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 Refuge (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 Refuge. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Refuge is located in Talladega 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 Talladega County: Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Saint Clair & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Refuge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Refuge:
- Talladega County (The home county of Refuge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Colony
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Coldwater
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Grant Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Talladega
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- McElderry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Ironaton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Waldo
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Kentuck
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Logan Martin Dam
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Straight Mountain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Appalachian
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Taits Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Oneonta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Allgood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Hoods Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Bird ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Dale ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Remlap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Macon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Eastaboga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Bynum
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Morrisville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Ohatchee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bera ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bera is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bera
- Eulaton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Eulaton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulaton
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Elder
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Erin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Chambers Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Haynes Crossroad
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Delta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Barfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Abel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Hollis Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Heflin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Rainbow City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cobb City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Glencoe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Attalla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Burns Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- East Gadsden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Gadsden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gallant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Alabama City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Alabama City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama City
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Breakstone Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- Leeds
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ayres
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Roper
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Roper is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Cahaba Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Cedar Grove ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Scott City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Scott City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Clay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lola City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lola City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola City
- Trussville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- McCombs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Alton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Riverside
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Ragland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Seddon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Coal City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Avondale Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Wattsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Glen City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Pell City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cropwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Ashville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Branchville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Calcis
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Sterrett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vandiver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dunavant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Dunnavant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Harpersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Westover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Refuge, see our County-by-County Page for Refuge.
Cemeteries Near Refuge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Refuge.
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 Refuge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Refuge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Refuge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hall Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Pattons Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Green Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wester Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Creswell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Morning Star Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Plum Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Old Mitchell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Groce - Montgomery Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (288 more) ...
- McCellan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Box Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Seddon Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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 in 1895, Refuge had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Refuge, with the one closest to Refuge listed first.
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Riverside
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Eureka
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eureka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Ragland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Eastaboga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Macon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Seddon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Turner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Turner is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Fairview
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Coal City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bynum
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Francis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Francis is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
- Pell City
(10 miles [16.1 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 Refuge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Refuge.
Newspapers Published in Refuge ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Refuge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Refuge, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Refuge.
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 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 Refuge:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Talladega County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby 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 Refuge, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Refuge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |