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 Wilson (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 Wilson. 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.
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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Wilson is located in Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County: Colbert, Lawrence, Limestone, Tishomingo (MS), Giles (TN), Hardin (TN), Lawrence (TN) & Wayne (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Wilson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilson:
- Lauderdale County (The home county of Wilson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Zip City
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Zip City is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zip City
- Jacksonburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jacksonburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonburg
- Saint Florian
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Arnot
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Arnot is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnot
- Pruitton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pruitton is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitton
- Mars Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mars Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Hill
- Bailey Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cloverdale is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- McGee Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- McGee Town is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGee Town
- Atlas ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Atlas is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Florence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bainbridge ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bainbridge is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Cypress Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cypress Creek is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Wilson Dam
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- South Florence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Sheffield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Muscle Shoals
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ford City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Tuscumbia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Nitrate City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Gatesville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gatesville is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesville
- Leighton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Doubleheads Village ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Doubleheads Village is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doubleheads Village
- Red Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Red Rock is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- Franklin County
- Russellville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Wheeler Dam Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Red Bank
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Edmond
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Town Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- North Courtland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Courtland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hatton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Concord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Cairo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lester is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Lentzville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Tishomingo County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Oldham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Oldham is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham
- Short
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Short is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
- Iuka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Iuka is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,928 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iuka <1>
- Giles County (TN)
- Minor Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Hardin County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Lowryville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lowryville is located in Hardin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowryville
- Walnut Grove ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Walnut Grove is located in Hardin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Bruton Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bruton Branch is located in Hardin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruton Branch
- Gibbs ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Gibbs is located in Hardin County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Iron City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Saint Joseph
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rascal Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Loretto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westpoint
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Liberty Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Busby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Leoma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Appleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Fall River
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Lawrenceburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Cypress Inn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Corning ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
- Collinwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Collinwood is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
- Lutts
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Waynesboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Sorby ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sorby is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorby
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilson, see our County-by-County Page for Wilson.
Cemeteries Near Wilson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilson.
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 Wilson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Chisholm Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Piney Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Parsonage Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Richardson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Underwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Greenview Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Moore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Nolen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Simmons Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- George Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (726 more) ...
- Coffee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Gresham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kachelman 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.<2>
While we didn't find Wilson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
- Webster ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Webster is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Jacksonburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jacksonburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonburg
- Saint Florian
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Mars Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mars Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Hill
- Bailey Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Pruitton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pruitton is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitton
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cloverdale is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Florence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Green Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Iron City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Light ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Light is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light
- Oakland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- South Florence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Pleasant Valley ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Wayland Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wayland Springs is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland Springs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilson.
Newspapers Published in Wilson ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilson, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilson.
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 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 Wilson:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lauderdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Franklin County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Tishomingo County
- Giles County
- Hardin County
- Lawrence 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 Wilson, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wilson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |