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 Riverside (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 Riverside. 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.
Riverside is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Blount, Calhoun, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Riverside. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Riverside:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Riverside)
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Seddon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Coal City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Avondale Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Cropwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Pell City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Ragland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Cook's Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Odenville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Straight Mountain
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Appalachian
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Dale ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Allgood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Remlap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Compton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Oneonta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hoods Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 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 north)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Dallas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Eastaboga
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Macon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Bynum
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Ohatchee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Eulaton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Eulaton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulaton
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Morrisville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Morrisville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Bera ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bera is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bera
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Chambers Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Erin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Elder
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Haynes Crossroad
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Cleburne County
- Abel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Rainbow City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gallant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Nix ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Cobb City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Attalla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Glencoe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Burns Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Alabama City
(29 miles [46.7 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 Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Leeds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Breakstone Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Roper
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Roper is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Ayres
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Cahaba Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Cedar Grove ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Scott City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Scott City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Clay
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lola City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lola City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola City
- Trussville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- McCombs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Calcis
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Sterrett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Vandiver
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dunnavant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Harpersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Westover
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Shoal Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Bridgeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Lake Purdy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Wilsonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Colony
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Talladega
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Logan Martin Dam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Coldwater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- McElderry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- East Bend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Silver Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Nottingham ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Nottingham is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Former name for Nottingham:
- Jones Camp Ground
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Riverside, see our County-by-County Page for Riverside.
Cemeteries Near Riverside ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverside.
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 Riverside - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Riverside covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Seddon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Robert Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McCellan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mays Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Harkeys Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Broken Arrow Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Old Mitchell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Clair Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Valley Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the south of Pell City.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26861 <3>
- Walkers Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (284 more) ...
- Hall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Boykin Truitt Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Riverside had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Riverside had a population of 2,376 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
- Seddon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Eureka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eureka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coal City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Pell City
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cropwell
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Refuge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Refuge is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
- Eden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Stemley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stemley is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stemley
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Fairview
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fairview is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ragland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Turner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Turner is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Eastaboga
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Riverside. See our List of 1890's Communities around Riverside.
Newspapers Published in Riverside ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverside.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverside, 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 Riverside.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Riverside:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Shelby County
- Talladega 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- Riverside) 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 Riverside, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |