Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Sterling. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Sterling to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Sterling, please Contact Us.
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 Sterling (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 Sterling. 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 southwest 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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Sterling is historic, it would have been located within present day Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Calhoun, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Chattooga (GA), Floyd (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Sterling. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sterling:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Sterling)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Lawrence
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Gaylesville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Springs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cedar Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Grantville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grantville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Kirk's Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kirk's Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk's Grove
- Howells Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ringgold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ringgold is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Broomtown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Broomtown is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomtown
- Noah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Tucker Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Taft
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Dailey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Piedmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Collins ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Nances Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Colvins Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Merrellton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Borden Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Grantley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Oak Level
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Lickskillet
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lickskillet is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet
- Sigsbee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sigsbee is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigsbee
- Adamsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Adamsburg is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
- Dog Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dog Town is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Mount Vernon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Douglas
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Fort Payne
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Alpine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Alpine is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Cordell ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Cordell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordell
- Collinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bootsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bootsville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bootsville
- Pine Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Ridge is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Ballplay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Hale ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Banner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Coat's Bend
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Turkeytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Wilsonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wilsonia is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonia
- Anderson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Hokes Bluff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Keener
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Edwardsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Yancy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Bartow County (GA)
- Ligon ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ligon is located in Bartow County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ligon
- Estimated population in 2019: 12,810 people
- Chattooga County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Chattoogaville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
- Taliaferro ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Taliaferro is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taliaferro
- Estimated population in 2019: 71 people
- Lyerly
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Berryton is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryton
- Menlo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Menlo is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menlo <2>
- Cloudland
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Summerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pennville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pennville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Trion
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Trion is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trion <2>
- Zula ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Zula is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zula
- Euthtilloga ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Euthtilloga is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euthtilloga
- Population from the 2010 Census: 29,011 people
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Coosa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Oreburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Cave Spring
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Robealou Acres
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Atlanta Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Central Grove ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Central Grove is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Grove
- Estimated population in 2019: 377 people
- Chiaha ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Chiaha is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiaha
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,256 people
- Mount Berry
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Glenwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Glenwood is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Lindale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Rome
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Rome is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,764 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome <2>
- Rosemont Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Rosemont Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont Park
- Gordon County (GA)
- Plainville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haralson County (GA)
- Felton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Etna
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Esom Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Cedartown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Seney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Seney is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seney
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,412 people
- Grady ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grady is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Estimated population in 2019: 290 people
- Aragon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rockmart
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Walker County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Martindale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Martindale is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martindale
- Population from the 2010 Census: 35,795 people
- Bronco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bronco is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronco
- Estimated population in 2019: 367 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sterling, see our County-by-County Page for Sterling.
Cemeteries Near Sterling ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sterling.
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 Sterling - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sterling covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Hardman Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Salem Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- McCoy Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Waterhouse Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Callan Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Barnett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Bowery Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Howell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ebenezer Alexis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Howell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Davenport Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (413 more) ...
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Indian Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Carr 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.
Sterling itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 124 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sterling, with the one closest to Sterling listed first.
- Farill
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Farill is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farill
- Lawrence
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lawrence is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Waterhouse
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Waterhouse is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterhouse
- Early ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Early is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Early
- Fullerton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fullerton is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerton
- Gaylesville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Alexis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Alexis is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexis
- Kirk's Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kirk's Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk's Grove
- Grantville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grantville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Cedar Springs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cedar Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mount Hope ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mount Hope is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Ringgold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ringgold is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Melson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Melson is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melson
- Chattoogaville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Chattoogaville is located in Chattooga County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattoogaville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sterling. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sterling.
Newspapers Published in Sterling ...
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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sterling.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sterling, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sterling.
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 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 Sterling:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Bartow County
- Chattooga County
- Floyd County
- Gordon County
- Haralson County
- Polk County
- Walker County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Sterling, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sterling) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |