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 Village 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 Village 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 Village 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 Village Springs: Village Spgs. (or less commonly used: Village Spngs. or Village Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Village Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Village Springs.
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 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 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.
Village 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 Village Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Village Springs:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Village Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Palmerdale
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Masseyline
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Bradford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Ayres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Clay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pinson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Crosston
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Crosston is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
- Trafford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chalkville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Grayson Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Grayson Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson Valley
- Majestic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Majestic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
- Center Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Breakstone Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Compton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Remlap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Selfville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Dallas
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- County Line
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Adville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Locust Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Dale ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Warrior
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Deavers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Hayden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allgood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Garden City
(18 miles [29 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
- Black Bottom
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Colony
(19 miles [30.6 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
(19 miles [30.6 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Arkadelphia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Hanceville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- White City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Dodge City
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Bremen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Good Hope
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Good Hope is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
- Baileytown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Altoona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nix ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Walnut Grove
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Argo
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Margaret
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Turnbough Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Acmar
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Saint Clair Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Branchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Moody
(14 miles [22.5 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 <1>
- Woodland Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Brompton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Cook's Springs
(18 miles [29 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 Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Dunnavant
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Bridgeton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Vandiver
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Shoal Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Sterrett
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Calcis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Chelsea
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Indian Springs Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- 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
- Westover
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Colony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Logan Martin Dam
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- East Bend
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Lincoln
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Windsong Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Creel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Sumiton
(23 miles [37 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 <1>
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Oakahalla
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Quinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wyatt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Dora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sipsey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sipsey is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipsey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Twilley Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Red Star
(27 miles [43.5 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 Village Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Village Springs.
Cemeteries Near Village Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Village 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 Village Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Village Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Hopewell UMC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Old Compton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Ayres.
- Remlap Methodist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pinson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lees Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Love Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hughes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Vandiver Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Holston Chapel UMC Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- County Line Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (323 more) ...
- Creel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Chalkville
- The Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Taylors Chapel Cemetery
- Argo Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 Village Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Village Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Village Springs, with the one closest to Village Springs listed first.
- Bradford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Clay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ayres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Remlap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Compton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Selfville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Chalkville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Woodward
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Woodward is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
- Argo
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Adville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Viola ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Viola is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Cunningham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cunningham is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Trussville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Coaldale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Coaldale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Village Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Village Springs.
Newspapers Published in Village 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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Village Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Village Springs, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Village Springs.
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 Village Springs:
- 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
- Talladega 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 Village Springs, 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- Village Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |