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 Williamstown (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 Williamstown. 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 Williamstown ...
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: Williams Town.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Williamstown. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Williamstown.
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 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.
Williamstown is located in Walker 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 Walker County: Blount, Cullman, Fayette, Jefferson, Marion, Tuscaloosa & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Williamstown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Williamstown:
- Walker County (The home county of Williamstown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Parrish
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 929 people
- America
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- America is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America
- Goodsprings
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Goodsprings is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Oakman
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oakman is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
- Former names for Oakman:
- Day's Gap
- Marietta
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakman <1>
- Cordova
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Coal Valley is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Barney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Dovertown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dovertown is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovertown
- Patton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Patton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton
- Jasper
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Corona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Corona is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Patton Junction ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Patton Junction is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Junction
- Red Star
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Red Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Red Hill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- Warrior
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Reid's
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Reid's is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
- Smoke Rise
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Ardell
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ardell is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardell
- Arkadelphia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Bremen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Colony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Black Bottom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Crane Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Damascus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Alta
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Alta is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Berry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Bankston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bankston is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
- Bazemore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bazemore is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazemore
- Rossland City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rossland City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossland City
- Glen Allen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glen Allen is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Allen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 480 people
- Fayette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Old Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Old Town is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- West Jefferson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- West Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Media
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Media is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Media
- Black Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Black Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
- Short Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
- Toadvine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Toadvine is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toadvine
- Robbins Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Robbins Crossroads is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robbins Crossroads
- Sayre
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sayre is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayre
- Alden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Alden is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
- Graysville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Ezra
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ezra is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezra
- Oak Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Sylvan Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Maytown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Maytown is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Marion County
- Rock City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rock City is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Bull City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- New Lexington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Lexington is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Kellerman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Samantha
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Samantha is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samantha
- Abernant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Lake View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Falls City ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Falls City is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
- Arley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Slick Ford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Slick Ford is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slick Ford
- Farriss
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Farriss is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farriss
- Lynn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lynn is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Houston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Williamstown, see our County-by-County Page for Williamstown.
Cemeteries Near Williamstown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williamstown.
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 Williamstown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Williamstown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Gray Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pleasant Field Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Providence Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Goodsprings Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leonard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tubbs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sardis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sardis Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the southwest of Jasper.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26093 <3>
- Oakman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Day Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Woods Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Gilchrist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (474 more) ...
- Rowe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Busby Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Goodsprings Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Williamstown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Williamstown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Parrish
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parrish is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 929 people
- Cordova
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Coal Valley is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Patton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Patton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton
- Jasper
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Corona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Corona is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Townley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Townley is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townley
- Dora
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Gamble
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Gamble is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamble
- Alta
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Alta is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Edgil
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Edgil is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgil
- Wiley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wiley is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Saragossa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Saragossa is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saragossa
- South Lowell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- South Lowell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lowell
- Short Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Williamstown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Williamstown.
Newspapers Published in Williamstown ...
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 Williamstown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williamstown, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williamstown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Williamstown:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Walker County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Fayette County
- Jefferson County
- Marion County
- Tuscaloosa County
- Winston 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Williamstown) 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 Williamstown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |