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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 South Orchard (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 South Orchard. 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 South Orchard ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for South Orchard: S. Orchard

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.

South Orchard 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 South Orchard. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to South Orchard:

  • Mobile County     (The home county of South Orchard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Orchard, with the one closest to South Orchard listed first.
    • Bellefontaine
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
    • Mon Louis
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
    • Theodore
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Irvington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Elmo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
    • Alabama Port
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Alabama Port is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama Port
    • Bayou La Batre
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Coden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Tillmans Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
    • Grand Bay
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Dauphin Island
      (14 miles [22.5 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
    • Country Club Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
    • Fort Gaines ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • 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 South Orchard, with the one closest to South Orchard listed first.
    • Point Clear
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fairhope
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Montrose
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Park City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Park City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • Fort Morgan ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Daphne
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Clay City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Clay City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Marlow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Marlow is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Yupon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Yupon is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yupon
    • Spanish Fort
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Magnolia Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Silverhill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Gasque
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • George County (MS)
    • Howell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Howell is located in George County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Orchard, with the one closest to South Orchard listed first.
    • Orange Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • Helena
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Big Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
    • Moss Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Eastside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Eastside is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastside
    • Escatawpa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
    • Hurley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Coll Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Coll Town is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
    • Pascagoula
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Wade
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
    • Hickory Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Hickory Hills is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
    • Martin Bluff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Martin Bluff is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Bluff
    • Gautier
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Gautier is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gautier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,379 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gautier <1>

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

Cemeteries Near South Orchard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Orchard.

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 South Orchard - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for South Orchard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Cold Springs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Lundy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • English Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Boudans Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Oddfellows Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Magnolia Springs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Beverly Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Michael Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dorlon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (173 more) ...
    • Alabama Port Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Reeds Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Lawn Haven Memorial Gardens
      (7 miles [11.3 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 South Orchard in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of South Orchard.

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

  • Fowl River
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Fowl River is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
  • Mon Louis
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
  • Theodore
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Saint Elmo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
  • Bayou La Batre
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Coden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fernland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Fernland is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
  • Grand Bay
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Cox
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cox is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
  • Point Clear
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Montrose
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mobile
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Spring Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Orange Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • Daphne
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in South Orchard ...

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 144 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Orchard.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Orchard, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Orchard.

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 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 South Orchard:

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 South Orchard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- South Orchard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.