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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 Summerville (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 Summerville. 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 and doctors 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.

Summerville 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 Summerville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Summerville:

  • Mobile County     (The home county of Summerville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summerville, with the one closest to Summerville listed first.
    • Prichard
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Chickasaw
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Eight Mile
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Mobile
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Saraland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Country Club Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
    • Satsuma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Creola
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Creola is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
    • Semmes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Tillmans Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
    • Axis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Axis is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axis
    • Chunchula
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Chunchula is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summerville, with the one closest to Summerville listed first.
    • Spanish Fort
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bromley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
    • Park City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Park City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • Daphne
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Stapleton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Whitehouse Forks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Whitehouse Forks is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse Forks
    • Montrose
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairhope
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Bay Minette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Loxley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Point Clear
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Stockton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Washington County
    • Fairford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Fairford is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairford
  • George County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summerville, with the one closest to Summerville listed first.
    • Howell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Howell is located in George County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Agricola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Greene County (MS)
    • Brown Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Brown Town is located in Greene County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summerville, with the one closest to Summerville listed first.
    • Hurley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Big Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
    • Helena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Americus ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Americus is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
    • Wade
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Summerville, see our County-by-County Page for Summerville.

Cemeteries Near Summerville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Summerville.

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 Summerville - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Summerville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Summerville, with the one closest to Summerville listed first.

  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • St. Austin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Plateau Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Gethsemane Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Green Mount Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catholic Cemetery
    • The Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Catholic Cemetery of Mobile
    • Mobile Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #22009 <2>
  • Myers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Whistler Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Whistler Colored Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Elam Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Prichard Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (222 more) ...

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 Summerville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Summerville.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Summerville, with the one closest to Summerville listed first.

  • Plateau
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Plateau is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
  • Prichard
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Whistler
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Whistler is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
  • Spring Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
  • Mobile
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Kushla
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kushla is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
  • Cox
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cox is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
  • Oak Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Creola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Creola is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
  • Bromley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
  • Daphne
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Theodore
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Chunchula
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Chunchula is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
    • Montrose
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • D'Olive
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • D'Olive is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Olive

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Summerville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Summerville.

Newspapers Published in Summerville ...

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 142 newspapers that have been published in the area around Summerville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Summerville, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Summerville.

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 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 Summerville:

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 Summerville, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Summerville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.