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 Kellys Mill (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 Kellys Mill. 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 Kellys Mill ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Kellys Mill: Kellys Ml. (or less commonly used: Kellys Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Kellys Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Kellys Mill may originally have been Kelly's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Kellys Mill might be written as Kelly Mill.
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.
Kellys Mill is located in Okaloosa 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 Okaloosa County: Covington (AL), Escambia (AL), Santa Rosa & Walton.
Below are the counties that are near Kellys Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kellys Mill:
- Okaloosa County (The home county of Kellys Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Mill, with the one closest to Kellys Mill listed first.
- Holt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Baker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Milligan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Otahite ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Otahite is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
- Cannon Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cannon Town is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Town
- Crestview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Garden City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Wright
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wright is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Hurlburt Field
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ocean City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ocean City is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean City
- Valparaiso
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cinco Bayou
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cinco Bayou is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinco Bayou
- Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
- Eglin Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Eglin Village is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eglin Village
- Escambia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Mill, with the one closest to Kellys Mill listed first.
- Bohemia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bohemia is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohemia
- Ferry Pass
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ferry Pass is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry Pass
- Santa Rosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Mill, with the one closest to Kellys Mill listed first.
- Harold
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Belandville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Belandville is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belandville
- Bagdad
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Milton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Galt City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Galt City is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt City
- Navarre
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pace
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jay is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 653 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jay <2>
- Walton County
- Mossy Head
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Covington County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Mill, with the one closest to Kellys Mill listed first.
- Wing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wing is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Falco
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Falco is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falco
- Escambia County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kellys Mill, with the one closest to Kellys Mill listed first.
- Bradley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bradley is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Roberts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Roberts is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Riverview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Riverview is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- East Brewton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brewton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pollard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pollard is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kellys Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Kellys Mill.
Cemeteries Near Kellys Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kellys Mill.
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 Kellys Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Kellys Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kellys Mill, with the one closest to Kellys Mill listed first.
- Holt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- New Canoe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Beulah Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ates Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carr Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Griffith Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Otahite Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Flowers Field Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Live Oak Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sullivan Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (84 more) ...
- Springhill Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Old Spring Hill Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Welcome Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome Cemetery
- The Welcome Cemetery has also been known as:
- J.B. Watson Cemetery
- New Elam 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.<4>
While we didn't find Kellys Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kellys Mill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kellys Mill, with the one closest to Kellys Mill listed first.
- Otahite ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Otahite is located in Okaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
- Milton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bagdad
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Berrydale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berrydale is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrydale
- Galt City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Galt City is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galt City
- Roberts
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Roberts is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Beda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Beda is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beda
- Mossy Head
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Chumuckla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Chumuckla is located in Santa Rosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chumuckla
- Boykin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Boykin is located in Escambia County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boykin
- Yniestra
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Yniestra is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yniestra
- Bohemia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bohemia is located in Escambia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohemia
- Rome
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rome is located in Covington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kellys Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kellys Mill.
Newspapers Published in Kellys Mill ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kellys Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kellys Mill, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kellys Mill.
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 Kellys Mill:
- Websites specific to Florida
- Pages specific to Okaloosa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Escambia County
- Santa Rosa County
- Walton County
- Covington County
- Escambia County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Florida
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Kellys Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Kellys Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |