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 Whites Gap (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 Whites Gap. 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 Whites Gap ...
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.
While the name of this community is Whites Gap, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Whites Gap may originally have been White's Gap.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Whites Gap might be written as White Gap.
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.
Whites Gap is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Whites Gap. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Whites Gap:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Whites Gap)
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Jacksonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Booker T City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Booker T City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker T City
- White Plains
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Weaver
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Weaver is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,030 people
- Merrellton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Fort McClellan ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fort McClellan is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McClellan
- Blue Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Blue Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Springs
- Angel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Nances Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Saks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saks is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saks
- Alexandria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Ball Flat
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Spring Garden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Exie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Rock Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Tecumseh
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Moshat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Centre
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Noah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Tucker Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Elder
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Delta
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Barfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Erin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Grantley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Heflin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Oak Level
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Abel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Fruithurst
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Borden Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Hollis Crossroads
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Ai
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Muscadine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Palestine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Hopewell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Cobb City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Glencoe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Banner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Hokes Bluff
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Burns Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Pilgrims Rest
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Ballplay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- East Gadsden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Edwardsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Christiana
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Milner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Morrison Crossroad
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Newell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Ragland
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Riverside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Steele
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Seddon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Ashville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Coldwater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Kentuck
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Silver Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Grant Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- McElderry
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Lincoln
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ironaton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Carroll County (GA)
- Jake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jake is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jake
- Estimated population in 2019: 146 people
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Tallapoosa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Budapest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Felton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Tabernacle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Tabernacle is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Esom Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Etna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Whites Gap, see our County-by-County Page for Whites Gap.
Cemeteries Near Whites Gap ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whites Gap.
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 Whites Gap - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Whites Gap covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Whites Gap Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fourmile Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jacksonville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Williamson - Little Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greenlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ft. McClellan Military Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tredagar - Boozer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Prisoner of War Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hudson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (304 more) ...
- Rabbittown Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Munger Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- McCain's Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCain's Chapel Cemetery
- The McCain's Chapel Cemetery has also been known as:
- McCain Cemetery
- McCain's Chapel Methodist Cemetery
- McCain's Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24288 <3>
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 Whites Gap in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Whites Gap.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Whites Gap, with the one closest to Whites Gap listed first.
- Jacksonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- White Plains
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Jenkins
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jenkins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
- Merrellton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Nances Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Leatherwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Blue Mountain
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Choccolocco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Iron City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Sulphur Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Alexandria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Anniston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mack ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Peaceburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Peaceburg is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Whites Gap. See our List of 1890's Communities around Whites Gap.
Newspapers Published in Whites Gap ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whites Gap.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whites Gap, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whites Gap.
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 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 Whites Gap:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Etowah County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Carroll County
- Haralson County
- Polk 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 Whites Gap, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Whites Gap) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |