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 Sweet Gum (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 Sweet Gum. 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 Sweet Gum ...
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: Sweetgum.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sweet Gum. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sweet Gum.
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 hospitals and 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.
Sweet Gum is located in Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County: Colbert, Lawrence, Limestone, Tishomingo (MS), Giles (TN), Hardin (TN), Lawrence (TN) & Wayne (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Sweet Gum. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sweet Gum:
- Lauderdale County (The home county of Sweet Gum)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Slabtown ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Slabtown is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
- Belew ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Arkdell
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Arkdell is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkdell
- Lexington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Comer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Green Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Corum ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Atlas ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Atlas is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Elgin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Anderson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Cedar Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Arnot
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arnot is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnot
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Ford City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Dam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Nitrate City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- South Florence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Leighton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Muscle Shoals
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sheffield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Tuscumbia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- White House Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- White House Springs is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Springs
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Wheeler Dam Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Red Bank
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Town Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- North Courtland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Courtland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Edmond
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Hillsboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Hatton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Mountain Home
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Chalybeate Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Lester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lester is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Cairo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lentzville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Poplar Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Ripley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Elkmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Pettusville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Athens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Tanner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Minor Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Stella
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Anthony Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Prospect
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bodenham
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Bodenham is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodenham
- Green Field
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Weakley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Weakley is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weakley
- Gordon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gordon is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,192 people
- Pulaski
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wales
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wales is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,031 people
- Liberty Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Aymett Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Aymett Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aymett Town
- Campbellsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Campbellsville is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbellsville
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Rascal Town
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Liberty Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Saint Joseph
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Loretto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Busby
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Iron City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Appleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Westpoint
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Leoma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fall River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Lawrenceburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- New Prospect
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Flatwoods
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Flatwoods is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Corning ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Collinwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Collinwood is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
- Cypress Inn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
- Waynesboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sweet Gum, see our County-by-County Page for Sweet Gum.
Cemeteries Near Sweet Gum ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sweet Gum.
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 Sweet Gum - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sweet Gum covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Grissom Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Allen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Pettus Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Leonard P. Green Jr. Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Richardson Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Scott Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stutts Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Perry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Peppertown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wright Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Crow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (817 more) ...
- Pettus Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Portertown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
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 Sweet Gum in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sweet Gum.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sweet Gum, with the one closest to Sweet Gum listed first.
- Belew ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Lexington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Comer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Green Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Saint Joseph
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Loretto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Busby
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Iron City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Bailey Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Appleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Dustin ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dustin is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dustin
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Wayland Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wayland Springs is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland Springs
- Sugar ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sugar is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar
- Pleasant Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Point is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Point
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sweet Gum. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sweet Gum.
Newspapers Published in Sweet Gum ...
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 3 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sweet Gum.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sweet Gum, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sweet Gum.
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 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 Sweet Gum:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lauderdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Wayne 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 Sweet Gum, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sweet Gum) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |