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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 Reform (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 Reform. 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.

Reform is located in Pickens 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 Pickens County: Fayette, Greene, Lamar, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Lowndes (MS) & Noxubee (MS).

Below are the counties that are near Reform. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Reform:

  • Pickens County     (The home county of Reform)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.
    • Coal Fire
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bell
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Stansel
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gordo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Gordo is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordo <1>
    • McShan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Lubbub
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Carrollton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ethelsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Ethelsville is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethelsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
    • Archer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Macedonia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Macedonia is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Stafford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Olney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Beaver Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Beaver Town is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Town
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.
    • Ashcraft Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Belk
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Belk is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Fayette
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Old Town is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Rossland City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rossland City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossland City
    • Bankston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kirkland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Berry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.
    • Mantua
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Lewiston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Union
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Union is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
    • Knoxville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Knoxville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.
    • Millport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Kennedy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Kennedy is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
    • Fernbank
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hightogy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Vernon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Bedford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Tuscaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.
    • Echola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Echola is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echola
    • Elrod
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Elrod is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
    • Buhl
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Buhl is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buhl
    • Coker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Coker is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 953 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coker <1>
    • Samantha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • New Lexington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Front Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Lake Front Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Front Village
    • Northport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Foster's
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ralph
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ingleside Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ingleside Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside Village
    • Tuscaloosa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sahama Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sahama Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sahama Village
  • Clay County (MS)
  • Lowndes County (MS)
  • Noxubee County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.
    • Ravine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Deerbrook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Harlan ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Harlan is located in Noxubee County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Reform, see our County-by-County Page for Reform.

Cemeteries Near Reform ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Reform.

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 Reform - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Reform covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Reform had a population of 28 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Reform had a population of 1,546 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Reform, with the one closest to Reform listed first.

  • Bell
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Coal Fire
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Gordo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gordo is located in Pickens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,594 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gordo <1>
  • Palmetto
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Palmetto is located in Pickens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
  • Lubbub
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Millport
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Dillburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Dillburg is located in Pickens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillburg
  • Moore's Bridge
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Moore's Bridge is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Bridge
  • Kennedy
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Kennedy is located in Lamar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
  • Stafford
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Fernbank
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Olney
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Newtonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Newtonville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtonville
    • Pleasant Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Pickens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • Garden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Reform. See our List of 1890's Communities around Reform.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Reform ...

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 Reform.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Reform. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Reform and those printed in the larger area surrounding Reform.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Reform.

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 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 Reform:

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 Reform, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Reform) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.