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 Heron 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 Heron 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Heron 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 Heron Bay. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Heron Bay:
- Mobile County (The home county of Heron Bay)
- The following are listed by their distance from Heron Bay, with the one closest to Heron Bay listed first.
- Alabama Port
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Alabama Port is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama Port
- Mon Louis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
- Coden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dauphin Island
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Dauphin Island is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dauphin Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,366 people
- Bayou La Batre
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Gaines ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Gaines is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gaines
- Bellefontaine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
- Irvington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Elmo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Theodore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Grand Bay
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tillmans Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
- Country Club Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
- Baldwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Heron Bay, with the one closest to Heron Bay listed first.
- Fort Morgan ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Point Clear
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fairhope
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Yupon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Yupon is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yupon
- Gasque
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Marlow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Marlow is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
- Clay City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clay City is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
- Oyster Bay
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Oyster Bay is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Bay
- Daphne
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Park City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Park City is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Bon Secour
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Jackson County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Heron Bay, with the one closest to Heron Bay listed first.
- Orange Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
- Helena
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Eastside
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Eastside is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastside
- Moss Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Pascagoula
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Escatawpa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
- Big Point
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
- Coll Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Coll Town is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
- Hurley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Heron Bay, see our County-by-County Page for Heron Bay.
Cemeteries Near Heron Bay ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Heron 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 Heron Bay - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Heron Bay covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Heron Bay, with the one closest to Heron Bay listed first.
- Dorlon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Reeds Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Alabama Port Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- English Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Dauphin Island Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cold Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Roberts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Dauphin Island Community Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Michael Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Oddfellows Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lundy Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (137 more) ...
- Boudans Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boudans Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Boudans Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bellefontaine
- Mathis Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathis Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mathis Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bellefontaine
- Beverly Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
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>
While we didn't find Heron Bay in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Heron Bay.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Heron Bay, with the one closest to Heron Bay listed first.
- Mon Louis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
- Coden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Fowl River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Fowl River is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
- Bayou La Batre
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Elmo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Theodore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fernland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fernland is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
- Point Clear
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Bay
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gasque
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Montrose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cox
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Cox is located in Mobile County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Orange Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
- Magnolia Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Marlow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Marlow is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Heron Bay. See our List of 1890's Communities around Heron Bay.
Newspapers Published in Heron 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 145 newspapers that have been published in the area around Heron Bay.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Heron Bay, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Heron Bay.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Heron Bay:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Mobile County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Baldwin 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> | 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 Heron Bay, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Heron Bay) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |