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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Fort Gaines. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Fort Gaines to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Fort Gaines, please Contact Us.

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 Fort Gaines (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 Fort Gaines. 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 Fort Gaines ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Gaines: Ft. Gaines

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Fort Gaines is historic, it would have been located within present day Mobile County.

To see how the shape of Alabama's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Mobile County: Baldwin, Washington, George (MS), Greene (MS) & Jackson (MS).

Below are the counties that are near Fort Gaines. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fort Gaines:

  • Mobile County     (The home county of Fort Gaines)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Gaines, with the one closest to Fort Gaines listed first.
    • Dauphin Island
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dauphin Island
      • Dauphin Island is located in Mobile County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,366 people
    • Alabama Port
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alabama Port have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama Port
      • Alabama Port is located in Mobile County
    • Mon Louis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mon Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
      • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
    • Coden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coden
      • Coden is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coden <3>
    • Bayou La Batre
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou La Batre have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou La Batre
      • Bayou La Batre is located in Mobile County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,457 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayou La Batre <3>
    • Bellefontaine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
      • Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
    • Irvington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irvington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
      • Irvington is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irvington <3>
    • Saint Elmo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Elmo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
      • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
    • Theodore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Theodore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theodore
      • Theodore is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Theodore <3>
    • Grand Bay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Bay
      • Grand Bay is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Bay <3>
    • Tillmans Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
    • Mobile
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Gaines, with the one closest to Fort Gaines listed first.
    • Fort Morgan ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Morgan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Morgan
      • Fort Morgan is located in Baldwin County
      • Former name for Fort Morgan:
      • Fort Bowyer
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Morgan <3>
    • Gasque
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gasque have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gasque
      • Gasque is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gasque <3>
    • Point Clear
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Clear have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Clear
      • Point Clear is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Clear <3>
    • Yupon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yupon
      • Yupon is located in Baldwin County
    • Oyster Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Bay
      • Oyster Bay is located in Baldwin County
    • Magnolia Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bon Secour
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bon Secour have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Secour
      • Bon Secour is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bon Secour <3>
    • Fairhope
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gulf Shores
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Shores
      • Gulf Shores is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,166 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gulf Shores <3>
    • Clay City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
      • Clay City is located in Baldwin County
    • Montrose
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Foley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foley
      • Foley is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,446 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Foley <3>
    • Summerdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerdale
      • Summerdale is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,792 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerdale <3>
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Gaines, with the one closest to Fort Gaines listed first.
    • Orange Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
      • Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
    • Moss Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moss Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Point
      • Moss Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,226 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moss Point <3>
    • Pascagoula
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Escatawpa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Escatawpa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
      • Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
    • Helena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fort Gaines, see our County-by-County Page for Fort Gaines.

Newspapers Published in Fort Gaines ...

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 141 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Gaines.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Gaines, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Gaines.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Fort Gaines:

Cemeteries Near Fort Gaines ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Gaines.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fort Gaines covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fort Gaines, with the one closest to Fort Gaines listed first.

  • Dauphin Island Community Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Dauphin Island Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Reeds Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reeds Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reeds Cemetery
  • Alabama Port Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alabama Port Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alabama Port Cemetery
  • Dorlon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • English Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the English Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the English Cemetery
  • Cold Springs Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cold Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cold Springs Cemetery
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roberts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roberts Cemetery
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Michael Catholic Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Shell Banks Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Oddfellows Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oddfellows Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oddfellows Cemetery
  • Continue List   (79 more) ...
    • Lundy Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lundy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lundy Cemetery
    • Boudans Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boudans Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Boudans Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bellefontaine
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boudans Cemetery
    • Mathis Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mathis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mathis Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bellefontaine
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mathis Cemetery

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.

While we didn't find Fort Gaines in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fort Gaines.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Fort Gaines, with the one closest to Fort Gaines listed first.

  • Coden
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coden
    • Coden is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coden <3>
  • Mon Louis
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mon Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
    • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
  • Fowl River
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowl River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
    • Fowl River is located in Mobile County
  • Gasque
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gasque have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gasque
    • Gasque is located in Baldwin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gasque <3>
  • Bayou La Batre
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou La Batre have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou La Batre
    • Bayou La Batre is located in Mobile County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,457 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayou La Batre <3>
  • Point Clear
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Clear have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Clear
    • Point Clear is located in Baldwin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Clear <3>
  • Magnolia Springs
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Elmo
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Elmo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
    • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
  • Fernland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fernland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
    • Fernland is located in Mobile County
  • Theodore
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Theodore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theodore
    • Theodore is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Theodore <3>
  • Bon Secour
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bon Secour have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Secour
    • Bon Secour is located in Baldwin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bon Secour <3>
  • Marlow
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Marlow is located in Baldwin County
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Grand Bay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Bay
      • Grand Bay is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Bay <3>
    • Montrose
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
      • Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fort Gaines. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Gaines.

The official website for Mobile County: www.mobilecounty.org/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Fort Gaines, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Fort Gaines) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Gaines. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2488, Longitude: -88.0750       In this case, the coordinates for Fort Gaines have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024