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 Rainsville (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 Rainsville. 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 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.
Rainsville 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 Rainsville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rainsville:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Rainsville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Chavies
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chavies is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chavies
- Shiloh
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Luna ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Luna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna
- Powell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Powell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 908 people
- Bootsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bootsville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootsville
- Pine Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Ridge is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Fyffe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sylvania
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvania is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvania
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,860 people
- Guest
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Guest is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guest
- Luttrell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Luttrell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luttrell
- Gibson Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gibson Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson Crossroads
- Fort Payne
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hix ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hix is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hix
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Blanche
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blanche is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Taft
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Sand Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Berry Springs ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Berry Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Springs
- Grover
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Grover is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
- New Moon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- New Moon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moon
- Broomtown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Broomtown is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomtown
- Ringgold
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ringgold is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Starkville ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Starkville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkville
- Anderson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Leesburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Gaylesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Bluff
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Yancy
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Keener
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Duck Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Sardis City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Whitesboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Whitesboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesboro
- Hale ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Turkeytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Coat's Bend
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Crudup
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Anderson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Carlisle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Rock City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Dutton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Section
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gray ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Gray is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
- Ferncliff ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ferncliff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncliff
- Central
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Central is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Pisgah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Langston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bellefonte ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bellefonte is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefonte
- Scottsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Hollywood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berrys ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Berrys is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrys
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Peters ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Mid ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Columbus City Ferry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Columbus City Ferry is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City Ferry
- Hustleville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Columbus City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Columbus City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
- Grant
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Albertville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- North ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- North is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
- Boaz
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rayburn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rayburn is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Wyeth City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wyeth City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeth City
- Guntersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- 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 <1>
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Cloudland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Menlo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Chattoogaville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Lyerly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Berryton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Euthtilloga ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Euthtilloga is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euthtilloga
- Population from the 2010 Census: 29,011 people
- Summerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pennville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pennville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Trion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Trion is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trion <1>
- Dade County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Rising Fawn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stewart Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stewart Town is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart Town
- Walker County (GA)
- Bronco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bronco is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronco
- Estimated population in 2019: 367 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rainsville, see our County-by-County Page for Rainsville.
Cemeteries Near Rainsville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rainsville.
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 Rainsville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rainsville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Broadway Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Town Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mountain View Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Warren Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery
- The Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Corinth Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
- Fyffe Cemetery
- New Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Antioch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mt. Herman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Old Sardis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Green Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lankford Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mahan Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (501 more) ...
- Greens Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hammack Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
While we didn't find Rainsville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rainsville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rainsville, with the one closest to Rainsville listed first.
- Musgrove ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Musgrove is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musgrove
- Chavies
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chavies is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chavies
- Luna ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Luna is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna
- Lydia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lydia is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Blake
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Blake is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Mahan ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mahan is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahan
- Luttrell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Luttrell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luttrell
- Fort Payne
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Talley ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Talley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talley
- Collbran
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Collbran is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collbran
- Dutton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Thirtynine ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Thirtynine is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirtynine
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Index ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Index is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Index
- Ten Broeck
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ten Broeck is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ten Broeck
- Floy ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Floy is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floy
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rainsville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rainsville.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rainsville ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainsville.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rainsville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rainsville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rainsville.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Rainsville.
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 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 Rainsville:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Chattooga County
- Dade County
- Walker 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 Rainsville, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rainsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |