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 Woods Ferry (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 Woods Ferry. 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 Woods Ferry ...
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 Woods Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Woods Ferry may originally have been Wood's Ferry.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Woods Ferry might be written as Wood Ferry.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Woods Ferry. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Woods Ferry.
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 doctors 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.
Woods Ferry is located in Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Blount, Calhoun, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near Woods Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Woods Ferry:
- Saint Clair County (The home county of Woods Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Ragland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Riverside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coal City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Seddon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Wattsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Avondale Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Pell City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cropwell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Ashville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Branchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Straight Mountain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Straight Mountain is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Mountain
- Appalachian
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Appalachian is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachian
- Highland Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Taits Gap
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Taits Gap is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taits Gap
- Allgood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Hoods Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hoods Crossroads is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoods Crossroads
- Oneonta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Remlap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bird ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Dale ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Rosa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rosa is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
- Compton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Deavers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Macon
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Eastaboga
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ohatchee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bynum
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Morrisville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Morrisville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Beasley ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beasley is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Bera ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Bera is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bera
- Chigger Ridge ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Ridge is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Ridge
- Cochran Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Erin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Elder
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Chambers Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Haynes Crossroad
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Cleburne County
- Abel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Markton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Pilgrims Rest
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Rainbow City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Cobb City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Attalla
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Glencoe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Burns Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Alabama City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Alabama City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama City
- Gadsden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Nix ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Ayres
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Breakstone Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- East Trussville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East Trussville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Trussville
- Leeds
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Roper
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Roper is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
- Cedar Grove ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cahaba Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Clay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lola City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lola City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola City
- Scott City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Scott City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott City
- Trussville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McCombs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Alton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Calcis
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Dunnavant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Sterrett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dunavant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Vandiver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harpersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Westover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Lincoln
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Colony
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Windsong Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Coldwater
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Grant Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Talladega
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- McElderry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Ironaton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Waldo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Kentuck
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Logan Martin Dam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Woods Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for Woods Ferry.
Cemeteries Near Woods Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Woods Ferry.
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 Woods Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Woods Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Wester Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hall Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Refuge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Morning Star Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Old Mitchell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Box Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Green Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Garden of Memories Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pattons Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Harkeys Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Creswell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (282 more) ...
- Macedonia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Popes Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Woods Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Woods Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Woods Ferry, with the one closest to Woods Ferry listed first.
- Refuge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Refuge is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
- Riverside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ragland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Lincoln
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Macon
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Fairview
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Coal City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Seddon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Eureka
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Eureka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Eastaboga
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cane Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Pell City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Francis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Francis is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
- Eden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Eden is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Woods Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around Woods Ferry.
Newspapers Published in Woods Ferry ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Woods Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Woods Ferry, 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 Woods Ferry.
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 Woods Ferry:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Saint Clair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Shelby County
- Talladega 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 Woods Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Woods Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |