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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 Columbia (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 Columbia. 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/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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/parishes instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Columbia is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Washington (LA), Jefferson, Lamar, Lawrence, Pearl River & Walthall.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Columbia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Expose
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Expose. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Expose
      • Expose is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Expose
      • From Columbia to Expose
    • Goss
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
      • Goss is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Goss
      • From Columbia to Goss
    • Pinebur
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kokomo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Covington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Lux
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Seminary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary
      • Seminary is located in Covington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seminary <2>
    • Williamsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Jefferson Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Oak Vale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bassfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bassfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassfield
      • Bassfield is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Prentiss
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Sumrall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Purvis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purvis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purvis
      • Purvis is located in Lamar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,398 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Purvis <2>
    • West Hattiesburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Hattiesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hattiesburg
      • West Hattiesburg is located in Lamar County
    • Wells Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wells Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Town
      • Wells Town is located in Lamar County
    • Lumberton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumberton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumberton
      • Lumberton is located in Lamar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lumberton <2>
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Tilton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tilton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
      • Tilton is located in Lawrence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tilton
      • From Columbia to Tilton
    • Arm
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Monticello
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monticello have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
      • Monticello is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,447 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monticello <2>
    • Silver Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
      • Silver Creek is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silver Creek <2>
    • Verna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Verna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
      • Verna is located in Lawrence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Verna
      • From Columbia to Verna
    • Hooker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hooker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
      • Hooker is located in Lawrence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hooker
      • From Columbia to Hooker
    • Rosella
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pike County
  • Walthall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Sartinville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Tylertown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tylertown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylertown
      • Tylertown is located in Walthall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tylertown <2>
  • Washington Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Angie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angie
      • Angie is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angie <2>
    • Varnado
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Varnado have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnado
      • Varnado is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Varnado <2>
    • Pine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Columbia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbia.

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

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

  • North Columbia City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Columbia City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Columbia City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Columbia City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Columbia City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Columbia City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Friendship Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Friendship Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harmony Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harmony Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harmony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Columbia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Columbia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Columbia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foxworth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foxworth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foxworth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (536 more) ...
    • Cedar Grove Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Breakfield Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Breakfield Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Breakfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Expose Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Expose Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Expose 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Columbia had a population of 178 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Columbia had a population of 5,850 people.

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

  • Pickwick
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickwick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick
    • Pickwick is located in Marion County
  • Goss
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
    • Goss is located in Marion County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Goss
    • From Columbia to Goss
  • Spring Cottage
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Cottage have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Cottage
    • Spring Cottage is located in Marion County
  • Oak Vale
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Tilton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tilton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
    • Tilton is located in Lawrence County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tilton
    • From Columbia to Tilton
  • Silver Creek
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
    • Silver Creek is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silver Creek <2>
  • Monticello
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monticello have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
    • Monticello is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,447 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monticello <2>
  • Topisaw
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Williamsburg
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Holmesville
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Orvisburg
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orvisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orvisburg
    • Orvisburg is located in Pearl River County
  • Hillsdale
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
    • Hillsdale is located in Pearl River County
  • Hooker
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hooker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
    • Hooker is located in Lawrence County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hooker
    • From Columbia to Hooker

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Columbia ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Columbia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Columbia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Columbia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5> of Columbia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Columbia:

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

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

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>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 Columbia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2535, Longitude: -89.8233    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025