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 Water Valley (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 Water Valley. 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 Water Valley ...
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.
Another variation: Watervalley.
- A typical abbreviation for Water Valley: Water Vly. (or less commonly used: Water Vally. or Water Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Water Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Water Valley.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Water Valley is located in Choctaw 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 Choctaw County: Clarke, Marengo, Sumter, Washington, Clarke (MS), Lauderdale (MS) & Wayne (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Water Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Water Valley:
- Choctaw County (The home county of Water Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Okatuppa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Okatuppa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okatuppa
- Gilbertown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Melvin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Melvin is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Toxey
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Toxey is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Souwilpa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Souwilpa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Souwilpa
- Emory
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Emory is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emory
- Needham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Needham is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
- Bolinger
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bolinger is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolinger
- Isney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Isney is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isney
- Silas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Red Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Red Springs is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Womack Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Womack Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack Hill
- Aquilla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Aquilla is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquilla
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- West Bend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- West Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
- Fakit Chipunta ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fakit Chipunta is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fakit Chipunta
- Coffeeville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Campbell is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Morvin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Morvin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morvin
- Salitpa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Salitpa is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salitpa
- Marengo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Putnam
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Barrons ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Barrons is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrons
- Nanafalia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
- Sumter County
- Kinterbish
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Kinterbish is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinterbish
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Healing Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Healing Springs is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Mehaffey ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mehaffey is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehaffey
- Millry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Barlow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Barlow is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Frankville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Frankville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Copeland
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Copeland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
- Bigbee
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bigbee is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigbee
- Chatom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Clarke County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Junction City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Junction City is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Gin ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Gin is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gin
- Shubuta
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shubuta is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shubuta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 399 people
- De Soto
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- De Soto is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Quitman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stonewall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stonewall is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 946 people
- Barnett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Barnett is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Pachuta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pachuta is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pachuta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Lauderdale County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Increase
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Increase is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Increase
- Increase has also been known as:
- Causeyville
- Whynot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Whynot is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whynot
- Wayne County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Matherville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Matherville is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherville
- Waynesboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Robinsons Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Robinsons Junction is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsons Junction
- Chicora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chicora is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicora
- Whistler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Whistler is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
- Clara
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clara is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Water Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Water Valley.
Cemeteries Near Water Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Water Valley.
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 Water Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Water Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Paragon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Smiths Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bonner Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mosley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Brightwater Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Gilbertown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mosley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (258 more) ...
- Old Lusk Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison 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.<2>
While we didn't find Water Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Water Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Water Valley, with the one closest to Water Valley listed first.
- Melvin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Melvin is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Emory
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Emory is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emory
- Souwilpa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Souwilpa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Souwilpa
- Isney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Isney is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isney
- Lusk
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lusk is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
- Silas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Matherville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Matherville is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matherville
- Carmichael
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Carmichael is located in Clarke County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmichael
- Aquilla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Aquilla is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquilla
- Womack Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Womack Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack Hill
- Hinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hinton is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
- Tokio
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tokio is located in Wayne County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tokio
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Rescueville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rescueville is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescueville
- Ararat
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ararat is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
- West Bend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- West Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Water Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Water Valley.
Newspapers Published in Water Valley ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Water Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Water Valley, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Water Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Water Valley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Choctaw County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Marengo County
- Sumter County
- Washington County
- Clarke County
- Lauderdale 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 Water Valley, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Water Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |