Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Rains. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Rains to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Rains, please Contact Us.
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 Rains (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 Rains. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Rains is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Rains. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rains:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Rains)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rodentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Crossville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rogers
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Whiton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Geraldine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Dawson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Chigger Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Lakeview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Collinsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Floy ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Floy is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floy
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Highmound
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Snead
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- McLarty
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Bright Star
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Wynnville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Clarence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Craig
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Susan Moore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Bird ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Brooksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Summit
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Fridays Crossing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Southside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Oak Level
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Colvins Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Cochran Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Collins ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Mack ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Sand Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Leesburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Anderson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Centre
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Taft
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Ball Flat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Blanche
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Blanche is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Cedar Bluff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Moshat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Gaylesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Joppa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Baileyton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Holly Pond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Sardis City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Whitesboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Whitesboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesboro
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Mountainboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Yancy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Carlisle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Duck Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Keener
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Greer ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Crudup
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Aurora
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Egypt
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Reece City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Reece City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reece City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Langston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rock City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Section
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Aspel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Aspel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspel
- Dry Cove ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dry Cove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Cove
- Dutton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Ferncliff ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ferncliff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncliff
- Woodville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Scottsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gray ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gray is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
- Larkinsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Larkinsville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkinsville
- Lim Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lim Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lim Rock
- Madison County
- New Hope
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Hustleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Boaz
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Peters ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Albertville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Rabbit Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Whitesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Gregory
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Rayburn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rayburn is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Wyeth City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wyeth City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeth City
- Horton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Guntersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Guntersville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guntersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,676 people
- Former names for Guntersville:
- Gunter's Ferry
- Gunter's Landing
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guntersville <2>
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Hulaco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Ryan Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Steele
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rains, see our County-by-County Page for Rains.
Cemeteries Near Rains ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rains.
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 Rains - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rains covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- Forester Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Clark Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Marvin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Blessing Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Union First Congregational Methodist (FCM) Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union First Congregational Methodist (FCM) Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Union First Congregational Methodist (FCM) Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northeast of Boaz.
- The Union First Congregational Methodist (FCM) Cemetery has also been known as:
- Union Cemetery
- Union Church Cemetery
- Union First Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26801 <4>
- Corinth Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Freedom Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Baptist Church Cemetery
- The Freedom Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Corinth Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
- New Macedonia Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Myrtletree Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Concord Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the east of Boaz.
- The Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethsaida Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21588 <4>
- Continue List (457 more) ...
- Beulah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lipscomb Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Belchers Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.
Rains itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rains, with the one closest to Rains listed first.
- McVille
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- McVille is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Marshall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Marshall is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rodentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Boaz
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fenton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fenton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Pulltight
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pulltight is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulltight
- Crossville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rogers
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Whiton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Peters ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Geraldine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Albertville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Red Apple ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Red Apple is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Apple
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rains. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rains.
Newspapers Published in Rains ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rains.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rains, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rains.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Rains:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Madison County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Saint Clair County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rains, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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- Rains) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |