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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 Westville (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 Westville. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Westville is located in Holmes 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 Holmes County: Geneva (AL), Jackson, Walton & Washington.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Westville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westville.

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

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

  • Westville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blackman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blackman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blackman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dyson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Harris Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harris Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harris Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ponce de Leon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ponce de Leon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ponce de Leon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forehand Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forehand Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forehand Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clarkston Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clarkston Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clarkston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Merrill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Merrill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Merrill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Curry Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Curry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Curry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hardy Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hardy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hardy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Still Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Still Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Still Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (107 more) ...
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Smith Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Redbay Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Redbay Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Redbay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Westville had a population of 102 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Westville had a population of 275 people.

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

  • Caryville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cerrogordo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cerrogordo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
    • Cerrogordo is located in Holmes County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cerrogordo
    • From Westville to Cerrogordo
  • Ponce de Leon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Izagora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Izagora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Izagora
    • Izagora is located in Holmes County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Izagora
    • From Westville to Izagora
  • Bonifay
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Argyle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Knox Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Union
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Union is located in Walton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Union
    • From Westville to Union
  • Redbay
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redbay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbay
    • Redbay is located in Walton County
  • Millers Ferry
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Eucheeanna
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eucheeanna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eucheeanna
    • Eucheeanna is located in Walton County
  • Vaughanville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vaughanville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughanville
    • Vaughanville is located in Geneva County (AL)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Chipley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Geneva
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Geneva County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,262 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geneva <2>
    • Warwick ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warwick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
      • Warwick is located in Geneva County (AL)

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

Newspapers Published in Westville ...

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 Westville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westville, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Westville:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Westville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.7745, Longitude: -85.8518    
<5>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.
<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 Westville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025