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 Valley View Estates (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 Valley View Estates. 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 Valley View Estates ...
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 Valley View Estates: Valley Vw. Ests.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Valley View Estates. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Valley View Estates.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Valley View Estates is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Jackson, Limestone, Marshall, Morgan, Franklin (TN) & Lincoln (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Valley View Estates. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Valley View Estates:
- Madison County (The home county of Valley View Estates)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Normal
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Meridianville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Chase
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chase is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
- Moore's Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moore's Mill is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Mill
- Country Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Country Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Mercury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Lincoln
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lincoln is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Huntsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ryland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rideout Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rideout Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rideout Village
- Greenwycke Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Greenwycke Village is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwycke Village
- Jeff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Colbert County
- Garner ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Garner is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Paint Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Paint Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Hollytree
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Hollytree is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollytree
- Princeton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Princeton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Trenton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Beachboro ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Beachboro is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachboro
- Pleasant Groves
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Groves is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Groves
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Woodville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Francisco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Francisco is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francisco
- Baileytown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Baileytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Estillfork
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Estillfork is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estillfork
- Lim Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lim Rock is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lim Rock
- Skyline
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Skyline is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Capshaw
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Capshaw is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capshaw
- Center Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Caro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Caro is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Fairmount
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fairmount is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Ardmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Swancott
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Swancott is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swancott
- Country Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Belle Mina
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Westlake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Westlake is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Mooresville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Grant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ferns Quarter ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ferns Quarter is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferns Quarter
- Union Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fort Deposit ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Deposit is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Deposit
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Lacey's Spring
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Valhermoso Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Morgan City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Morgan City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Winton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Winton is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
- Briscoe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Briscoe is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
- Priceville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Somerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Somerville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Decatur
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Apple Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Apple Grove is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Florette
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Florette is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florette
- Burningtree Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Franklin County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Huntland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Creek is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Creek
- Lexie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lexie is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexie
- Garner Ford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Garner Ford is located in Franklin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 309 people
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Ardmore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Dickson Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Wheelerton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelerton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelerton
- Prospect
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bradshaw ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bradshaw is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradshaw
- Frankewing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Goshen is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Howell Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Howell Hill is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell Hill
- Camargo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Park City Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Park City Heights is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,442 people
- Park City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Park City is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Corder Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Corder Crossroads is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corder Crossroads
- Flintville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Flintville is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 627 people
- Cash Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Molino
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Coldwater
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Clarks Ferry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Clarks Ferry is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 387 people
- Elk Mill Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Elk Mill Village is located in Lincoln County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mill Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Valley View Estates, see our County-by-County Page for Valley View Estates.
Cemeteries Near Valley View Estates ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valley View Estates.
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 Valley View Estates - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Valley View Estates covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Humphrey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Strong Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Strong Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jude Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Battle Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Normal Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Otey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wade Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Meridianville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Continue List (1147 more) ...
- Valhalla Memory Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Penny Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ford Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 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 Valley View Estates in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Valley View Estates.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Valley View Estates, with the one closest to Valley View Estates listed first.
- Meridianville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mercury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Moore's Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moore's Mill is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Mill
- Huntsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bell Factory
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bell Factory is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Factory
- Gladstone
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Gladstone is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
- Deposit
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Deposit is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deposit
- Jeff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jeff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeff
- Monrovia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Monrovia is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monrovia
- Brownsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Maysville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Maysville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
- Haden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Haden is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Greenfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Greenfield is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Key's Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Key's Mill is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key's Mill
- Madison Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Valley View Estates. See our List of 1890's Communities around Valley View Estates.
Newspapers Published in Valley View Estates ...
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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valley View Estates.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Valley View Estates, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Valley View Estates.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Valley View Estates:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Madison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Jackson County
- Limestone County
- Marshall County
- Morgan County
- Franklin County
- Giles County
- Lincoln 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 Valley View Estates, 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' (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- Valley View Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |