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 Spring Valley (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 Spring Valley. 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 Spring Valley ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Spring Valley: Spring Vly. (or less commonly used: Spring Vally. or Spring Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Spring Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Spring Valley.
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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Spring Valley is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Spring Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spring Valley:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Spring Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- De Armanville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Anniston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oxanna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Friendship
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Chinnabee ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chinnabee is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinnabee
- Oxford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Choccolocco
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Hobson City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hobson City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Fort McClellan ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fort McClellan is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McClellan
- Blue Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Iron City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Saks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saks is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saks
- Cobb Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cobb Town is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Ball Flat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Spring Garden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Elder
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Delta
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Barfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Erin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Lineville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ashland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Cragford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Harkins Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Chambers Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Mellow Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Abel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Heflin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hollis Crossroads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Edwardsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Micaville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Ai
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Fruithurst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Grantley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Hightower
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Hopewell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Oak Level
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Muscadine
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Ranburne
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Cobb City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Markton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Glencoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrims Rest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Hokes Bluff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Banner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Burns Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Rainbow City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Gadsden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Ballplay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Edwardsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Christiana
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Milner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Morrison Crossroad
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Newell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Ofelia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Cambridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Rockdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Wedowee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Graham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Woodland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Corbin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Ragland
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Riverside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Seddon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Avondale Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Coal City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Cropwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Glen City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Pell City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wattsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Kentuck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Silver Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Coldwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Grant Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- McElderry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Ironaton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Lincoln
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Talladega
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Waldo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Chandler Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Colony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Carroll County (GA)
- Bowdon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Haralson County (GA)
- Tallapoosa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spring Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Spring Valley.
Cemeteries Near Spring Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spring Valley.
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 Spring Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spring Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Forestlawn Gardens Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Oconee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Oxford Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pine Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Highland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Prospect Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the New Prospect Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Choccolocco
- Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the south of Oxford.
- The Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Antioch Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1786988 <2>
- Edgemont Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (304 more) ...
- Trinity Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Prisoner of War Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Davistown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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 Spring Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spring Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- De Armanville
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Oxford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Anniston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oxanna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Choccolocco
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Blue Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Abel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Iron City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Kentuck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Eulaton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Eulaton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulaton
- Coldwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Leatherwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Chulafinnee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chulafinnee is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulafinnee
- Belltown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Belltown is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spring Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spring Valley.
Newspapers Published in Spring Valley ...
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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spring Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spring Valley, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spring Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Spring Valley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Etowah County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Carroll County
- Haralson 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 '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- Spring Valley) 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 Spring Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |