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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 Howells 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 Howells 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 Howells 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.

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

While the name of this community is Howells Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Howells Ferry may originally have been Howell's Ferry.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Howells Ferry might be written as Howell 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 northwest 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 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.

Howells Ferry is located in George County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of George County: Mobile (AL), Greene, Jackson, Perry & Stone.

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

  • George County     (The home county of Howells Ferry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells Ferry, with the one closest to Howells Ferry listed first.
    • Howell
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
      • Howell is located in George County
    • Agricola
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Lucedale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucedale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucedale
      • Lucedale is located in George County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucedale <2>
    • Bexley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bexley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexley
      • Bexley is located in George County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells Ferry, with the one closest to Howells Ferry listed first.
    • Brown Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
      • Brown Town is located in Greene County
    • Leakesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leakesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leakesville
      • Leakesville is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 868 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leakesville <2>
    • McLain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McLain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLain
      • McLain is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells Ferry, with the one closest to Howells Ferry listed first.
    • Hurley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
      • Hurley is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurley <2>
    • Americus ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Americus. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
      • Americus is located in Jackson County
    • Wade
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wade have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
      • Wade is located in Jackson County
    • Big Point
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County
    • Brewton ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brewton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewton
      • Brewton is located in Jackson County
      • Brewton has also been known as:
      • Brewer's Bluff
    • Coll Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coll Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
      • Coll Town is located in Jackson County
    • Helena
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Jackson County
    • Vancleave
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Escatawpa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Escatawpa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
      • Escatawpa is located in Jackson County
    • Hickory Hills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
      • Hickory Hills is located in Jackson County
    • Martin Bluff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Bluff
      • Martin Bluff is located in Jackson County
    • Moss Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moss Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Point
      • Moss Point is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,226 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moss Point <2>
  • Mobile County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Howells Ferry, with the one closest to Howells Ferry listed first.
    • Wilmer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmer
      • Wilmer is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmer <2>
    • Semmes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Semmes
      • Semmes is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,736 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Semmes <2>
    • Chunchula
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
      • Chunchula is located in Mobile County (AL)
    • Gulfcrest
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulfcrest
      • Gulfcrest is located in Mobile County (AL)
    • Eight Mile
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eight Mile have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eight Mile
      • Eight Mile is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eight Mile <2>
    • Country Club Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Club Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
      • Country Club Village is located in Mobile County (AL)
    • Saraland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saraland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saraland
      • Saraland is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,671 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saraland <2>
    • Chickasaw
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chickasaw have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
      • Chickasaw is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,659 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chickasaw <2>
    • Prichard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prichard
      • Prichard is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,294 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prichard <2>
    • Satsuma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satsuma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsuma
      • Satsuma is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Satsuma <2>
    • Citronelle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Tillmans Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County (AL)
  • Washington County (AL)
    • Deer Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
      • Deer Park is located in Washington County (AL)

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

Newspapers Published in Howells 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 4 newspapers that have been published in the area around Howells Ferry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Howells Ferry, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Howells 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 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 Howells Ferry:

Cemeteries Near Howells Ferry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Howells 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.

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 Howells Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Finch Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finch Cemetery
  • Howell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howell Cemetery
  • Ward Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ward Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ward Cemetery
  • Lee Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
  • Moffet Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moffet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moffet Cemetery
  • Pine View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine View Cemetery
  • Finch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finch Cemetery
  • Agricola Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Agricola Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Agricola Cemetery
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
  • Finch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finch Cemetery
  • Shipman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shipman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shipman Cemetery
  • Midway Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Midway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Midway Cemetery
  • Continue List   (269 more) ...
    • Moffetville Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moffetville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moffetville Cemetery
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
    • Movella Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Movella Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Movella 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.<6>

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

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

  • Americus ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Americus. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
    • Americus is located in Jackson County
  • Three Rivers
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Rivers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
    • Three Rivers is located in Jackson County
  • Oak Grove
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Oak Grove is located in Mobile County (AL)
  • Kushla
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kushla have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
    • Kushla is located in Mobile County (AL)
  • Chunchula
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
    • Chunchula is located in Mobile County (AL)
  • Spring Hill
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County (AL)
  • Whistler
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whistler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
    • Whistler is located in Mobile County (AL)
  • Prichard
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prichard
    • Prichard is located in Mobile County (AL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,294 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prichard <2>
  • Vancleave
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Plateau
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plateau have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
    • Plateau is located in Mobile County (AL)
  • Citronelle
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Leakesville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leakesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leakesville
    • Leakesville is located in Greene County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 868 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leakesville <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Grand Bay
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Bay
      • Grand Bay is located in Mobile County (AL)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Bay <2>
    • Fernland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fernland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
      • Fernland is located in Mobile County (AL)
    • Saint Elmo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Elmo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
      • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County (AL)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Howells Ferry. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.gov/

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 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.
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Howells Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Howells Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.8127, Longitude: -88.4581       In this case, the coordinates for Howells Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Howells Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024