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 Grand Bay (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 Grand Bay. 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 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.
Grand Bay is located in Mobile 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 Mobile County: Baldwin, Washington, George (MS), Greene (MS) & Jackson (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Grand Bay. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Grand Bay:
- Mobile County (The home county of Grand Bay)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Bay, with the one closest to Grand Bay listed first.
- Saint Elmo
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Irvington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bayou La Batre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Theodore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tillmans Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
- Bellefontaine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
- Mon Louis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
- Alabama Port
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Alabama Port is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama Port
- Country Club Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
- Dauphin Island
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dauphin Island is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dauphin Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,366 people
- Semmes
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fort Gaines ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Gaines is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gaines
- Baldwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Bay, with the one closest to Grand Bay listed first.
- Point Clear
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fort Morgan ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairhope
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Daphne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Park City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Park City is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Spanish Fort
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- George County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Bay, with the one closest to Grand Bay listed first.
- Howell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Howell is located in George County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Agricola
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Bay, with the one closest to Grand Bay listed first.
- Orange Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
- Helena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Big Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
- Moss Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Coll Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Coll Town is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
- Escatawpa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
- Eastside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Eastside is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastside
- Pascagoula
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hurley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
- Hickory Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hickory Hills is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Martin Bluff
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Martin Bluff is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Bluff
- Gautier
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Grand Bay, see our County-by-County Page for Grand Bay.
Cemeteries Near Grand Bay ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grand Bay.
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 Grand Bay - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Grand Bay covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Grand Bay, with the one closest to Grand Bay listed first.
- Grand Bay Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Piner McGrew Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hamilton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dees Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Beverly Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Forts Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kivisto Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oddfellows Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lawn Haven Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Union Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Tates Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (174 more) ...
- Serenity Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Orange Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Grand Bay had a population of 85 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Grand Bay, with the one closest to Grand Bay listed first.
- Fernland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fernland is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
- Saint Elmo
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Bayou La Batre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orange Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
- Coden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fowl River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fowl River is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
- Moss Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Theodore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Escatawpa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
- Pascagoula
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mon Louis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
- Three Rivers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Three Rivers is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cox
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cox is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
- Spring Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Vancleave
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Grand Bay. See our List of 1890's Communities around Grand Bay.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Grand Bay ...
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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grand Bay.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Grand Bay. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Grand Bay and those printed in the larger area surrounding Grand Bay.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> of Grand Bay.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Grand Bay:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Mobile County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Baldwin County
- George County
- Jackson 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> | 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 Grand Bay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Grand Bay) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |