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 Ridgeville (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 Ridgeville. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Ridgeville is located in Butler 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 Butler County: Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Lowndes, Monroe & Wilcox.
Below are the counties that are near Ridgeville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ridgeville:
- Butler County (The home county of Ridgeville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Forest Home
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Shacklesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Shacklesville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shacklesville
- Greenville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bolling
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bolling is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolling
- Starlington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Starlington is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starlington
- Chapman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chapman is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- Georgiana
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Garland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Garland is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Industry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Industry is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
- McKenzie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Oaky Streak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oaky Streak is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaky Streak
- Autauga County
- Jones Bluff Dam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Jones Bluff Dam is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Bluff Dam
- Conecuh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Mixonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mixonville is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixonville
- Commerce
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Commerce is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Ramah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ramah is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramah
- Wilcox
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wilcox is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilcox
- Owassa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Owassa is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owassa
- Crenshaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Honoraville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Honoraville is located in Crenshaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honoraville
- Highland Home
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Minter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Minter is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
- Carlowville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Carlowville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlowville
- Pleasant Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Richmond
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Old Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Old Town is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Kings
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kings is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
- Belknap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belknap is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belknap
- Sardis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Casey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Casey is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casey
- Tyler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lowndes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Bragg's
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bragg's is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg's
- Fort Deposit
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Collirene
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Collirene is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collirene
- Gordonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gordonville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Mosses
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mosses is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosses
- Population from the 2020 Census: 893 people
- Sandy Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Petronia
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Petronia is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petronia
- Hayneville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Letohatchee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Letohatchee is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letohatchee
- Benton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Benton is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Davenport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Davenport is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
- Lowndesboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- White Hall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- White Hall is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 737 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Pineville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pineville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineville
- Beatrice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Pine Orchard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Orchard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Orchard
- Lovan ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lovan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovan
- Natchez
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Natchez is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natchez
- Vredenburgh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Vredenburgh is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vredenburgh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Tunnel Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tunnel Springs is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel Springs
- Former name for Tunnel Springs:
- Kempsville
- Wilcox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Awin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Awin is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Awin
- Furman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Furman is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furman
- Pine Apple
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Apple is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Apple
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- McBrydes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- McBrydes is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBrydes
- Snow Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Snow Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Schuster
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Schuster is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schuster
- Caledonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Caledonia is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Oak Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
- Ackerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ackerville is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackerville
- McWilliams
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- McWilliams is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Estelle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Estelle is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Camden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Boykin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Boykin is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boykin
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ridgeville, see our County-by-County Page for Ridgeville.
Cemeteries Near Ridgeville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgeville.
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 Ridgeville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ridgeville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Ridgeville Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Thompson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Monterey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bragg Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crenshaws Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crenshaw Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Forest Home Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Crum Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Manningham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pine Flat Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (243 more) ...
- Watts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
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 Ridgeville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ridgeville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ridgeville, with the one closest to Ridgeville listed first.
- Monterey
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Monterey is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Harmony
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harmony is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Forest Home
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Herbert
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Herbert is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
- Manningham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Manningham is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manningham
- Awin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Awin is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Awin
- Butler Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Butler Springs is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Springs
- Pine Apple
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Apple is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Apple
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Bragg's
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bragg's is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg's
- Furman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Furman is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furman
- Farmersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Farmersville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
- Shacklesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Shacklesville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shacklesville
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Snow Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Snow Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- McBrydes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- McBrydes is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBrydes
- Mount Willing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Willing is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Willing
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ridgeville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ridgeville.
Newspapers Published in Ridgeville ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgeville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridgeville, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridgeville.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ridgeville:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Butler County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Autauga County
- Conecuh County
- Crenshaw County
- Dallas County
- Lowndes County
- Monroe County
- Wilcox 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 Ridgeville, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ridgeville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |