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 Sonoma (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 Sonoma. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Sonoma is located in Etowah 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 Etowah County: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Sonoma. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sonoma:
- Etowah County (The home county of Sonoma)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Coat's Bend
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Anderson
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Edwardsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Hale ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Ballplay
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Keener
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Hokes Bluff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- East Gadsden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Crudup
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Highmound
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Snead
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bird ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Wynnville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- McLarty
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Susan Moore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Taits Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Bright Star
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Clarence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Craig
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Fridays Crossing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Hoods Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Colvins Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Oak Level
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Collins ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Southside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mack ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Angel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Cochran Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Merrellton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Ball Flat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Leesburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Anderson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Centre
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Moshat
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Tucker Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Exie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Cedar Bluff
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Grantley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Borden Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Oak Level
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Rodentown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Collinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cotnam
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Crossville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Dawson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Mount Vernon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Rains ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Geraldine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Clyde ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Clyde is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Dog Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Boaz
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whitesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Albertville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Hustleville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Peters ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Rabbit Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Douglas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Horton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Gregory
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Steele
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ashville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ragland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Etna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sonoma, see our County-by-County Page for Sonoma.
Cemeteries Near Sonoma ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sonoma.
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 Sonoma - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sonoma covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Owens Memorial Park Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Union Hill UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Croft Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Beth Israel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Tillison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Shepard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Beulah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Reid Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (381 more) ...
- Hughes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crestwood Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
While we didn't find Sonoma in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sonoma.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sonoma, with the one closest to Sonoma listed first.
- Coat's Bend
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Upton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Upton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
- Oak Hill ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Hill is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Brice
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Brice is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Tabor
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tabor is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
- East Gadsden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Hokes Bluff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Keener
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Slackland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Slackland is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slackland
- Crudup
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Gadsden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Yancy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Duck Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Avery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Avery is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sonoma. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sonoma.
Newspapers Published in Sonoma ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sonoma.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sonoma, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sonoma.
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 Sonoma:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Polk 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sonoma) 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 Sonoma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |