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 Richardson (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 Richardson. 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 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.
Richardson is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Calhoun, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Chattooga (GA), Floyd (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Richardson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Richardson:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Richardson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Anderson
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Leesburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sand Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Centre
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Cedar Bluff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Moshat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Tucker Crossroads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Gaylesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Noah
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Collins ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Colvins Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Piedmont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Dailey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Merrellton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Mack ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Nances Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Oak Level
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Angel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Borden Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Collinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sigsbee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Dog Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Lickskillet
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Dawson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Cotnam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Adamsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Adamsburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Douglas
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Crossville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rodentown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Hale ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Ballplay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Coat's Bend
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Keener
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Banner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Anderson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Yancy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Edwardsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Duck Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Crudup
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Rock City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Dutton
(29 miles [46.7 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Langston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Boaz
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Peters ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Hustleville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Albertville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Whitesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Mid ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mid is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Rabbit Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Lyerly
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Menlo
(24 miles [38.6 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>
- Cloudland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- 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 Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Cave Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Coosa
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Robealou Acres
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Etna
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Richardson, see our County-by-County Page for Richardson.
Cemeteries Near Richardson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Richardson.
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 Richardson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Richardson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Yellow Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the north of Centre.
- The Tates Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Tates Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26599 <3>
- Chesnut Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mackey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pratt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Rock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sewell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sand Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (390 more) ...
- Mt. Lookout Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hunts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Longshore Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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>
While we didn't find Richardson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Richardson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Richardson, with the one closest to Richardson listed first.
- Leesburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mackey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mackey is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
- Sand Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Round Mountain
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Round Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Mountain
- Centre
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Leonard
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leonard is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Slackland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Slackland is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackland
- Plano
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Plano is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
- Moshat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Cedar Bluff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hurley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hurley is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Collinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Loveless
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Loveless is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loveless
- Oak Hill ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Hill is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Richardson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Richardson.
Newspapers Published in Richardson ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Richardson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Richardson, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Richardson.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Richardson:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Polk 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 '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- Richardson) 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 Richardson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |