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 Altona (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 Altona. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Altona is located in Marshall County.
To see how the shape of Kentucky's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Marshall County: Calloway, Graves, Livingston, Lyon, McCracken & Trigg.
Below are the counties that are near Altona. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Altona:
- Marshall County (The home county of Altona)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Calvert City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Calvert City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,509 people
- Calvert City has also been known as:
- Calvert
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calvert City <1>
- Gilbertsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sharpe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sharpe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpe
- Tatumsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tatumsville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatumsville
- Scale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Scale is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scale
- Benton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Dogtown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dogtown is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
- Fairdealing
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fairdealing is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdealing
- Olive
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Olive is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive
- Hardin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Aurora
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ballard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Lovelaceville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Ceredo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Kevil
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gage
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gage is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Bandana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Fredonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dulaney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Dulaney is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dulaney
- Crider
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Crider is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crider
- Princeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hopson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hopson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopson
- McGowan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- McGowan is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGowan
- Creswell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Creswell is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Calloway County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Dexter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dexter is located in Calloway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
- Kirksey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kirksey is located in Calloway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksey
- Almo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Almo is located in Calloway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almo
- Murray
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Carlisle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Kirbyton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kirbyton is located in Carlisle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Cunningham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Crittenden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Dycusburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dycusburg is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dycusburg
- Population from the 2010 Census: 26 people
- Crayne
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Crayne is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crayne
- Sheridan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sheridan is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Marion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tolu
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Tolu is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolu
- Piney Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Piney Fork is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Fork
- Graves County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Symsonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boaz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Westplains
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Westplains is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westplains
- Melber
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Melber is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
- West Viola
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Viola is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Viola
- Hickory
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Pottsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pottsville is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
- Lowes
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lowes is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
- Mayfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Farmington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Farmington is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
- Fancy Farm
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fancy Farm is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Farm
- Pryorsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pryorsburg is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pryorsburg
- Livingston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Ledbetter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Smithland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lake City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lake City is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Grand Rivers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tiline
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tiline is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiline
- Pinckneyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pinckneyville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville
- Burna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burna is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burna
- Hampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hampton is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Salem
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lola is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lola
- Carrsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Carrsville is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
- Lyon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Kuttawa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Carmack
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Carmack is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmack
- Eddyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Fairview
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Fairview is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Lamasco
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lamasco is located in Lyon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamasco
- McCracken County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Reidland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Reidland is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reidland
- Oakdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Oakdale is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
- Hendron
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hendron is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
- Krebs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Krebs is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Paducah
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lone Oak
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lone Oak is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Massac
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Massac is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- West Paducah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Camelia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Camelia is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
- Grahamville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- Future City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Future City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- West Future City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Trigg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Trigg Furnace
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Trigg Furnace is located in Trigg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigg Furnace
- Canton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Canton is located in Trigg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Hardin County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Mineral City ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mineral City is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Rosiclare
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Shetlerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Shetlerville is located in Hardin County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shetlerville
- Elizabethtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Johnson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Reevesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Grantsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Massac County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Unionville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Unionville is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Shady Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Grove is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Brookport
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Massac City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Massac City is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- Metropolis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Big Bay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Joppa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Columbia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Pope County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Hamletsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bay City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bay City is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Golconda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dixon Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rock is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Leisure City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Leisure City is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure City
- Lusk
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lusk is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lusk
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Altona, see our County-by-County Page for Altona.
Cemeteries Near Altona ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Altona.
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 Altona - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Altona covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Dupriest - Leeper Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Robertson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Calvert City Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hurley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sand Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Leonard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Howard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Duke Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cothran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bellamy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dees Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (538 more) ...
- Ramage Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fooks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- New Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Altona in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Altona.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Calvert City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Calvert City is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,509 people
- Calvert City has also been known as:
- Calvert
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calvert City <1>
- Little Cypress
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Little Cypress is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Cypress
- Gilbertsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- New Liberty
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Liberty is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Liberty
- Sharpe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sharpe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpe
- Palma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Palma is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palma
- Hamletsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Smithland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Epperson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Epperson is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Elva
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Elva is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elva
- Grand Rivers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Iuka
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Iuka is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Vicksburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Vicksburg is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicksburg
- Unionville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Unionville is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Oaks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oaks is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Altona. See our List of 1890's Communities around Altona.
Newspapers Published in Altona ...
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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around Altona.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Altona, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Altona.
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 Altona:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Marshall County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ballard County
- Caldwell County
- Calloway County
- Carlisle County
- Crittenden County
- Graves County
- Livingston County
- Lyon County
- McCracken County
- Trigg County
- Hardin County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky
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 Altona, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Altona) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |