullock
- Merrill Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Merrill Mill is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill Mill
- Bullock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Postoak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Postoak is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
- Inverness
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Inverness is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Perote
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Perote is located in Bullock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perote
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Greenville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Oaky Streak
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oaky Streak is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaky Streak
- Industry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Industry is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
- Bolling
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bolling is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolling
- Coffee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Wilkinstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wilkinstown is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinstown
- Zoar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Zoar is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoar
- Jack
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jack is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jack
- Pine Level
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Pine Level is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Frisco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frisco is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Roeton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Roeton is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roeton
- Danleys Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Danleys Crossroads is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danleys Crossroads
- Java
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Java is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Java
- Mixson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mixson is located in Coffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixson
- Covington County
- Rose Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Lowndes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Sandy Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Davenport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Davenport is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
- Fort Deposit
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Letohatchee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Letohatchee is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letohatchee
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Lapine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lapine is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapine
- Grady
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Center Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Center Point is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Ramer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pine Level
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Level is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Ada
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ada is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
- Red Level
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Red Level is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
- Pintlala
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pintlala is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pintlala
- Former name for Pintlala:
- Colquitt
- Pike Road
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hope Hull
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Wingard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wingard is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingard
- Ansley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ansley is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansley
- Youngblood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Youngblood is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngblood
- Kent
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Kent is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Hallsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hallsville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
- Goshen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Meeksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Meeksville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeksville
- McClure Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- McClure Town is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClure Town
- Troy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Orion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Orion is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Henderson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
- Needmore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Needmore is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Mossy Grove Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mossy Grove Village is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mossy Grove Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Petrey, see our County-by-County Page for Petrey.
Cemeteries Near Petrey ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petrey.
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 Petrey - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Petrey covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Petrey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Stephens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Head Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wingard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chapel Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sims Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Springfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hudson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (305 more) ...
- Vernledge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Star of Hope MB Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Israel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Petrey had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Petrey had a population of 57 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Petrey, with the one closest to Petrey listed first.
- Live Oak
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Live Oak is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
- Wingard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wingard is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingard
- Patsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Patsburg is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patsburg
- Bradleyton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bradleyton is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradleyton
- Shady Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shady Grove is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Ansley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ansley is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansley
- Saville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Saville is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saville
- Vidette
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Vidette is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vidette
- Luverne
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hallsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hallsville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
- Lapine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lapine is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapine
- Highland Home
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Rutledge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rutledge is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Grady
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Curry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Curry is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Petrey. See our List of 1890's Communities around Petrey.
Newspapers Published in Petrey ...
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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petrey.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Petrey, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Petrey.
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 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 Petrey:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Crenshaw County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bullock County
- Butler County
- Coffee County
- Covington County
- Lowndes County
- Montgomery County
- Pike 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> | 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> | 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 Petrey, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Petrey) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |