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Home >> State of Alabama >> Jefferson County >> Roebuck Forest >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Roebuck Forest (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 Roebuck Forest. 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.

Name Variations for Roebuck Forest ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Roebuck Forest: Roebuck Frst.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Roebuck Forest is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.

Below are the counties that are near Roebuck Forest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Roebuck Forest:

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Roebuck Forest)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.
    • Huffman
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Huffman is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
    • Alton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Rock Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock Ridge is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Ridge
    • Weems
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Weems is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weems
    • Zion City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Zion City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion City
    • McCombs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • McCombs is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
    • Irondale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Gate City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Gate City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City
    • Marks Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Marks Village is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marks Village
    • Lola City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Lola City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola City
    • Center Point
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Trussville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Tarrant
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Tarrant is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarrant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,081 people
      • Tarrant has also been known as:
      • Tarrant City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tarrant <1>
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.
    • Dale ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dale is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
    • Compton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Compton is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
    • County Line
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • County Line is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Remlap
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Selfville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Selfville is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
    • Warrior
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Dallas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Dallas is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Adville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Adville is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
    • Locust Fork
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Hayden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Little Warrior
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Little Warrior is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
    • Smoke Rise
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
    • Red Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Red Hill is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
  • Cullman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.
    • Baltimore ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Baltimore is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
    • Arkadelphia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
    • Black Bottom
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
    • Colony
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
      • Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
    • The Colony
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • The Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Garden City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Garden City is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Damascus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Damascus is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.
    • Woodland Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Acmar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
    • Moody
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Moody is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
    • Parsons
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
    • Brompton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
    • Argo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Argo is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
    • Margaret
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Turnbough Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
    • Cook's Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
    • Odenville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Springville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Branchville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
    • Saint Clair Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.
    • Bridgeton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Dunnavant
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
    • Lake Purdy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
    • Shoal Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
    • Dunavant
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunavant is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
    • Inverness
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Inverness is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
    • Meadowbrook
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Vandiver
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Sterrett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Springs Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
    • Chelsea
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Westover
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Westover is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
    • Calcis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Calcis is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
  • Talladega County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.
    • East Bend
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • East Bend is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
    • Logan Martin Dam
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
    • Colony
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Colony is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
    • Windsong Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
    • Childersburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bon Air
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bon Air is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Alpine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Nottingham ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Nottingham is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
      • Former name for Nottingham:
      • Jones Camp Ground
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.
    • Creel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Creel is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
    • Quinton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Twilley Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Twilley Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
    • Empire
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Empire is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
    • Sumiton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Sumiton is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
      • Former names for Sumiton:
      • Commercial
      • Democrat
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
    • Burnwell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Burnwell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
    • Oakahalla
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Oakahalla is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
    • Wyatt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Wyatt is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
    • Yerkwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Yerkwood is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
    • Dora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Dora is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,979 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dora <1>
    • Reeds Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
    • Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
    • Red Star
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Red Star is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Roebuck Forest, see our County-by-County Page for Roebuck Forest.

Cemeteries Near Roebuck Forest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roebuck Forest.

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 Roebuck Forest - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Roebuck Forest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.

  • Bass Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • East Lake Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Earltown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Alton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Jefferson Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Reed Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Higgins Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Bush Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Crest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • McCombs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Greenwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Birmingham.
    • The Greenwood Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #23140 <2>
  • Continue List   (323 more) ...
    • Forest Hill Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bass Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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 Roebuck Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Roebuck Forest.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Roebuck Forest, with the one closest to Roebuck Forest listed first.

  • Huffman
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Huffman is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
  • East Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lake is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lake
  • Ruffner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ruffner is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruffner
  • Weems
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Weems is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weems
  • Rock Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rock Ridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Ridge
  • Gate City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gate City is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City
  • Irondale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • McCombs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • McCombs is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
  • Woodlawn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodlawn is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
  • Trussville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodward
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodward is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
  • Chalkville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bartonville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Bartonville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartonville
    • Vanderbilt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Vanderbilt is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderbilt
    • East Birmingham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • East Birmingham is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Birmingham

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Roebuck Forest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Roebuck Forest.

Newspapers Published in Roebuck Forest ...

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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roebuck Forest.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roebuck Forest, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roebuck Forest.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Roebuck Forest:

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 Roebuck Forest, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Roebuck Forest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.