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 Portersville (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 Portersville. 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.
Portersville is located in DeKalb 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 DeKalb County: Cherokee, Etowah, Jackson, Marshall, Chattooga (GA), Dade (GA) & Walker (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Portersville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Portersville:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Portersville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Collinsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dog Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Sigsbee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Dawson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Lickskillet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Bootsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bootsville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootsville
- Floy ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Floy is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floy
- Guest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Guest is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guest
- Cotnam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Luna ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Luna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna
- Douglas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Collins ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Colvins Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Piedmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Oak Level
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Sand Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Anderson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Leesburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Taft
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Blanche
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Blanche is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Cedar Bluff
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Centre
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Gaylesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ringgold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ringgold is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Broomtown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Broomtown is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomtown
- Lawrence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Moshat
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Keener
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Yancy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Hale ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Wilsonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Duck Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Turkeytown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Coat's Bend
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Whitesboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Whitesboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesboro
- Anderson
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Ballplay
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Crudup
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Rock City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Dutton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Section
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Langston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ferncliff ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ferncliff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncliff
- Central
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Central is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Gray ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gray is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Pisgah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Scottsboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bellefonte ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bellefonte is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefonte
- Dry Cove ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dry Cove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Cove
- Aspel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Peters ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Hustleville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Boaz
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mid ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Albertville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Columbus City Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Columbus City Ferry is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City Ferry
- Columbus City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Columbus City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Rabbit Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Rayburn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rayburn is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Gregory
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- North ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Cloudland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Menlo is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menlo <1>
- Lyerly
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Berryton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Summerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Coosa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Portersville, see our County-by-County Page for Portersville.
Cemeteries Near Portersville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portersville.
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 Portersville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Portersville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Hall Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Killian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Warren Stewart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Anthony Collins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Plunket Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Smith Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Downer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wesson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Red Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Copeland Bridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (431 more) ...
- Collins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Testament Holiness Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Longshore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Portersville had a population of 87 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Portersville, with the one closest to Portersville listed first.
- Loveless
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Loveless is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveless
- Lebanon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lebanon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
- Collinsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Collbran
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Collbran is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collbran
- Wills ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wills is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wills
- Dawson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Sand Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Cotnam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Lydia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lydia is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Leonard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Leonard is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Floy ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Floy is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floy
- Luna ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Luna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Skirum
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Skirum is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skirum
- Crossville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Chumley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chumley is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chumley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Portersville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portersville.
Newspapers Published in Portersville ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portersville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Portersville, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Portersville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Portersville:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Portersville) 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 Portersville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |