Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Donovan. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Donovan to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Donovan, 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 Donovan (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 Donovan. 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 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 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, 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 Donovan is historic, it would have been located within present day George 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 George County: Mobile (AL), Greene, Jackson, Perry & Stone.
Below are the counties that are near Donovan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Donovan:
- George County (The home county of Donovan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donovan, with the one closest to Donovan listed first.
- Lucedale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Agricola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Howell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Howell is located in George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Bexley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bexley is located in George County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexley
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donovan, with the one closest to Donovan listed first.
- Brown Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Brown Town is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
- Leakesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hillman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hillman is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman
- McLain
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- McLain is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- Clark
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Clark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- Avera
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avera is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avera
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donovan, with the one closest to Donovan listed first.
- Americus ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Americus is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- Hurley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Wade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Wade is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
- Brewton ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brewton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewton
- Brewton has also been known as:
- Brewer's Bluff
- Big Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Big Point is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
- Coll Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Coll Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
- Vancleave
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Helena
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Helena is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Perry County
- Beaumont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beaumont is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 894 people
- Mobile County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donovan, with the one closest to Donovan listed first.
- Wilmer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gulfcrest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gulfcrest is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulfcrest
- Semmes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chunchula
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Chunchula is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
- Citronelle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Eight Mile
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Saraland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Country Club Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Country Club Village is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
- Satsuma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Chickasaw
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Prichard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Axis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Axis is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axis
- Barry Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Barry Village is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry Village
- Washington County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donovan, with the one closest to Donovan listed first.
- Deer Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Park is located in Washington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
- Vinegar Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Vinegar Bend is located in Washington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinegar Bend
- Escatawpa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Escatawpa is located in Washington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
- Sims Chapel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sims Chapel is located in Washington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sims Chapel
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Donovan, see our County-by-County Page for Donovan.
Cemeteries Near Donovan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donovan.
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 Donovan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Donovan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Donovan, with the one closest to Donovan listed first.
- Ward Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Shipman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Moffet Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cowart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Evans Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Taylor Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Finch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (274 more) ...
- Pine View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Magnolia Garden Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Antioch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Donovan in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Donovan.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Donovan, with the one closest to Donovan listed first.
- Americus ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Americus is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- Leakesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Chunchula
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Chunchula is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
- Oak Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Leaf
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leaf is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf
- Three Rivers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Three Rivers is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
- Kushla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Kushla is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
- Citronelle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Park is located in Washington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
- Vancleave
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Hill is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Whistler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Whistler is located in Mobile County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Prichard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Vinegar Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Vinegar Bend is located in Washington County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinegar Bend
- Adamsville ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Adamsville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Donovan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Donovan.
Newspapers Published in Donovan ...
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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donovan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donovan, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donovan.
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 Donovan:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to George County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Greene County
- Jackson County
- Perry County
- Mobile County
- Washington 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 Donovan, 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Donovan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |