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 Steele (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 Steele. 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 Steele ...
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.
Another variation: Steele's.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Steele. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Steele.
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 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.
Steele is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Blount, Calhoun, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Steele. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Steele:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Steele)
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Whitney Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ragland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Wattsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Coal City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Branchville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Springville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Odenville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Seddon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Margaret
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Straight Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Taits Gap
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Bird ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Appalachian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Hoods Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Wynnville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Fridays Crossing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Oneonta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Clarence
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Snead
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Susan Moore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Southside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cochran Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Oak Level
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Ohatchee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Grayton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Macon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Ball Flat
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Leesburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Holly Pond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Baileytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Rains ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Rodentown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Crossville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Rogers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Whiton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Collinsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Geraldine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Attalla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ivalee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Nix ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Benson ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Howelton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Rainbow City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Egypt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Altoona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Alabama City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alabama City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama City
- Bennettsville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bennettsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Ayres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Village Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Clay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Palmerdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Breakstone Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Masseyline
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Whitesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Douglas
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Boaz
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Horton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Albertville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hyatt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Rabbit Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Street ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Street is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Street
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Lincoln
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Colony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Coldwater
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Grant Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Silver Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Steele, see our County-by-County Page for Steele.
Cemeteries Near Steele ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Steele.
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 Steele - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Steele covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Deerman Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Choate Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Brasher Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Conn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Beason / Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dillard Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Reeves Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Red Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (352 more) ...
- Carnes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Howelton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sauls Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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, Steele had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Steele had a population of 1,093 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Steele, with the one closest to Steele listed first.
- Hood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hood is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Stanfield ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Stanfield is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanfield
- Etowahton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Etowahton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowahton
- Whitney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Attalla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nix ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Ashville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Norton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Norton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Howelton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Redbud
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Redbud is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Littleton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Littleton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
- Walnut Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Markton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Steele. See our List of 1890's Communities around Steele.
Newspapers Published in Steele ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Steele.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Steele, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Steele.
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 Steele:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Marshall County
- Talladega 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Steele) 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 Steele, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |