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 Shelby Springs (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 Shelby Springs. 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 Shelby Springs ...
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 Shelby Springs: Shelby Spgs. (or less commonly used: Shelby Spngs. or Shelby Sprngs.)
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.
Shelby Springs is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Jefferson, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Shelby Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shelby Springs:
- Shelby County (The home county of Shelby Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Calera
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Columbiana
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shelby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Saginaw
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saginaw is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
- Merrell Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Merrell Beach is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrell Beach
- Pine Grove Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Pine Grove Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Village
- Siluria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Siluria is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siluria
- Montevallo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Alabaster
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brantleyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brantleyville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantleyville
- Maylene
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pelham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Brierfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ashby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashby is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Oakley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oakley is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
- Eddings
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Seymour
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- Randolph
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Randolph is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Tucker
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tucker is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- Belle Ellen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Italian Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Pratt Ferry ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pratt Ferry is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Ferry
- Chilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Jemison
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jumbo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jumbo is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Thorsby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Clanton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Maplesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Adams
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Adams is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Verbena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Verbena is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
- Stanton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stanton is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Aucheucaula ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Aucheucaula is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheucaula
- Weogufka
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Weogufka is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
- Dollar
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dollar is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dollar
- Stewartville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Stewartville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Hoover
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Greenwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Shannon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shannon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon
- Cahaba Heights
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Vestavia Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- New Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Village
- Oxmoor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oxmoor is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxmoor
- Homewood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bessemer
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- McCalla
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mobile Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mobile Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile Junction
- Duncan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Duncan is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Saint Clair County
- Vincent
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Talladega Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Talladega Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talladega Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Fayetteville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fayetteville is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Childersburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gantts Quarry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Gantts Quarry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantts Quarry
- Oak Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
- Bon Air
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bon Air is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Comerdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Comerdale is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comerdale
- Zubers
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Zubers is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zubers
- Mignon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mignon is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
- Sylacauga
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East Bend
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Oldfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Tannehill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shelby Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Shelby Springs.
Cemeteries Near Shelby Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shelby Springs.
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 Shelby Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shelby Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Shelby Springs Confederate Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Leach Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Old Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Dover Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Miller Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Armstrong Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Old Lynch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Brasher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Verchot Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blackmon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Nabors Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jones Bailey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (439 more) ...
- Dargin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Nearest Grave Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Shelby Springs had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shelby Springs, with the one closest to Shelby Springs listed first.
- Calera
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Calera
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- South Calera is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Calera
- Columbiana
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shelby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Longview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Longview is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Montevallo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Siluria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Siluria is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siluria
- Dogwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dogwood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
- Maylene
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jemison
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pelham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Jumbo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jumbo is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Wilsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Brierfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Marble Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Marble Valley is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Shelby Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shelby Springs.
Newspapers Published in Shelby Springs ...
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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shelby Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shelby Springs, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shelby Springs.
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 Shelby Springs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Chilton County
- Coosa County
- Jefferson County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Tuscaloosa 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> | 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 Shelby Springs, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shelby Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |