Alabama Gazetteers

National gazetteers, postal guides, and Alabama county histories list the names of places, such as towns and rivers. Three other sources of geographical information include:


 * Berney, Saffold. Handbook of Alabama: A Complete Index to the State, With Map. Second Edition, Revised. Birmingham, Alabama: Roberts and Son, 1892. (Family History Library .) This has historical information about the state, its counties, and major cities. Pages 66–76 list the counties and the precincts. The handbook also contains information about Alabama courts on pages 93–98 and 540–547. Coal mines are listed on page 473, and cotton mills are listed on pages 487–490.


 * Foscue, Virginia O. Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1989. (Family History Library This book contains historical and geographical information about counties, cities, towns, settlements, rivers, creeks, lakes, and mountains.


 * Harris, W. Stuart. Dead Towns of Alabama. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1977. (Family History Library .) This contains alphabetical lists of towns, forts, and Indian towns and villages and their location. It is indexed.

How did your migrating ancestor find the correct destination out West? Quite possibly they had a copy of Brown's book:


 * Brown, Samuel R. The Western Gazetteer or Emigrant's Directory, Containing a Geographical Description of the Western States and Territories, viz. The States of Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi: and the Territories of Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, and North-Western. Auburn, N.Y.: H.C. Southwick, 1817. Digital versions at NIU Library Digitization Projects and World Vital Records ($).

For river landings, see:


 * Adams, Louis A. Adam's Directory of Points and Landings on Rivers and Bayous in the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. (includes Tennessee) New Orleans : W.L. Murray, 1877. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Gazetteers are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

ALABAMA, [COUNTY]- GAZETTEERS