Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Bear Creek. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Bear Creek to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bear Creek, please Contact Us.
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 Bear Creek (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 Bear Creek. 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 Bear Creek ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Bear Creek: Bear Crk. (or less commonly used: Bear Ck. or Bear Cr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bear Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bear Creek.
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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Bear Creek is historic, it would have been located within present day Attala County.
To see how the shape of Mississippi's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Attala County: Carroll, Choctaw, Holmes, Leake, Madison, Montgomery, Neshoba, Winston & Yazoo.
Below are the counties that are near Bear Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bear Creek:
- Attala County (The home county of Bear Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- McCool
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- McCool is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Gregory ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gregory is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Ethel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ethel is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
- Langley ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Langley is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langley
- Kosciusko
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hesterville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hesterville is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesterville
- Auris ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Auris is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auris
- Rocky Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Rocky Point is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Possumneck
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Possumneck is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possumneck
- Sallis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zemuly
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zemuly is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zemuly
- Carroll County
- Vaiden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Choctaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- Weir
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- French Camp
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bankston ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bankston is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
- Ackerman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Williams
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Williams is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
- Reform
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reform is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
- Holmes County
- West
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Leake County
- Coosa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Coosa is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosa
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- Sibleyton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sibleyton is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibleyton
- Sibleyton has also been known as:
- Sibleton
- Kilmichael
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kilmichael is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilmichael
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Minerva
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Minerva is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
- Winona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Eskridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Eskridge is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskridge
- Sweatman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sweatman is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweatman
- Oktibbeha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- Sturgis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bradley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Bradley is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Double Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Double Springs is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Springs
- Maben
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Maben is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 817 people
- Longview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Longview is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Adaton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adaton is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adaton
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- Eupora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sapa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Sapa is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapa
- Mathiston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Walthall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Walthall is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Clarkson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clarkson is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
- Fame
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fame is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fame
- Cumberland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- Hinze
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hinze is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinze
- Vowell
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Vowell is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowell
- Louisville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Plattsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Plattsburg is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
- Noxapater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Randalls Bluff ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Randalls Bluff is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalls Bluff
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bear Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Bear Creek.
Cemeteries Near Bear Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bear Creek.
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 Bear Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bear Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- Bear Creek Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- McCool Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Pilgrim Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hemphill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Beulah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Weir Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- White Plains Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bowie Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- First Unity UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Weir Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (436 more) ...
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- French Camp Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berea Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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.
While we didn't find Bear Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bear Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bear Creek, with the one closest to Bear Creek listed first.
- McCool
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- McCool is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Weir
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- French Camp
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fentress
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fentress is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fentress
- Huntsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Huntsville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Ethel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ethel is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
- Chester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chester is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Bankston ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bankston is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
- Rural Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rural Hill is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Rome
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rome is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Ackerman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newtonville ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Newtonville is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtonville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Poplar Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Poplar Creek is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Chita ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Chita is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
- Stewart
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Stewart is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bear Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bear Creek.
Newspapers Published in Bear Creek ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bear Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bear Creek, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bear Creek.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Bear Creek:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Attala County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Choctaw County
- Holmes County
- Leake County
- Montgomery County
- Oktibbeha County
- Webster County
- Winston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Mississippi
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bear Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bear Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |