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 Summer Bluff (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 Summer Bluff. 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 Summer Bluff ...
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 Summer Bluff: Summer Blf. (or less commonly used: Summer Bluf.)
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Summer Bluff is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: DeKalb, Madison, Marshall, Dade (GA), Franklin (TN) & Marion (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Summer Bluff. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Summer Bluff:
- Jackson County (The home county of Summer Bluff)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Bridgeport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bridgeport is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
- Former name for Bridgeport:
- Jonesville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <1>
- Copenhagen ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Copenhagen is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
- Browns Valley ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Browns Valley is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
- Long Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Long Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- Haynes Crossing
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Haynes Crossing is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossing
- New Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Bryant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Stevenson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rash
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rash is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rash
- Eliza
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Eliza is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliza
- Higdon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Cartersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cartersville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
- Ider
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Beaty Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Beaty Crossroads is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaty Crossroads
- Henagar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Snake Creek ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Snake Creek is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snake Creek
- Kaolin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kaolin is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaolin
- Hammondville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hammondville is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammondville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Sylvania
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sylvania is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvania
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,860 people
- Mentone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Valley Head
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cordell ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cordell is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordell
- Bankhead
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bankhead is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankhead
- Catoosa County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Fort Oglethorpe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lakeview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lakeview is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Midway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Midway is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Newnan Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Newnan Springs is located in Catoosa County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newnan Springs
- Estimated population in 2019: 41,581 people
- Dade County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Cole City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
- Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
- Stewart Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stewart Town is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart Town
- Trenton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Morganville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Morganville is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganville
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,835 people
- Wildwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Rising Fawn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Walker County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Durham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Durham is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,257 people
- Thompsonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Thompsonville is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Estimated population in 2019: 6,528 people
- Chattanooga Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Chattanooga Valley is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga Valley
- Flintstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lookout Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Moons
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Moons is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moons
- Rock City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Rock City is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Fantasy Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Fantasy Hills is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fantasy Hills
- Estimated population in 2019: 316 people
- Cassandra
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cassandra is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassandra
- Happy Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Happy Valley is located in Walker County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Estimated population in 2019: 192 people
- Kensington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chickamauga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Coffee County (TN)
- Ruthledge Ford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ruthledge Ford is located in Coffee County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthledge Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,116 people
- Franklin County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Anderson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Saint Marys
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Marys is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
- Estimated population in 2014: 785 people
- Sal City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sal City is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sal City
- Sand Switch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sand Switch is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Switch
- Cowan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cowan is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,668 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowan <1>
- Sewanee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenhaw
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Greenhaw is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhaw
- Liberty
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Estimated population in 2014: 318 people
- Decherd
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beans Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Beans Creek is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
- Estill Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grundy County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Monteagle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lankford Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lankford Town is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Town
- Tracy City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- White City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Sartain Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Sartain Springs is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartain Springs
- Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
- Pelham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Coalmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Coalmont is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
- Gruetli - Laager
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gruetli
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gruetli is located in Grundy County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruetli
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,775 people
- Palmer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hamilton County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Lookout Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tiftonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tiftonia is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiftonia
- Lake Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lake Village is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
- Saint Elmo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Saint Elmo is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Valley Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Valley Village is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Village
- Chattanooga
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Signal Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Signal Hills is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Signal Hills
- Signal Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Midvale is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Signal Terrace
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Signal Terrace is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Signal Terrace
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,519 people
- Milbro Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Milbro Heights is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milbro Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,834 people
- Fountain Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fountain Village is located in Hamilton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Village
- Marion County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Richard City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Richard City is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richard City
- South Pittsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Orme
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Orme is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orme
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- New Hope
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Hope is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
- Ketchall ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ketchall is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchall
- Kimball
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Comfort
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Comfort is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comfort
- Jasper
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vulcan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Vulcan is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
- Whiteside
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Whiteside is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteside
- Whitwell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Powells Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Powells Crossroads is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powells Crossroads
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,352 people
- Sequatchie County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Cartwright
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cartwright is located in Sequatchie County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,261 people
- Daus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Daus is located in Sequatchie County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daus
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Summer Bluff, see our County-by-County Page for Summer Bluff.
Cemeteries Near Summer Bluff ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Summer Bluff.
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 Summer Bluff - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Summer Bluff covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Bonaventure Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rocky Spring Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Loyd Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Walker Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Abbott Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kirkpatrick Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Richards Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wynne Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Wilson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Beene Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Walker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- McMahan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (699 more) ...
- Hackworth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Austin - Cameron 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 Summer Bluff in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Summer Bluff.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Summer Bluff, with the one closest to Summer Bluff listed first.
- Bridgeport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bridgeport is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,272 people
- Former name for Bridgeport:
- Jonesville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <1>
- South Pittsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Long Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Long Island is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- Stevenson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kimball
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ketchall ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ketchall is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchall
- Anderson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Anderson is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Fabius
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Fabius is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabius
- Shellmound ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Shellmound is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellmound
- Kirby Creek ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Kirby Creek is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby Creek
- Higdon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cole City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cole City is located in Dade County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
- Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Jasper
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Comfort
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Comfort is located in Marion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comfort
- Sherwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Summer Bluff. See our List of 1890's Communities around Summer Bluff.
Newspapers Published in Summer Bluff ...
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 Summer Bluff.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Summer Bluff, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Summer Bluff.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Summer Bluff:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- DeKalb County
- Catoosa County
- Dade County
- Walker County
- Coffee County
- Franklin County
- Grundy County
- Hamilton County
- Marion County
- Sequatchie 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 Summer Bluff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Summer Bluff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |