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 Thorntontown (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 Thorntontown. 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 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.
Thorntontown 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 Thorntontown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thorntontown:
- Lauderdale County (The home county of Thorntontown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Elgin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Rogersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Corum ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Cedar Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Confluence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Estep ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Comer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Anderson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Dells Vista Shores
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Arkdell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Arkdell is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkdell
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Ford City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Nitrate City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Leighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Dam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Muscle Shoals
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Florence
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Spring Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Sheffield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Tuscumbia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Wheeler Dam Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Red Bank
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- North Courtland
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Town Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Courtland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Edmond
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Hillsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Hatton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Chalybeate Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Cairo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lentzville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Poplar Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Ripley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Lester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- 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 northeast)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Athens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Elkmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Tanner
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pettusville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Orrville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Trinity
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Austinville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Simpson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Decatur
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Russell Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Flint City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Minor Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Stella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Prospect
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Green Field
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Bodenham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bodenham is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodenham
- Ardmore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Dickson Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkmont Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Elkton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Gordon
(30 miles [48.3 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Rascal Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Liberty Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Appleton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Saint Joseph
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Loretto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Busby
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Iron City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Fall River
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Leoma
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Westpoint
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Lawrenceburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- New Prospect
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Corning ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Cypress Inn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thorntontown, see our County-by-County Page for Thorntontown.
Cemeteries Near Thorntontown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thorntontown.
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 Thorntontown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thorntontown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Butler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Dean - McNairy Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Thornton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Thornton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ingram Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Butler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Whitehead Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Belew Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Oliver - Bedingfield Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Harvey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fuqual Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cooper Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (808 more) ...
- Liberty Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ray Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- McCartney 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.<2>
While we didn't find Thorntontown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thorntontown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thorntontown, with the one closest to Thorntontown listed first.
- Rogersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Comer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Lexington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Town Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Belew ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Good Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Good Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Springs
- Courtland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lentzville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Leighton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Poplar Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Mount Rozell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Rozell is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Rozell
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Sugar ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar
- Green Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Bailey Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thorntontown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thorntontown.
Newspapers Published in Thorntontown ...
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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thorntontown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thorntontown, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thorntontown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Thorntontown:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lauderdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Morgan 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> | 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 Thorntontown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thorntontown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |