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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 West Blocton (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 West Blocton. 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 West Blocton ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Blocton: W. Blocton

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 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.

West Blocton is located in Bibb 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 Bibb County: Chilton, Hale, Jefferson, Perry, Shelby & Tuscaloosa.

Below are the counties that are near West Blocton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Blocton:

  • Bibb County     (The home county of West Blocton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Blocton, with the one closest to West Blocton listed first.
    • Burmah ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Burmah is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burmah
    • Blocton ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Blocton is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
    • Italian Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Italian Town is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
    • Bucktown ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Bucktown is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
    • Corinne ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Corinne is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinne
    • Fikestown ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fikestown is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fikestown
    • Belle Ellen
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Nash Town ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Nash Town is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
    • Cane Creek ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
    • Seymour
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Seymour is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
    • Woodstock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Blocton Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • North Bibb
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • North Bibb is located in Bibb County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
  • Chilton County
  • Hale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Blocton, with the one closest to West Blocton listed first.
    • Phipps ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Moundville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Jefferson County
  • Perry County
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Blocton, with the one closest to West Blocton listed first.
    • Aden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sawmill Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sawmill Town is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawmill Town
    • Wilton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Wilton is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 684 people
      • Former names for Wilton:
      • Birmingham Junction
      • Bismarck
      • Catoosa
      • Woods
      • Woodsborough
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilton
      • From West Blocton to Wilton
    • Montevallo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bamford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bamford is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
    • Tulse
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Tulse is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulse
    • Maylene
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Brantleyville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Alabaster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Helena
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Siluria
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Falliston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Falliston is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
    • Saginaw
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Saginaw is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
  • Tuscaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Blocton, with the one closest to West Blocton listed first.
    • Vance
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Vance is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
    • Tannehill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
    • Lake View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Abernant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Pearson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hagler
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Coaling
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Coaling is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaling
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,633 people
    • Brookwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Kellerman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Peterson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Duncanville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Duncanville is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncanville
    • Cottondale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Bull City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Blocton, see our County-by-County Page for West Blocton.

Cemeteries Near West Blocton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Blocton.

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 West Blocton - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Blocton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Blocton, with the one closest to West Blocton listed first.

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 West Blocton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Blocton.

These communities are listed based on their distance from West Blocton, with the one closest to West Blocton listed first.

  • Blocton ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Blocton is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
  • Bibbville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bibbville is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bibbville
  • Woodstock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Blocton Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Green Pond
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Giles
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Giles is located in Bibb County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles
  • Scottsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Vance
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Vance is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,807 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vance <1>
  • Boothton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Boothton is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boothton
  • Chamblee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Chamblee is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblee
  • Anita
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Anita is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
  • Gurnee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Gurnee is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurnee
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Tannehill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
    • Dudley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Dudley is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
    • Centreville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Blocton. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Blocton.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Blocton ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Blocton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West Blocton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West Blocton and those printed in the larger area surrounding West Blocton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> of West Blocton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 West Blocton:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Blocton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 West Blocton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.