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 Sylvan Springs (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 Sylvan Springs. 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 Sylvan Springs ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sylvan Springs: Sylvan Spgs. (or less commonly used: Sylvan Spngs. or Sylvan Sprngs.)
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 doctors 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.
Sylvan Springs is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Sylvan Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sylvan Springs:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Sylvan Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Maytown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Maytown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Mulga
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Edgewater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Edgewater is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
- Concord
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Concord is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Pleasant Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Short Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- McDonald Chapel
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- McDonald Chapel is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald Chapel
- Minor
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Minor is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor
- Black Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Black Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
- Docena
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Docena is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Docena
- Adamsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dolomite
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Green Pond
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Blocton Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- North Bibb
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Belle Ellen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Burmah ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Burmah is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
- Eddings
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Italian Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- Seymour
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- West Blocton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Dale ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Red Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Red Hill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- Warrior
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reid's
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- County Line
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Smoke Rise
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- Hayden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Blount Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Compton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Dallas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Arkadelphia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Colony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Black Bottom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Fayette County
- Alta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Alta is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Saint Clair County
- Woodland Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Bamford
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Tacoa
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Falliston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Helena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tulse
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Tulse is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
- Indian Springs Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
- Inverness
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Lake Purdy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Meadowbrook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Pelham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bridgeton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Alabaster
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brantleyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brantleyville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brantleyville
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Bull City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Lake View
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Tannehill
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Abernant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Kellerman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Brookwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Vance
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Peterson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Peterson is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Twilley Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Quinton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Reeds Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Yerkwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Wyatt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Oakahalla
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Red Star
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Dora
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Barney
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Sumiton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
- Goodsprings
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Goodsprings is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Dovertown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dovertown is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sylvan Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Sylvan Springs.
Cemeteries Near Sylvan Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sylvan Springs.
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 Sylvan Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sylvan Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Pleasant Grove UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Village Falls Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Liberty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Cemetery
- The Liberty Cemetery has also been known as:
- Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2162604 <2>
- Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Forest Grove Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mason Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Atwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Salter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- George Washington Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (354 more) ...
- Midway Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adams - Heaton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Weaver Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Sylvan Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sylvan Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sylvan Springs, with the one closest to Sylvan Springs listed first.
- Short Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Porter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Porter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Collins
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Dolomite
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wylam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Wylam is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylam
- Adamsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Toadvine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Toadvine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toadvine
- Ensley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ensley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ensley
- Sandusky
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sandusky is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Ezra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ezra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezra
- Blue Creek Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Creek Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Creek Junction
- Pratt Mines ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pratt Mines is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Mines
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Blossburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Blossburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossburg
- Bullard Shoals ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bullard Shoals is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard Shoals
- McAdory
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- McAdory is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdory
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sylvan Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sylvan Springs.
Newspapers Published in Sylvan Springs ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sylvan Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sylvan Springs, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sylvan Springs.
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 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 Sylvan Springs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Fayette County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Tuscaloosa County
- Walker 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 Sylvan Springs, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sylvan Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |