RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Geneva County >> Scranton >> 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 Scranton (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 Scranton. 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 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.

Scranton is located in Geneva 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 Geneva County: Coffee, Covington, Dale, Houston, Holmes (FL) & Walton (FL).

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

  • Geneva County     (The home county of Scranton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Chancellor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Bellwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bellwood is located in Geneva County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Coffee Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Coffee Springs is located in Geneva County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Costilla ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Costilla is located in Geneva County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costilla
    • Eunola ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Geneva
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Hartford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Dundee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Black
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Black is located in Geneva County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
    • Samson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Slocomb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Malvern
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Coffee County
  • Covington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • County Line
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • County Line is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
    • Beulah
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Beulah is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
    • Opp
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Onycha
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Horn Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Horn Hill is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
    • Babbie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Babbie is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 599 people
  • Dale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Clayhatchee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Level Plains
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Daleville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Holiday Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Holiday Village is located in Dale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
    • Fort Rucker
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Newton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Newton is located in Dale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,451 people
    • Pinckard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Ozark
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ewell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Midland City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Grimes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Napier Field
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Napier Field is located in Dale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napier Field
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • Mabson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Merritts Crossroads
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Parker Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Parker Village is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Village
    • Taylor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Taylor is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,440 people
    • Rehobeth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Rehobeth is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehobeth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,699 people
    • Tidwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Tidwell is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidwell
    • Dothan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Parish
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Hodgesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Keyton's
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Madrid
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Madrid is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 293 people
    • Kinsey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Kinsey is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,293 people
  • Pike County
  • Holmes County (FL)
  • Jackson County (FL)
  • Walton County (FL)
  • Washington County (FL)

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

Cemeteries Near Scranton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Scranton.

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

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

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

  • Sardis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Bellwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Consolation Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Cool Springs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • El Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Coffee Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (242 more) ...
    • Jones Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • County Line Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Friendship Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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.<2>

While we didn't find Scranton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Scranton.

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

  • Coffee Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Coffee Springs is located in Geneva County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Springs
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
  • Highfalls
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Highfalls is located in Geneva County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfalls
  • High Bluff
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • High Bluff is located in Geneva County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bluff
  • Clayhatchee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Level Plains
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Enterprise
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Marl
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Marl is located in Geneva County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl
  • Geneva
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Daleville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Dundee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Vaughanville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Vaughanville is located in Geneva County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughanville
  • Damascus
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Damascus is located in Coffee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Clintonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Warwick ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Warwick is located in Geneva County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
    • Tabernacle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Tabernacle is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle

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

Newspapers Published in Scranton ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Scranton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Scranton, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Scranton.

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 Scranton:

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>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 Scranton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Scranton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.