Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Thermal. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Thermal to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Thermal, 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 Thermal (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 Thermal. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Thermal is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Thermal. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thermal:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Thermal)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- Trafford
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Masseyline
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Majestic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Majestic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
- Crosston
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Crosston is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
- Kimberly
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Palmerdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Village Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Morris
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Morris is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
- Pinson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ayres
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Clay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Center Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- County Line
(Less than 2 miles 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
- Selfville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Dallas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Compton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Hayden
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Warrior
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Adville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Locust Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Remlap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Smoke Rise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- Reid's
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Little Warrior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Blount Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Black Bottom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Garden City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Colony
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Damascus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Arkadelphia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Hanceville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bremen
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- White City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Good Hope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Good Hope is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
- Trimble
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Trimble is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- Altoona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nix ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Walnut Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Gallant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- Springville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Argo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Margaret
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Saint Clair Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Acmar
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Parsons
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Branchville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Moody
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <2>
- Woodland Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Brompton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Odenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cook's Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- Dunnavant
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Bridgeton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Lake Purdy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Vandiver
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shoal Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Inverness
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Sterrett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- Creel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Sumiton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- 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 <2>
- Sipsey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Sipsey is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipsey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Quinton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Wyatt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Powellville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Powellville is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellville
- Red Star
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thermal, see our County-by-County Page for Thermal.
Cemeteries Near Thermal ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thermal.
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 Thermal - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thermal covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- County Line Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Holston Chapel UMC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Love Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lilly Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Vandiver Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Liberty - Minter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty - Minter Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Liberty - Minter Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<4> to the northeast of Morris.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #190975 <3>
- Elvester Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Creel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hughes Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Warrior Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Old Compton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Enon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (346 more) ...
- Morris Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cain Creek 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.
While we didn't find Thermal in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thermal.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thermal, with the one closest to Thermal listed first.
- Selfville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Coaldale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coaldale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
- Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Linton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Linton is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linton
- Compton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Warrior
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Morris
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Morris is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
- Adville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Remlap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Reid's
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Cunningham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cunningham is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
- Blount Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blount Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blount Springs
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Little Warrior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Clay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ayres
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thermal. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thermal.
Newspapers Published in Thermal ...
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 8 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thermal.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thermal, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thermal.
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 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 Thermal:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby 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 Thermal, 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- Thermal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |