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 Bluff 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 Bluff 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 Bluff 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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Bluff Springs: Bluff Spgs. (or less commonly used: Bluff Spngs. or Bluff Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bluff Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bluff Springs.
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 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.
Bluff Springs is located in Kemper 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 Kemper County: Sumter (AL), Lauderdale, Neshoba, Noxubee & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Bluff Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bluff Springs:
- Kemper County (The home county of Bluff Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Lynville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lynville is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynville
- Spinks ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spinks is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinks
- De Kalb
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Rio
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rio is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
- Wahalak
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wahalak is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahalak
- Scooba
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Electric Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Electric Mills is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electric Mills
- Porterville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Porterville is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
- Sucarnoochee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sucarnoochee is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sucarnoochee
- Narkeeta ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Narkeeta is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narkeeta
- Giles
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Giles is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles
- Binnsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Binnsville is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binnsville
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Martin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Martin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Daleville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Daleville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daleville
- Collinsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bailey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bailey is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Hookston
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hookston is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookston
- Suqualena
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Suqualena is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suqualena
- Lockhart
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lockhart is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
- Nellieburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Nellieburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nellieburg
- Marion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Meridian
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Russell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Lost Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lost Gap is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Gap
- Neshoba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Bogue Chitto
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bogue Chitto is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue Chitto
- Ocobla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ocobla is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocobla
- House
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- House is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House
- Tucker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Tucker is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- Philadelphia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Neshoba
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Neshoba is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neshoba
- Pearl River
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pearl River is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl River
- Dixon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dixon is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Hope
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hope is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Dowdville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dowdville is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowdville
- Laurel Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Laurel Hill is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Newton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Union
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stamper ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stamper is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamper
- Decatur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lucern
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lucern is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucern
- Noxubee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Hashuqua ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hashuqua is located in Noxubee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hashuqua
- Shuqualak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shuqualak is located in Noxubee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shuqualak
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Mashulaville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Mashulaville is located in Noxubee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashulaville
- Macon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cooksville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cooksville is located in Noxubee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Handle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Handle is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handle
- Fearns Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Fearns Springs is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearns Springs
- Randalls Bluff ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Randalls Bluff is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalls Bluff
- Noxapater
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Plattsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Plattsburg is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
- Louisville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sumter County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Emelle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Emelle is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emelle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Sledge ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sledge is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sledge
- Geiger
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Geiger is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geiger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bluff Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Bluff Springs.
Cemeteries Near Bluff Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bluff 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.
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 Bluff Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bluff Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Bluff Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Shepherd Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Smyrna Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cole Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McDonald Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Kemper Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hensons Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Liberty Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (296 more) ...
- Talbert Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McRae Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Bluff Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bluff Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bluff Springs, with the one closest to Bluff Springs listed first.
- Peden ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Peden is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peden
- Moscow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Moscow is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Spinks ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spinks is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinks
- Preston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Preston is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Mount Nebo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Nebo is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Nebo
- Gholson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gholson is located in Noxubee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
- North Bend
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Bend is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bend
- Handle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Handle is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handle
- Rio
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rio is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
- Ocobla
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ocobla is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocobla
- Oktibbeha ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oktibbeha is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oktibbeha
- Prismatic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Prismatic is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prismatic
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Tucker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Tucker is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- House
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- House is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House
- Hashuqua ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hashuqua is located in Noxubee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hashuqua
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bluff Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bluff Springs.
Newspapers Published in Bluff 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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bluff Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bluff Springs, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bluff Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bluff Springs:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Kemper County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lauderdale County
- Neshoba County
- Newton County
- Noxubee County
- Winston County
- Sumter County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Mississippi
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> | 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 Bluff Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Bluff Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |