Map of Africatown, Mobile, Alabama shows a community within a community.
Many communities produce their own maps, yielding information specifically relevant to the community and adding another layer of personality to genealogical research.
Sometimes, residents want to make sure their community and its history is not completely absorbed by the surrounding communities and therefore lost.
Generally designed to promote pride, tourism or a special community anniversary, these maps are prepared by locals familiar with the community. They reflect an intimate understanding of the community and can provide an important local perspective beneficial to the genealogical researcher.
Example of local map cover containing bragging rights for Union Springs, Bullock, Alabama.
More Information: Usually produced by the local Chamber of Commerce or tourism agency, these maps often lead to more published local information.
Community Bragging Rights: Local maps generally have a crest, flag or saying that indicates what the community is known for or proud of.
Research and Preparation: Information likely compiled by local historians who may have more information and be available for more specific discussions.
Ease of Navigation: Help the user understand the layout of the area, be it the local flea market, farmers’ market, meeting grounds, fairgrounds or winery, they aid navigation by providing a detailed representation of the area.
Animation: Local maps are sometimes presented in a whimsical or animated way to encourage use and make it easier for the user to find important landmarks.
Items Absent from Larger Maps: Items such as churchyard cemeteries, gardens or spring arbor churches.
Naming Conventions: The use of local surnames on roads, buildings and businesses may indicate large and/or prominent families in the area.
Historical Information: Local maps may show old mills, wells or businesses. Some now defunct but that were once a local gathering place, employer or depicting former configuration of land and ownership, helping the researcher uncover social and economic information.
Emphasize Small Businesses: These maps usually depict the local downtown which may be comprised of dress shops, funeral homes, ice cream parlors and the local mercantile that doubles as the post office, offering more information about how the community interacted.
Depicts Locality: Proximity to local places, small bends in the road, creeks and local landmarks become evident.
VisualVerification of Land: Larger maps can show incorporated communities, but local maps may provide communities within communities, boundaries within boundaries as well as landmarks, trees and boulders once used to delineate land, and even creeks that have since dried up.1860 Louisiana plat image shows land proximity answering relationship questions.Relationships: Provide more evidence of proximity supporting the likelihood of relationships.
Identify Smaller, Informal Transportation Routes: Local maps provide detail too small for an official map such as small bridges, informal walking paths, short cuts and local watering holes.
Place Names and Localities: These maps often provide local names, such as The Five Towns, Camp Harmony, Africa Town,Germantown, Mound Bayou, Black Bottom or Eatonville. Interstate highways and large thoroughfares may take on different names when passing through the community. These name changes represent too small of an area to make the larger maps but are often the only names used by locals.
F.A.N. Club: Any and /or all of this new-found information may make it necessary to revisit the FAN Club leading to more connections and avenues of research
Why compare them to larger maps?
Lot for sale, Savannah, Georgia, July 12, 1817 provides genealogical information.
May yield a formerly unknown community within a community.
Analyzing maps over time may pinpoint when the community was established as well as when it disappeared.
Comparing the timeline with historic events may answer questions.
Comparing local maps with historic or specialty maps may yield additional information.
Local maps, be them official or informal should be part of one’s research tool kit when conducting fully exhaustive research. The intimate detail found on them can enhance and illuminate the world in which an ancestor lived helping to create a much more rounded picture.
Explore more about mining local maps to unearth genealogical information
Historic U.S. Maps collection at MyHeritage includes United States property atlases, antiquarian maps, nautical charts, birds-eye views, special collections (celestial maps, portraits, and other historical images), as well as directories and other text documents.
U.S. Property Owners Index and Maps collection at MyHeritage includes thousands of maps showing the names of property owners. Many of these are indexed and searchable by state, surname and year.
