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 Pleasant Valley (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 Pleasant Valley. 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 Pleasant Valley ...
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 Pleasant Valley: Pleasant Vly. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Vally. or Pleasant Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Valley.
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.
Pleasant Valley is located in Etowah 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 Etowah County: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Pleasant Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley:
- Etowah County (The home county of Pleasant Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Attalla
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ivalee
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Benson ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Alabama City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Alabama City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama City
- Ridgeville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ridgeville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Bennettsville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bennettsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville
- Howelton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Egypt
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Rainbow City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Gadsden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Black Creek Falls ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Black Creek Falls is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek Falls
- Gallant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Bird ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Taits Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Snead
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hoods Crossroads
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Wynnville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Highmound
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Appalachian
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Straight Mountain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Fridays Crossing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Highland Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Clarence
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Susan Moore
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Southside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Oak Level
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Ohatchee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Grayton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Mack ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Colvins Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Wellington
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wellington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Ball Flat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Leesburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Anderson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Sand Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Centre
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Moshat
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Cullman County
- Holly Pond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Rains ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Rodentown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Crossville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cotnam
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Rogers
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Collinsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Whiton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Geraldine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Boaz
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Whitesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Douglas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Horton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Albertville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Hyatt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Hustleville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Steele
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ragland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Wattsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Coal City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Springville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Branchville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Lincoln
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Valley.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley.
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 Pleasant Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Red Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- McCartney Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Lee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ivalee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rainbow Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Carnes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brasher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Conn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Alabama City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Howelton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (383 more) ...
- Dillard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Forrest Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Noble Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Pleasant Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Attalla
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Stanfield ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Stanfield is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanfield
- Norton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Norton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Howelton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Littleton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Littleton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
- Etowahton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Etowahton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowahton
- Steele
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gadsden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gallant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Hood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hood is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Aurora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Redbud
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Redbud is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Mountainboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- East Gadsden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Valley.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant Valley ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Valley, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Valley.
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 Pleasant Valley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega 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 Pleasant Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Pleasant Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |