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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 Oyster 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 Oyster 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Oyster Bay is located in Baldwin 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 Baldwin County: Clarke, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, Washington & Escambia (FL).

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

  • Baldwin County     (The home county of Oyster Bay)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oyster Bay, with the one closest to Oyster Bay listed first.
    • Gulf Shores
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Bon Secour
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bon Secour have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Gasque
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Orange Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Beach
      • Orange Beach is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange Beach <2>
    • Foley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Yupon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elberta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elberta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elberta
      • Elberta is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,753 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elberta <2>
    • Summerdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Perdido Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Clay City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
      • Clay City is located in Baldwin County
    • Point Clear
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mobile County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oyster Bay, with the one closest to Oyster Bay listed first.
    • Fort Gaines ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Gaines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gaines
      • Fort Gaines is located in Mobile County
    • Alabama Port
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alabama Port have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama Port
      • Alabama Port is located in Mobile County
    • Dauphin Island
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Mon Louis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mon Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
      • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
    • Bellefontaine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Coden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Escambia County (FL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oyster Bay, with the one closest to Oyster Bay listed first.
    • Gulf Beach Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Gulf Beach ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Perdido Key
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Myrtle Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myrtle Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Grove
      • Myrtle Grove is located in Escambia County (FL)
    • Warrington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Warrington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrington
      • Warrington is located in Escambia County (FL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Warrington
      • From Oyster Bay to Warrington
    • Bellview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellview
      • Bellview is located in Escambia County (FL)
    • West Pensacola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pensacola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pensacola
      • West Pensacola is located in Escambia County (FL)
    • Muscogee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Tristan Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tristan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tristan Village
      • Tristan Village is located in Escambia County (FL)

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

Cemeteries Near Oyster Bay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oyster 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.

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 Oyster Bay covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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 Oyster Bay in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oyster Bay.

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

  • Bon Secour
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bon Secour have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Gasque
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Magnolia Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Swift
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swift have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Swift is located in Baldwin County
  • Marlow
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Marlow is located in Baldwin County
  • Josephine
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Josephine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
    • Josephine is located in Baldwin County
  • Point Clear
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Perdido Key
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Montrose
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Rosinton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosinton
      • Rosinton is located in Baldwin County
    • Millview
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millview
      • Millview is located in Escambia County (FL)
    • Mon Louis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mon Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
      • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
    • Daphne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daphne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daphne
      • Daphne is located in Baldwin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,719 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Daphne <2>
    • Warrington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Warrington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrington
      • Warrington is located in Escambia County (FL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Warrington
      • From Oyster Bay to Warrington
    • Fowl River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowl River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
      • Fowl River is located in Mobile County

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

Newspapers Published in Oyster 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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oyster Bay.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oyster Bay, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oyster Bay.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Oyster Bay:

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

The official website for Baldwin County: www.co.baldwin.al.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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- Oyster Bay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oyster Bay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2859, Longitude: -87.7422    
<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 Oyster Bay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025