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 Beda (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 Beda. 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 southwest 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 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.
Beda is located in Covington County.
To see how the shape of Alabama's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Covington County: Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Escambia, Geneva, Okaloosa (FL) & Walton (FL).
Below are the counties that are near Beda. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Beda:
- Covington County (The home county of Beda)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beda, with the one closest to Beda listed first.
- Wing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wing is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Falco
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Falco is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falco
- Red Oak
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Red Oak is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Lockhart
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lockhart is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
- Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
- Carolina
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Carolina is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
- Florala
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Libertyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Libertyville is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Andalusia
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- River Falls
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- River Falls is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Horn Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Horn Hill is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Sanford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sanford is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Onycha
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Onycha is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onycha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Coffee County
- Kinston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Conecuh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beda, with the one closest to Beda listed first.
- Brooklyn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Paul
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Paul is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paul
- Johnsonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Johnsonville is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
- Mount Union
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Union is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Nymph
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nymph is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nymph
- Centerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Jay Villa ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jay Villa is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay Villa
- Old Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Town is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Escambia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Beda, with the one closest to Beda listed first.
- Bradley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bradley is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Roberts
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Roberts is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- East Brewton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Riverview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Riverview is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Brewton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Okaloosa County (FL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beda, with the one closest to Beda listed first.
- Laurel Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Svea
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Svea is located in Okaloosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
- Cannon Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cannon Town is located in Okaloosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Town
- Garden City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Garden City is located in Okaloosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Otahite ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Otahite is located in Okaloosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
- Baker
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Crestview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Milligan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Holt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Santa Rosa County (FL)
- Belandville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Belandville is located in Santa Rosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belandville
- Walton County (FL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Beda, with the one closest to Beda listed first.
- Paxton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Mossy Head
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Beda, see our County-by-County Page for Beda.
Cemeteries Near Beda ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beda.
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 Beda - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Beda covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Beda, with the one closest to Beda listed first.
- Beda Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wing Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wing Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Wing
- The Wing Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wing Missionary Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2281632 <2>
- Newell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Rock Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stewart Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Clary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Old Bradley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Blackwater Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Union Hill Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (139 more) ...
- Bradley Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Almarante Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Beda had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Beda, with the one closest to Beda listed first.
- Rome
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rome is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Fairfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fairfield is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Florala
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Otahite ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Otahite is located in Okaloosa County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
- Andalusia
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Brooklyn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Boykin
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Boykin is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boykin
- Roberts
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Roberts is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Loango
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Loango is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loango
- Green Bay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Green Bay is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Bay
- River Falls
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- River Falls is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Gordon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gordon is located in Walton County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Continue List (11 more) ...
- Wiggins
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wiggins is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiggins
- Cohassett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cohassett is located in Conecuh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohassett
- Ealum
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ealum is located in Walton County (FL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ealum
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Beda. See our List of 1890's Communities around Beda.
Newspapers Published in Beda ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beda.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Beda, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Beda.
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 either 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 Beda:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Covington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Coffee County
- Conecuh County
- Escambia County
- Okaloosa County
- Santa Rosa County
- Walton County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
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 Beda, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Beda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |