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 Shady Grove (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 Shady Grove. 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 Shady Grove ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Shady Grove: Shady Grv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Shady Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Shady Grove.
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 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.
Shady Grove is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Cleburne, Coosa, Randolph, Talladega & Tallapoosa.
Below are the counties that are near Shady Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shady Grove:
- Clay County (The home county of Shady Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Millerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Chambers Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Hollins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hollins is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
- Harkins Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Ashland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Mellow Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Erin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Lineville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cragford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Motley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Motley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Barfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Elder
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Haynes Crossroad
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Bynum
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Eastaboga
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Chambers County
- Abanda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Abanda is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanda
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Goodwater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Olive
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Kellyton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Stewartville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stewartville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Ray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ray is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Fishpond
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fishpond is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishpond
- Hissop
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Weogufka
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Weogufka is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
- Cottage Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cottage Grove is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Rockford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nixburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nixburg is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
- Pentonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pentonville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentonville
- Equality
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Equality is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Elmore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Irma ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Irma is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irma
- Seman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Seman is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seman
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Almond
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Almond is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
- Ofelia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Malone Ferry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Malone Ferry is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone Ferry
- Wadley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Christiana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Forester Chapel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Forester Chapel is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester Chapel
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Vincent
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Cropwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Harpersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wilsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Calcis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Merrell Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Merrell Beach is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrell Beach
- Pine Grove Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pine Grove Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Village
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Chandler Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Abihka ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Abihka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abihka
- Sycamore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sycamore is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Oldfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Rendalia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rendalia is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
- Mignon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Mignon is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
- Sylacauga
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Waldo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Winterboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Winterboro is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterboro
- Gantts Quarry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gantts Quarry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantts Quarry
- Ironaton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Comerdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Comerdale is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comerdale
- Oak Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Hackneyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Cowpens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Goldville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- New Site
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Alexander City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Emuckfaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Alkehatchee ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Alkehatchee is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkehatchee
- Daviston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Jacksons' Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Our Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Our Town is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Our Town
- Matilda
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Truett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
- Frog Eye
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Frog Eye is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Eye
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shady Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Shady Grove.
Cemeteries Near Shady Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shady Grove.
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 Shady Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shady Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Oaks Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Rock Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Marvin Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rozelle & Chandler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hatchett Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Prospect Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Antioch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Simmons Community Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmons Community Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Simmons Community Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of Millerville.
- The Simmons Community Cemetery has also been known as:
- Simmons Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26284 <3>
- New Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Millerville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wilsons Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (340 more) ...
- O'Neil Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenview Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dillard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
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 Shady Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Shady Grove.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
- Millerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Hatchet Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hatchet Creek is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchet Creek
- Goodwater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hollins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hollins is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
- Hackneyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Mount Olive
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Bluff Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bluff Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Chandler Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Smelley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Smelley is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smelley
- Ashland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Sycamore
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sycamore is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Oldfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Kellyton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Gibsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Gibsonville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
- Rendalia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rendalia is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Shady Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shady Grove.
Newspapers Published in Shady Grove ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shady Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shady Grove, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shady Grove.
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 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 Shady Grove:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Clay County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Chambers County
- Coosa County
- Elmore County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega County
- Tallapoosa 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shady Grove) 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 Shady Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |