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 Speed (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 Speed. 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 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.
Speed is located in Coosa 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 Coosa County: Chilton, Clay, Elmore, Shelby, Talladega & Tallapoosa.
Below are the counties that are near Speed. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Speed:
- Coosa County (The home county of Speed)
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Pentonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pentonville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentonville
- Equality
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Equality is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Rockford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Nixburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nixburg is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
- Cottage Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cottage Grove is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Hissop
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Fishpond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fishpond is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishpond
- Ray
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ray is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Dollar
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dollar is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dollar
- Weogufka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Weogufka is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
- Kellyton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Mount Olive
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Autauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Marbury
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Pine Level
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Level is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Millbrook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- White City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- White City is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Melmar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Melmar is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmar
- Prattville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gibbons ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gibbons is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbons
- Booth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Booth is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booth
- Haynes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Haynes is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
- Billingsley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Chilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Mountain Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mountain Creek is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Creek
- Verbena
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Verbena is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
- Clanton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Jumbo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jumbo is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Thorsby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Clay County
- Hollins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hollins is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
- Elmore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Titus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Seman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Seman is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seman
- Central
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Central is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Lightwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lightwood is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightwood
- Holtville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holtville is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holtville
- Holtville has also been known as:
- Slapout
- Adkin Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Adkin Hill is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adkin Hill
- Adkin Hill has also been known as:
- Atkins Hill
- Jordan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jordan is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Eclectic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Deatsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elmore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Wetumpka
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Claud
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Claud is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claud
- Hale County
- Erie ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Erie is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Tysonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tysonville is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tysonville
- Hornady
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hornady is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornady
- Shorter
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Boylston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Boylston is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
- Madison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Madison is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- New Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- New Town is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Sunshine Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Sunshine Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine Village
- Capitol Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Capitol Heights is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol Heights
- Montgomery
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Gibbs Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Gibbs Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs Village
- Highland Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Highland Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Mount Meigs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Meigs is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Meigs
- Waugh
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Waugh is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Young Forte Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Young Forte Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Forte Village
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Pine Grove Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Grove Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Village
- Merrell Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Merrell Beach is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrell Beach
- Shelby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Gantts Quarry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Gantts Quarry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantts Quarry
- Talladega Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Talladega Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talladega Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Fayetteville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Fayetteville is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Sylacauga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mignon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mignon is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
- Oak Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 513 people
- Oldfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Comerdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Comerdale is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comerdale
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Our Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Our Town is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Our Town
- Alkehatchee ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Alkehatchee is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkehatchee
- Benson ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Benson is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Alexander City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Susannah ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Susannah is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susannah
- Jacksons' Gap
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East Tallassee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Tallassee is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tallassee
- Hackneyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Dadeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Reeltown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Reeltown is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeltown
- Tallapoosa City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tallapoosa City is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallapoosa City
- Agricola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Agricola is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agricola
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Speed, see our County-by-County Page for Speed.
Cemeteries Near Speed ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Speed.
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 Speed - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Speed covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Murchison Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the south of Rockford.
- The Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Shady Grove Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26163 <2>
- Concord Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wayside Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hollybranch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sewell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Holman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lindsey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rehobeth Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Swamp Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Speigner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (377 more) ...
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mann Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Speed had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Speed, with the one closest to Speed listed first.
- Pentonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pentonville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentonville
- Weoka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Weoka is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weoka
- Buyck
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Buyck is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buyck
- Titus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Travelers Rest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Travelers Rest is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travelers Rest
- Equality
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Equality is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Nixburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nixburg is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
- Rockford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hissop
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Lightwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lightwood is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightwood
- Dexter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dexter is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
- Central
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Central is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Coosa River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coosa River is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosa River
- Holtville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holtville is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holtville
- Holtville has also been known as:
- Slapout
- Moriah
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Moriah is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Speed. See our List of 1890's Communities around Speed.
Newspapers Published in Speed ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Speed.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Speed, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Speed.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Speed:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Coosa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Autauga County
- Chilton County
- Clay County
- Elmore County
- Hale County
- Macon County
- Montgomery 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> | 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. |
| <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- Speed) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Speed, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |