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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 southwest 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 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.

Betts is located in Bay County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties may 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)
      • Vicksburg is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicksburg
      • Former name for Vicksburg:
      • Vickerburg
    • Southport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Lynn Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hiland Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Hiland Park is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiland Park
    • Callaway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Pretty Bayou
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pretty Bayou is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pretty Bayou
    • Springfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bay Harbor ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bay Harbor is located in Bay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Harbor
    • 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)
    • Chipola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Chipola is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipola
    • 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)
      • McNeal is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeal
    • Ocheesee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ocheesee is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheesee
    • Marysville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Marysville is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
  • Gulf County
    • Wetappo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Wetappo is located in Gulf County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetappo
  • 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)
      • Steele City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele City
    • 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)
      • Jacob City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacob City
      • 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)
      • Inwood is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inwood
    • Campbellton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Two Egg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Two Egg is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Egg
    • 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)
      • Estiffanulga is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estiffanulga
    • Lewis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lewis is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
  • 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)
      • Brock Crossroad is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock Crossroad
    • 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)
      • Five Points is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
    • Millers Ferry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Millers Ferry is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Ferry
    • Caryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ebro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ebro is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebro
      • 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)
      • Coosada Old Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosada Old Town

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

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 Betts - one of the links might be able to help.

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)
  • Pippen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • McCormick Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • White Oak Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Victory Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Kent Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Gainer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • New Shiloh Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Gortemoller Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Scarlett Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (103 more) ...
    • Deadening Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Porter Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pippin Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 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.<3>

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)
    • Chipola is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipola
  • Alliance
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Alliance is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alliance
  • Cottondale
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Abe Springs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Abe Springs is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abe Springs
  • 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)
    • Selman is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selman
  • Ocheesee
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ocheesee is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocheesee
  • Cypress
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Marysville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Marysville is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
  • 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)
      • Estiffanulga is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estiffanulga
    • 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.

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]<4>. 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 begin with 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:

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 Betts, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Betts) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.