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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 Skeggs Crossroads (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 Skeggs Crossroads. 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 Skeggs Crossroads ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Skeggs Crossroads: Skeggs Xrds.
  • While the name of this community is Skeggs Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Skeggs Crossroads may originally have been Skegg's Crossroads.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Skeggs Crossroads might be written as Skegg Crossroads.

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 hospitals and 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.

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

  • Clay County     (The home county of Skeggs Crossroads)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Skeggs Crossroads, with the one closest to Skeggs Crossroads listed first.
    • Hollins
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Hollins is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
    • Chambers Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
    • Millerville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Millerville is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
    • Harkins Crossroads
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
    • Ashland
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Erin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Erin is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
    • Mellow Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
    • Lineville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Motley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Motley is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
    • Cragford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Barfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Barfield is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
    • Elder
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Elder is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
  • Chilton County
    • Jumbo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jumbo is located in Chilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
  • Coosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Skeggs Crossroads, with the one closest to Skeggs Crossroads listed first.
    • Mount Olive
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Goodwater
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Stewartville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Stewartville is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
    • Kellyton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Kellyton is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Weogufka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Weogufka is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
    • Hissop
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Hissop is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
    • Ray
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Ray is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
    • Rockford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Cottage Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Cottage Grove is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
    • Fishpond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Fishpond is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishpond
    • Nixburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Nixburg is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
    • Pentonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Pentonville is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentonville
  • Elmore County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Skeggs Crossroads, with the one closest to Skeggs Crossroads listed first.
    • Seman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Seman is located in Elmore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seman
    • Irma ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Irma is located in Elmore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irma
    • Central
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Central is located in Elmore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
    • Jordan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jordan is located in Elmore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Titus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Randolph County
    • Almond
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Almond is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Skeggs Crossroads, with the one closest to Skeggs Crossroads listed first.
    • Vincent
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Vincent is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,223 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vincent <2>
    • Easonville ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • 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
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Skeggs Crossroads, with the one closest to Skeggs Crossroads listed first.
    • Wilsonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Merrell Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Merrell Beach is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrell Beach
    • Pine Grove Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Pine Grove Village is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Village
    • Harpersville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Shelby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Calcis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Calcis is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
    • Columbiana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Westover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Westover is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
  • Talladega County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Skeggs Crossroads, with the one closest to Skeggs Crossroads listed first.
    • Oldfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Oldfield is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
    • Sylacauga
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mignon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mignon is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
    • Sycamore
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Sycamore is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
    • Gantts Quarry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Gantts Quarry is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantts Quarry
    • Comerdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Comerdale is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comerdale
    • Oak Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
    • Abihka ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Abihka is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abihka
    • Zubers
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Zubers is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zubers
    • Rendalia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Rendalia is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
    • Winterboro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Winterboro is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterboro
    • Chandler Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
  • Tallapoosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Skeggs Crossroads, with the one closest to Skeggs Crossroads listed first.
    • Hackneyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
    • Alexander City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cowpens
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
    • Goldville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • New Site
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
    • Alkehatchee ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Alkehatchee is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkehatchee
    • Our Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Our Town is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Our Town
    • Jacksons' Gap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Emuckfaw
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
    • Matilda
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
    • Daviston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Benson ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Benson is located in Tallapoosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson

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

Cemeteries Near Skeggs Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Skeggs Crossroads.

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 Skeggs Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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.<5>

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

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

  • Hollins
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Hollins is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
  • Mount Olive
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
  • Goodwater
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Stewartville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Stewartville is located in Coosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
  • Oldfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Oldfield is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
  • Sylacauga
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Hanover
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hanover is located in Coosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
  • Hatchet Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hatchet Creek is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchet Creek
  • Kellyton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kellyton is located in Coosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
  • Sycamore
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sycamore is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
  • Crewsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Crewsville is located in Coosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crewsville
  • Hackneyville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Millerville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Millerville is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
    • Weogufka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Weogufka is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
    • Bentleyville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bentleyville is located in Coosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentleyville

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

Newspapers Published in Skeggs Crossroads ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Skeggs Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Skeggs Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Skeggs Crossroads.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Skeggs Crossroads:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 from Point A (ie- Skeggs Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<5>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 Skeggs Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.