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 Woodford (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 Woodford. 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 southeast 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 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.
Woodford is located in Sumter 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 Sumter County: Choctaw, Greene, Marengo, Pickens, Kemper (MS), Lauderdale (MS) & Noxubee (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Woodford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Woodford:
- Sumter County (The home county of Woodford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Coatopa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coatopa is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatopa
- McDowell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- McDowell is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
- Brewersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Brewersville is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewersville
- Moore Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Moore Town is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Town
- Arrington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Arrington is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrington
- Bellamy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bellamy is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellamy
- Whitfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whitfield is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
- Livingston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Derby
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Derby is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Epes
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Epes is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
- Intercourse
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Intercourse is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Intercourse
- York
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- York is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,218 people
- Former names for York:
- New York Station
- York Station
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York <1>
- Choctaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Cedahoma ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cedahoma is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedahoma
- Pelham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pelham is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Pennington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Pennington is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Tompkinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Tompkinsville is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
- Choctaw City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Choctaw City is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw City
- Jachin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jachin is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jachin
- Cromwell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cromwell is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
- Lavaca
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lavaca is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavaca
- Lisman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lisman is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Pushmataha
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pushmataha is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pushmataha
- Butler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Forkland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Forkland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
- Miller
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Miller is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
- Boligee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lizzieville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lizzieville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizzieville
- Eutaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Clinton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Clinton is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- West Greene
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Greene is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Greene
- Hale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Arcola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Arcola is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
- Gallion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gallion is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallion
- Prairieville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Prairieville is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Cedarville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cedarville is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Sawyerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rosemary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Rosemary is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemary
- Greensboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Newbern
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Newbern is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
- Population from the 2020 Census: 174 people
- Akron
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Village is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Village
- Marengo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Demopolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Aigleville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Aigleville is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aigleville
- Griffins ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Griffins is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins
- Pin Hook
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pin Hook is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Hook
- Beckleys ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Beckleys is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckleys
- Blue Lock ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Lock is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Lock
- Myrtlewood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Providence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
- Linden
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Tombigbee ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Tombigbee is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tombigbee
- Half Acre
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Half Acre is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Acre
- Former names for Half Acre:
- Hell's Half Acre
- Luther's Store
- Dayton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dayton is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Uniontown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ellawhite
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ellawhite is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellawhite
- Freetown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Freetown is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freetown
- The Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- The Village is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
- Kemper County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Narkeeta ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Narkeeta is located in Kemper County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narkeeta
- Porterville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Porterville is located in Kemper County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
- Lauderdale County (MS)
- Smith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Smith is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Woodford, see our County-by-County Page for Woodford.
Cemeteries Near Woodford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Woodford.
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 Woodford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Woodford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Arrington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Dug Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Davidson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Taylor Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Millers Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Houpt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Brewersville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewersville Cemetery
- The Brewersville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Christian Valley Baptist Church Cemetery
- Christian Valley Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21785 <2>
- Nebo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Phares Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Walker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (322 more) ...
- St. Matthew Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Brown Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Neal Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Woodford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Woodford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Woodford, with the one closest to Woodford listed first.
- Coatopa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Coatopa is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatopa
- McDowell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- McDowell is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
- Belmont
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Demopolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tishabee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Tishabee is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tishabee
- Jefferson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Forkland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Forkland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
- Livingston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Spring Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Old Spring Hill is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Spring Hill
- Arcola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Arcola is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
- Miller
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Miller is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
- Gaston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gaston is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Myrtlewood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Gallion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gallion is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallion
- Boligee
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Woodford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Woodford.
Newspapers Published in Woodford ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Woodford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Woodford, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Woodford.
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 Woodford:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Sumter County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Choctaw County
- Greene County
- Hale County
- Marengo County
- Perry County
- Kemper County
- Lauderdale 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Woodford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Woodford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |