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 South Sheffield (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 South Sheffield. 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 South Sheffield ...
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 South Sheffield: S. Sheffield
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 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.
South Sheffield is located in Colbert 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 Colbert County: Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence & Tishomingo (MS).
Below are the counties that are near South Sheffield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to South Sheffield:
- Colbert County (The home county of South Sheffield)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Tuscumbia
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sheffield
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Muscle Shoals
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- South Florence
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Wilson Dam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- White House Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White House Springs is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Springs
- Spring Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Nitrate City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Gatesville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gatesville is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
- Red Rock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Red Rock is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Russellville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Slickrock Ford ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Slickrock Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickrock Ford
- Rockwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Rockwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Belgreen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Belgreen is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgreen
- Churntown
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Churntown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churntown
- Spruce Pine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Spruce Pine is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Pine
- Pleasant Site
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Site is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Site
- Phil Campbell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Burntout
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Burntout is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burntout
- Burntout has also been known as:
- Burn Out
- Burnout
- Burnt Out
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Canaan ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Canaan is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan
- Florence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cypress Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cypress Creek is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek
- Green Tree ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Green Tree is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Tree
- Mars Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mars Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Hill
- McGee Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- McGee Town is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGee Town
- Bainbridge ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bainbridge is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Jacksonburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jacksonburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonburg
- Saint Florian
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Bailey Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Killen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arnot
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Arnot is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnot
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Edmond
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Town Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Wheeler Dam Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Red Bank
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Concord
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Hatton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Courtland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- North Courtland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Mount Hope
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Hope is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Camp Spring ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Camp Spring is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Spring
- Tishomingo County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Oldham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Oldham is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham
- Iuka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Iuka is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,928 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iuka <1>
- Midway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Midway is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Tishomingo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Iron City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Rascal Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Saint Joseph
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Loretto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Westpoint
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Busby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Cypress Inn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
- Corning ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Collinwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Collinwood is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to South Sheffield, see our County-by-County Page for South Sheffield.
Cemeteries Near South Sheffield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Sheffield.
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 South Sheffield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for South Sheffield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Oakwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Burton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Bottom Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Guy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Colbert County Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Murphy - Kemper - Cockburn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pride Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sherrod Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Donley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Community Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (664 more) ...
- Morning Star Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blocker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Florence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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 South Sheffield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of South Sheffield.
These communities are listed based on their distance from South Sheffield, with the one closest to South Sheffield listed first.
- Tuscumbia
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sheffield
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- South Florence
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Florence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Spring Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Mars Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mars Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Hill
- Hunter ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Oakland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Littleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Littleville is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
- Leighton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Saint Florian
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Jacksonburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jacksonburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonburg
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Smithsonia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Smithsonia is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithsonia
- Barton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Barton is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Mountain Mills ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mountain Mills is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Mills
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around South Sheffield. See our List of 1890's Communities around South Sheffield.
Newspapers Published in South Sheffield ...
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 South Sheffield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Sheffield, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Sheffield.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 South Sheffield:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Colbert County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Tishomingo County
- Lawrence County
- Wayne 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 South Sheffield, 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' (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- South Sheffield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |