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 Philadelphia (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 Philadelphia. 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 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.
Philadelphia is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Philadelphia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Philadelphia:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Philadelphia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Dailey
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Piedmont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Nances Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Collins ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Abernathy ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Abernathy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Merrellton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Jacksonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- White Plains
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Colvins Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Booker T City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Booker T City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker T City
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Spring Garden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Rock Run
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Exie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Tecumseh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Ball Flat
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Moshat
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Noah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Tucker Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Howells Crossroads
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- 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
- Centre
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Borden Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Fruithurst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Edwardsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Muscadine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Ai
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Heflin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hopewell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Abel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Hightower
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Hollis Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Lickskillet
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Collinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sigsbee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Dog Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Banner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Ballplay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Hokes Bluff
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hale ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Cobb City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Coat's Bend
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Edwardsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Glencoe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Wilsonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Anderson
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Burns Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Carroll County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Jake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jake is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jake
- Estimated population in 2019: 146 people
- Bowdon Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chattooga County (GA)
- Chattoogaville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- 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 Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Cave Spring
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coosa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Brice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brice is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Oreburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Robealou Acres
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Lindale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Atlanta Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Rosemont Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rosemont Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont Park
- Wax
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wax is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wax
- Chiaha ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Chiaha is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiaha
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,256 people
- Rome
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rome is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,764 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome <1>
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Felton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Tallapoosa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Buchanan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Budapest
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Tabernacle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tabernacle is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
- Waco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Waco is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 532 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
- Bremen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Esom Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Etna
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Grady ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Grady is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Estimated population in 2019: 290 people
- Seney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Seney is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seney
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,412 people
- Aragon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rockmart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Philadelphia, see our County-by-County Page for Philadelphia.
Cemeteries Near Philadelphia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Philadelphia.
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 Philadelphia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Philadelphia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ladiga Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Memorial Garden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hanks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Carmel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Gap Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Farmer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Borden Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Goshen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Goshen Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen Valley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Goshen Valley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the north of Piedmont.
- The Goshen Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Goshen Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1413181 <2>
- Continue List (379 more) ...
- Grimes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Arrington Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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 Philadelphia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Philadelphia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Philadelphia, with the one closest to Philadelphia listed first.
- Ladiga
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Ladiga is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiga
- Spring Garden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Piedmont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Gap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Gap is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gap
- Borden Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Rock Run Station
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Run Station is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run Station
- Grantley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Exie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Oak Level
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Bluffton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bluffton is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
- Nances Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Tecumseh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Gnatville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gnatville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gnatville
- Esom Hill
(9 miles [14.5 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 Philadelphia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Philadelphia.
Newspapers Published in Philadelphia ...
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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Philadelphia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Philadelphia, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Philadelphia.
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 Philadelphia:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Carroll County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Haralson 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> | 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Philadelphia) 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 Philadelphia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |