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 Watts Crossroads (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 Watts Crossroads. 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 Watts Crossroads ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Watts Crossroads: Watts Xrds.
- While the name of this community is Watts Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Watts Crossroads may originally have been Watt's Crossroads.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Watts Crossroads might be written as Watt Crossroads.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Watts Crossroads. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Watts Crossroads.
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.
Watts Crossroads is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Cleburne, Coosa, Randolph, Talladega & Tallapoosa.
Below are the counties that are near Watts Crossroads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Watts Crossroads:
- Clay County (The home county of Watts Crossroads)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Barfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Lineville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Elder
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Delta
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Erin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Cragford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harkins Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Mellow Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Millerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Chambers Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Motley
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Motley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Friendship
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Friendship is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Chinnabee ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Chinnabee is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinnabee
- Oxford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- De Armanville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Hobson City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hobson City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Anniston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cobb Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cobb Town is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
- Oxanna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Bynum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Choccolocco
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Eulaton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eulaton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulaton
- Iron City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Eastaboga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Abanda
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Abanda is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanda
- Red Level
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Red Level is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
- Clackville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clackville is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clackville
- Milltown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Milltown is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Doublehead
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Doublehead is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doublehead
- Penton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Penton is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penton
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Abel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Hollis Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Micaville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Heflin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hightower
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Ai
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Ranburne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Edwardsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Hopewell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Goodwater
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Kellyton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Christiana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Ofelia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Milner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Morrison Crossroad
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Rockdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Malone Ferry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Malone Ferry is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone Ferry
- Wedowee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Almond
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Almond is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
- Cambridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Forester Chapel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Forester Chapel is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forester Chapel
- Corbin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- Newell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Wadley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Riverside
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Seddon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Kentuck
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Ironaton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- McElderry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Chandler Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Grant Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Run
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Waldo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Coldwater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Talladega
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Abihka ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Abihka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abihka
- Rendalia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rendalia is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
- Winterboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Winterboro is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterboro
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Goldville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Emuckfaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Truett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
- Cowpens
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Daviston
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- New Site
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Hackneyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Frog Eye
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Frog Eye is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Eye
- Matilda
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Heard County (GA)
- Ephesus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ephesus is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Watts Crossroads, see our County-by-County Page for Watts Crossroads.
Cemeteries Near Watts Crossroads ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watts Crossroads.
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 Watts Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Watts Crossroads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bellview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Old Macedonia Primitive Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Providence Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mannings Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Concord Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Barfield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Old Lineville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lineville City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (310 more) ...
- Black Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Watts Crossroads in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Watts Crossroads.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Watts Crossroads, with the one closest to Watts Crossroads listed first.
- Lineville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Delta
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Christiana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Dingler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dingler is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dingler
- Ofelia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Kentuck
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Hopeful
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hopeful is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeful
- Gibsonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gibsonville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
- Abel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Ironaton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Chandler Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Mellow Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Milner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Chulafinnee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chulafinnee is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulafinnee
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Watts Crossroads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Watts Crossroads.
Newspapers Published in Watts Crossroads ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watts Crossroads.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watts Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Watts Crossroads.
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 Watts Crossroads:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Clay County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Chambers County
- Cleburne County
- Coosa County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Tallapoosa County
- Heard County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Watts Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Watts Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |