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 Riverdale (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 Riverdale. 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 doctors and 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.
Riverdale 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 Riverdale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Riverdale:
- DeKalb County (The home county of Riverdale)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Bankhead
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bankhead is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankhead
- Mentone
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Valley Head
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hammondville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hammondville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammondville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Cordell ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cordell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordell
- Kaolin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kaolin is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaolin
- Alpine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Alpine is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Snake Creek ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Snake Creek is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snake Creek
- Beaty Crossroads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Beaty Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaty Crossroads
- Henagar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ider
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Payne
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Berry Springs ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Berry Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Springs
- Grover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Grover is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
- New Moon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- New Moon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moon
- Starkville ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Starkville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkville
- Blanche
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Blanche is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanche
- Broomtown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Broomtown is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomtown
- Ringgold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ringgold is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Taft
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Cedar Springs ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Cedar Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Gaylesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lawrence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Sterling ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sterling is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Central
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Central is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Flat Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pisgah
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Higdon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dutton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dutton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Gray ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Gray is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
- Eliza
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Eliza is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Rock City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Bellefonte ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bellefonte is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefonte
- Ferncliff ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Ferncliff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncliff
- Section
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fackler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fackler is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fackler
- Catoosa County (GA)
- Blue Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Spring is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Cloudland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Menlo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Euthtilloga ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 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
- Berryton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Summerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lyerly
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pennville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pennville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Trion
(15 miles [24.1 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>
- Chattoogaville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Zula ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Zula is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zula
- Dade County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Rising Fawn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Stewart Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Stewart Town is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart Town
- Trenton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Morganville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Morganville is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganville
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,835 people
- Cole City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
- Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
- Wildwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Coosa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Floyd Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Floyd Springs is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd Springs
- Armuchee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oreburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Central Grove ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Central Grove is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Grove
- Estimated population in 2019: 377 people
- Glenwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Mount Berry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Robealou Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Summerville Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Summerville Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville Park
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,243 people
- Walker County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Bronco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bronco is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronco
- Estimated population in 2019: 367 people
- Martindale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Martindale is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martindale
- Population from the 2010 Census: 35,795 people
- Cassandra
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Cassandra is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassandra
- Kensington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- LaFayette
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Linwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Linwood is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- Durham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Durham is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,257 people
- Thompsonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Thompsonville is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Estimated population in 2019: 6,528 people
- Rock Spring
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Villanow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Villanow is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villanow
- Estimated population in 2019: 16,058 people
- Chickamauga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chattanooga Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chattanooga Valley is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga Valley
- Whitfield County (GA)
- Gordon Springs ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gordon Springs is located in Whitfield County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon Springs
- Marion County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Vulcan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Vulcan is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
- Whiteside
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Whiteside is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteside
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Riverdale, see our County-by-County Page for Riverdale.
Cemeteries Near Riverdale ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverdale.
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 Riverdale - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Riverdale covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Ellison Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Holly Spring Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bankhead Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Little River Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Valley Head Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Davenport Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Price Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Howards Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bean Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Beene Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Whitehall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (476 more) ...
- Head Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cordell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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 Riverdale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Riverdale.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
- Mentone
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bankhead
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bankhead is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankhead
- Valley Head
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cordell ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cordell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordell
- Kaolin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kaolin is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaolin
- Menlo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Chesterfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Chesterfield is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Alpine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Alpine is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Chelsea
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Chelsea is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Snake Creek ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Snake Creek is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snake Creek
- Fairview ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Sulphur Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sulphur Springs is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Blake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Blake is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Grover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Grover is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
- Fort Payne
(11 miles [17.7 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 Riverdale. See our List of 1890's Communities around Riverdale.
Newspapers Published in Riverdale ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverdale.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverdale, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riverdale.
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 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 Riverdale:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to DeKalb County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Jackson County
- Catoosa County
- Chattooga County
- Dade County
- Floyd County
- Walker County
- Whitfield County
- Marion 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Riverdale) 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 Riverdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |