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 Brooks (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 Brooks. 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 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.
Brooks is located in Sunflower 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 Sunflower County: Bolivar, Coahoma, Humphreys, Leflore, Tallahatchie & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Brooks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brooks:
- Sunflower County (The home county of Brooks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Whitney
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Whitney is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Drew
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ruleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Quiver ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Quiver is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiver
- Doddsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Doddsville is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Rome
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rome is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- White City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- White City is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Halstead
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Halstead is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstead
- Roundaway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Roundaway is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roundaway
- Sunflower
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sunflower is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunflower
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Faisonia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Faisonia is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faisonia
- Moorhead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Moorhead is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,059 people
- Baird
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Baird is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baird
- Bolivar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Cleveland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Merigold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Renova
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Renova is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renova
- Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
- Boyle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mound Bayou
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Winstonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Winstonville is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Shelby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Victor
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Victor is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Hushpuckena
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hushpuckena is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hushpuckena
- Shaw
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shaw is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,655 people
- Pace
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Pace is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Duncan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Duncan is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
- Alligator
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Alligator is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alligator
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Avalon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Avalon is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Teoc
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Teoc is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teoc
- Coahoma County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Roundaway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Roundaway is located in Coahoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roundaway
- Dublin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dublin is located in Coahoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
- Africa ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Africa is located in Coahoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
- Claremont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Claremont is located in Coahoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Hopson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hopson is located in Coahoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopson
- Clarksdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Clarksdale is located in Coahoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,470 people
- Lyon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lyon is located in Coahoma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Grenada County
- Turkey Foot Fork
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Turkey Foot Fork is located in Grenada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Foot Fork
- Leflore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Minter City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Minter City is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter City
- McNutt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- McNutt is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Sunnyside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sunnyside is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Schlater
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Schlater is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schlater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 280 people
- Money
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Money is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Money
- Shellmound
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shellmound is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellmound
- Itta Bena
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fort Loring
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Loring is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Loring
- Greenwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Browning
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Browning is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browning
- Roebuck
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Roebuck is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roebuck
- Morgan City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Morgan City is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 236 people
- Sidon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sidon is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Quitman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Vance
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Vance is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Yarbrough
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Yarbrough is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarbrough
- Lambert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lambert is located in Quitman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,325 people
- Tallahatchie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Glendora
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Albin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Albin is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albin
- Swan Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swan Lake is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Lake
- Webb
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Webb is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Sumner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sumner is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Tutwiler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Leverett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Leverett is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Paynes
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Paynes is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes
- Charleston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rosebloom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rosebloom is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebloom
- Crevi ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Crevi is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crevi
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Helm
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Helm is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helm
- Napanee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Napanee is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napanee
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brooks, see our County-by-County Page for Brooks.
Cemeteries Near Brooks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brooks.
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 Brooks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brooks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Scott Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Drew Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Marshall Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Peter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sandy Bayou Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lehrton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Marlow Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jacobs Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Moorehouse Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (202 more) ...
- Humphrey Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Watkins Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<3>
While we didn't find Brooks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brooks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
- Lehrton ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lehrton is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehrton
- Quiver ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Quiver is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiver
- Minter City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Minter City is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter City
- Glendora
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Black Bayou
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Black Bayou is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bayou
- McNutt
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- McNutt is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Sunnyside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sunnyside is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Swan Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swan Lake is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Lake
- Webb
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Webb is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Sharkey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sharkey is located in Tallahatchie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharkey
- Rixwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rixwood is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixwood
- Cleveland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Merigold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Renova
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Renova is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renova
- Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
- Boyle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brooks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brooks.
Newspapers Published in Brooks ...
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 Brooks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brooks, 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 Brooks.
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 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 Brooks:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Sunflower County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bolivar County
- Carroll County
- Coahoma County
- Grenada County
- Leflore County
- Quitman County
- Tallahatchie County
- Washington 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Brooks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Brooks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |