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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 Betts (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 Betts. 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.

Betts is located in Bay County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bay County: Calhoun, Gulf, Jackson, Walton & Washington.

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

  • Bay County     (The home county of Betts)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Betts, with the one closest to Betts listed first.
    • Fountain
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Youngstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Vicksburg ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vicksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicksburg
      • Vicksburg is located in Bay County
      • Former name for Vicksburg:
      • Vickerburg
    • Southport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Cedar Grove is located in Bay County
    • Lynn Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hiland Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hiland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiland Park
      • Hiland Park is located in Bay County
    • Callaway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Pretty Bayou
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pretty Bayou have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pretty Bayou
      • Pretty Bayou is located in Bay County
    • Springfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bay Harbor ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Harbor
      • Bay Harbor is located in Bay County
    • Panama City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Betts, with the one closest to Betts listed first.
    • Clarksville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Altha
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Kinard
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Blountstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • McNeal ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McNeal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeal
      • McNeal is located in Calhoun County
    • Ocheesee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocheesee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheesee
      • Ocheesee is located in Calhoun County
    • Marysville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
      • Marysville is located in Calhoun County
  • Holmes County
    • Bonifay
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Betts, with the one closest to Betts listed first.
    • Alford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Steele City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steele City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele City
      • Steele City is located in Jackson County
    • Cottondale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Marianna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Cypress
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jacob City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacob City
      • Jacob City is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Grand Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Inwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inwood
      • Inwood is located in Jackson County
    • Campbellton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Two Egg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Egg
      • Two Egg is located in Jackson County
    • Graceville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Liberty County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Betts, with the one closest to Betts listed first.
    • Bristol
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Estiffanulga
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estiffanulga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estiffanulga
      • Estiffanulga is located in Liberty County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Betts, with the one closest to Betts listed first.
    • Wausau
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Brock Crossroad
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock Crossroad
      • Brock Crossroad is located in Washington County
    • Chipley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Vernon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Five Points
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
      • Five Points is located in Washington County
    • Millers Ferry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millers Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Ferry
      • Millers Ferry is located in Washington County
    • Caryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ebro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebro
      • Ebro is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ebro <1>
    • Coosada Old Town ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coosada Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosada Old Town
      • Coosada Old Town is located in Washington County

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

Newspapers Published in Betts ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Betts.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Betts, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Betts.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Betts:

Cemeteries Near Betts ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Betts.

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

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

  • Sandy Mtn. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Fountain Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Camps Head Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Camps Head Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Camps Head Cemetery
  • Pippen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pippen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pippen Cemetery
  • McCormick Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCormick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCormick Cemetery
  • White Oak Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Oak Cemetery
  • Victory Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Victory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Victory Cemetery
  • Kent Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kent Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kent Cemetery
  • Gainer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gainer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gainer Cemetery
  • New Shiloh Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Shiloh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Shiloh Cemetery
  • Gortemoller Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gortemoller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gortemoller Cemetery
  • Scarlett Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Scarlett Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scarlett Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2293088 <4>
  • Continue List   (102 more) ...
    • Deadening Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deadening Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deadening Cemetery
    • Porter Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Porter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Porter Cemetery
    • Pippin Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pippin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pippin Cemetery

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

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

  • Chipola
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chipola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipola
    • Chipola is located in Calhoun County
  • Alliance
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alliance have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alliance
    • Alliance is located in Jackson County
  • Cottondale
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Abe Springs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abe Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abe Springs
    • Abe Springs is located in Calhoun County
  • Chipley
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Marianna
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Blountstown
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Selman
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selman
    • Selman is located in Calhoun County
  • Ocheesee
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocheesee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheesee
    • Ocheesee is located in Calhoun County
  • Cypress
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Marysville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
    • Marysville is located in Calhoun County
  • Bonifay
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Bristol
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Estiffanulga
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estiffanulga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estiffanulga
      • Estiffanulga is located in Liberty County
    • Greenwood
      (26 miles [41.8 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 Betts. See our List of 1890's Communities around Betts.

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

The official website for Bay County: www.co.bay.fl.us/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

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 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.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Betts) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Betts. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.5377, Longitude: -85.3933       In this case, the coordinates for Betts have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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.
<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 Betts, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024