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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 Sayre (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 Sayre. 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 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 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.

Sayre 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 Sayre. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sayre:

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Sayre)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayre, with the one closest to Sayre listed first.
    • Robbins Crossroads
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
    • Graysville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Alden
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Alden is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
    • Cardiff
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Media
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Media is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
    • Corner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Corner is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner
    • Pinkney City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Pinkney City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney City
    • Brookside
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Brookside is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
    • Mount Olive
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Adamsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Daisey City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Daisey City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisey City
    • Watson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Watson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
    • West Jefferson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • West Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayre, with the one closest to Sayre listed first.
    • Red Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Red Hill is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
    • Warrior
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Reid's
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Reid's is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
    • Smoke Rise
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
    • County Line
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • County Line is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Hayden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Blount Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Blount Springs is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
    • Dale ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Dale is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
    • Selfville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Selfville is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
    • Dallas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dallas is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Compton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Compton is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
    • Bangor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bangor is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
    • Adville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Adville is located in Blount County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
  • Cullman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayre, with the one closest to Sayre listed first.
    • Arkadelphia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
    • Baltimore ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Baltimore is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
    • Colony
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
      • Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
    • The Colony
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • The Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Black Bottom
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
    • Damascus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Damascus is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
    • Bremen
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Ardell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Ardell is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
    • Dodge City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Dodge City is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
    • Garden City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Garden City is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Crane Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Trimble
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Trimble is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
    • Hanceville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayre, with the one closest to Sayre listed first.
    • Argo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Argo is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
    • Parsons
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
    • Acmar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
    • Moody
      (28 miles [45.1 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>
    • Woodland Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
    • Margaret
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Springville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Turnbough Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
    • Brompton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayre, with the one closest to Sayre listed first.
    • Bridgeton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
    • Inverness
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Inverness is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
    • Lake Purdy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
    • Meadowbrook
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Indian Springs Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Dunavant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunavant is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
    • Dunnavant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
    • Shoal Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
    • Falliston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Falliston is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
    • Tacoa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Tacoa is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
    • Bamford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Bamford is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
    • Helena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Pelham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Tuscaloosa County
    • Bull City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayre, with the one closest to Sayre listed first.
    • Sumiton
      (5 miles [8 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>
    • Oakahalla
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Oakahalla is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
    • Empire
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Empire is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
    • Quinton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Burnwell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Burnwell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
    • Dora
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Wyatt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Wyatt is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
    • Yerkwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Yerkwood is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
    • Creel
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Creel is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
    • Twilley Town
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Twilley Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
    • Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
    • Red Star
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Red Star is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
    • Reeds Ferry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
  • Winston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayre, with the one closest to Sayre listed first.
    • Falls City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Falls City is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
    • Arley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Slick Ford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Slick Ford is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slick Ford

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

Cemeteries Near Sayre ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sayre.

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 Sayre - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Good Hope Baptist Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Linns Crossing Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • New Horizon Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lawler Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Adams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bagley Bend Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Linn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cardiff Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Narl Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Maben Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bibb Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (344 more) ...
    • Shanghai Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Empire Memorial Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire Memorial Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Empire Memorial Cemetery is located in Empire.
      • The Empire Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Empire Memorial Gardens
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1442863 <2>
    • Glasgow Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)

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 Sayre in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sayre.

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

  • Robbins Crossroads
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
  • Linn Crossing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Linn Crossing is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Crossing
  • Blossburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Blossburg is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossburg
  • Cardiff
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Brookside
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brookside is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,323 people
  • Dora
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Porter
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Porter is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
  • Adamsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Morris
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Morris is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
  • Sloan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Sloan is located in Blount County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
  • Coalburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Coalburg is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
    • Former name for Coalburg:
    • Coalburgh
  • Warrior
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Sandusky
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Sandusky is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
    • Pratt Mines ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Pratt Mines is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Mines
    • New Castle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • New Castle is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle

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

Newspapers Published in Sayre ...

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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sayre.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sayre, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sayre.

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 Sayre:

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 Sayre, 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- Sayre) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.