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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 Bay Springs (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 Bay Springs. 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 Bay Springs ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bay Springs: Bay Spgs. (or less commonly used: Bay Spngs. or Bay Sprngs.)

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 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.

Bay Springs is located in Jasper County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jasper County: Clarke, Jones, Lauderdale, Newton, Scott, Smith & Wayne.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Bay Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Hamlet ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
      • Hamlet is located in Jasper County
    • Stevens ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens
      • Stevens is located in Jasper County
    • Lake Como
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
      • Lake Como is located in Jasper County
    • Turnerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
      • Turnerville is located in Jasper County
    • Acme ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acme have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
      • Acme is located in Jasper County
    • Louin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louin
      • Louin is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
    • Stringer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • McNeal ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeal
      • McNeal is located in Jasper County
    • Vernon ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vernon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
      • Vernon is located in Jasper County
    • Ras
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ras
      • Ras is located in Jasper County
    • Fouke ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fouke have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fouke
      • Fouke is located in Jasper County
    • Montrose
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Montrose is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Barnett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
      • Barnett is located in Clarke County
    • Pachuta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pachuta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pachuta
      • Pachuta is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
    • Stonewall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
      • Stonewall is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 946 people
    • Enterprise
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
      • Enterprise is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Enterprise <2>
  • Covington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Hot Coffee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
      • Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
    • Mount Olive
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Mount Olive is located in Covington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
    • Arbo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arbo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbo
      • Arbo is located in Covington County
    • Collins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
      • Collins is located in Covington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,417 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collins <2>
    • Kola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kola
      • Kola is located in Covington County
  • Jones County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Amy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
      • Amy is located in Jones County
    • Soso
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
      • Soso is located in Jones County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Errata
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Errata have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errata
      • Errata is located in Jones County
    • Sandersville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
      • Sandersville is located in Jones County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
    • Laurel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellisville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Antioch
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
      • Antioch is located in Jones County
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Six Towns ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Six Towns have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Towns
      • Six Towns is located in Newton County
    • Newton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hickory
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Hickory is located in Newton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 515 people
    • Pine Bluff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bluff
      • Pine Bluff is located in Newton County
  • Rankin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Galilee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galilee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galilee
      • Galilee is located in Rankin County
    • Puckett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Puckett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
      • Puckett is located in Rankin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Hunter Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Town
      • Hunter Town is located in Scott County
    • Forest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Scott County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,483 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest <2>
  • Simpson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Coats
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
      • Coats is located in Simpson County
    • Magee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magee
      • Magee is located in Simpson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,094 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magee <2>
    • Sanatorium
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
      • Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Springs, with the one closest to Bay Springs listed first.
    • Sylvarena
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
      • Sylvarena is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Mineral Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
      • Mineral Springs is located in Smith County
    • Bezer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bezer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
      • Bezer is located in Smith County
    • Taylorsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylorsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
      • Taylorsville is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,241 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylorsville <2>
    • Raleigh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Mize
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mize have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mize
      • Mize is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mize <2>
    • Daniel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
      • Daniel is located in Smith County
    • Polkville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Polkville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
      • Polkville is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bay Springs ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay Springs.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bay Springs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bay Springs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bay Springs.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> of Bay Springs.

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 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 Bay Springs:

Cemeteries Near Bay Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bay Springs.

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

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

  • Bay Springs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • New Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Zion Cemetery
  • Holden Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holden Cemetery
  • Blue Mtn. Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake Como Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Como Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Como Cemetery
  • Old Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • The Bethel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Louin Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
  • McCraw Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Enanon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Enanon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Enanon Cemetery
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ted Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Shady Grove MB Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (371 more) ...
    • Union Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Louin Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Louin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Louin Cemetery
    • Bethany Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<4>

While we didn't find Bay Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bay Springs.

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

  • Hamlet ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
    • Hamlet is located in Jasper County
  • Lake Como
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
    • Lake Como is located in Jasper County
  • Turnerville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
    • Turnerville is located in Jasper County
  • Acme ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acme have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Acme is located in Jasper County
  • Sylvarena
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
    • Sylvarena is located in Smith County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
  • Montrose
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
    • Montrose is located in Jasper County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
  • Bezer
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bezer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
    • Bezer is located in Smith County
  • Taylorsville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylorsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
    • Taylorsville is located in Smith County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,241 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylorsville <2>
  • Amy
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
    • Amy is located in Jones County
  • Gitano
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gitano have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gitano
    • Gitano is located in Jones County
  • Paulding
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paulding have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paulding
    • Paulding is located in Jasper County
  • Jewells Hill ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewells Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewells Hill
    • Jewells Hill is located in Jasper County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Raleigh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Soso
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
      • Soso is located in Jones County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Shongelo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shongelo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shongelo
      • Shongelo is located in Smith County

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

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

The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bay Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bay Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9773, Longitude: -89.2792       In this case, the coordinates for Bay Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Bay Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024