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 Union (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 Union. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Union is located in Etowah 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 Etowah County: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Union. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Union:
- Etowah County (The home county of Union)
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Greer ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Aurora
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Mountainboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Sardis City
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Carlisle
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Egypt
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Whitesboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Whitesboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesboro
- Howelton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Benson ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Ridgeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Walnut Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Ivalee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Highmound
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- McLarty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Snead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wynnville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Bird ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Bright Star
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Clarence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Craig
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Susan Moore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Fridays Crossing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Brooksville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Huldah ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Huldah is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huldah
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Southside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Cochran Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Ohatchee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Colvins Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Mack ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Grayton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Wellington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wellington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Angel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Leesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Anderson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Centre
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Joppa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Holly Pond
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Baileyton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Baileytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Fairview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Berlin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Simcoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Simcoe is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simcoe
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rains ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Rodentown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Crossville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Whiton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Cotnam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Geraldine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Chigger Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Collinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lakeview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Langston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Rock City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Madison County
- New Hope
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Whitesville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Boaz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Horton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Douglas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Albertville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Hyatt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Hustleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Gregory
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Hulaco
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hulaco is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulaco
- Ryan Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ryan Crossroads is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Crossroads
- Apple Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Briscoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Morgan City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Steele
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ragland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Saint Clair Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Springville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Union, see our County-by-County Page for Union.
Cemeteries Near Union ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union.
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 Union - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Union covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Walls Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jordan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Red Apple Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mizell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Upton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Boaz City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Armstrong Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Gilland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Thrasher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sardis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the east of Boaz.
- The Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethsaida Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21588 <2>
- Continue List (434 more) ...
- New Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Friendship Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Hebron Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Union in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Union.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Union, with the one closest to Union listed first.
- Red Apple ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Red Apple is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Apple
- Aurora
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Alice
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Alice is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Mountainboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Boaz
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fenton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fenton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Marshall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marshall is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Horton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Redbud
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Redbud is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud
- Howelton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Littleton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Littleton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
- Pulltight
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pulltight is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulltight
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Union. See our List of 1890's Communities around Union.
Newspapers Published in Union ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Union.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Union:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Jackson County
- Madison County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Saint Clair 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Union, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |