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.
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 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 Mobile 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 Mobile County: Baldwin, Washington, George (MS), Greene (MS) & Jackson (MS).
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:
- Mobile 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.
- Tillmans Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
- Country Club Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
- Mobile
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Theodore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Prichard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Eight Mile
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Chickasaw
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bellefontaine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
- Irvington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Elmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Semmes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mon Louis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
- Baldwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Park City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Park City is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Spanish Fort
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Daphne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fairhope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Point Clear
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bromley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bromley is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
- Stapleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Loxley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Whitehouse Forks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehouse Forks is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse Forks
- Clay City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clay City is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
- Marlow
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Marlow is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
- George County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Howell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Howell is located in George County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Agricola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Big Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
- Hurley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Helena
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Orange Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
- Coll Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coll Town is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
- Wade
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
- Escatawpa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
- Moss Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Americus ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Americus is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- Eastside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eastside is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastside
- Pascagoula
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brewton ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Brewton is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewton
- Brewton has also been known as:
- Brewer's Bluff
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.
- Morning Star Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Little Sacred Heart Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mobile Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile Memorial Gardens
- The Mobile Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
- Mobile Memorial Cemetery
- Mobile Memorial Gardens Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24477 <2>
- Casher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Crest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pine Crest Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Mobile.
- The Pine Crest Cemetery has also been known as:
- Pinecrest Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #658999 <2>
- Carmelite Monastery Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Noel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Old Spring Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Miller Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lartigue Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (204 more) ...
- Jesuit Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Edwards Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<3>
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.
- Cox
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cox is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
- Spring Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Theodore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mobile
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Plateau
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Plateau is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
- Prichard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Whistler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Whistler is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
- Saint Elmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Fowl River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fowl River is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
- Kushla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kushla is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
- Fernland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fernland is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
- Mon Louis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Montrose
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Daphne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
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 144 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 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. 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 begin 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 Spring Valley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Mobile County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Baldwin County
- George County
- Jackson 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> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions 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'. |