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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 Gulfport (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 Gulfport. 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.

Gulfport is located in Harrison 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 Harrison County: Hancock, Jackson & Stone.

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

  • Harrison County     (The home county of Gulfport)
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gulfport, with the one closest to Gulfport listed first.
    • Bay Saint Louis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Saint Louis
      • Bay Saint Louis is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,529 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay Saint Louis <2>
    • Diamondhead
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamondhead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamondhead
      • Diamondhead is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Diamondhead <2>
    • Waveland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waveland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waveland
      • Waveland is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,315 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waveland <2>
    • Shoreline Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shoreline Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoreline Park
      • Shoreline Park is located in Hancock County
    • Kiln
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Lakeshore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Necaise
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gulfport, with the one closest to Gulfport listed first.
    • Saint Martin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Martin
      • Saint Martin is located in Jackson County
    • Gulf Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Latimer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ocean Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Springs
      • Ocean Springs is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,791 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocean Springs <2>
    • Gulf Park Estates
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Park Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Park Estates
      • Gulf Park Estates is located in Jackson County
    • Fort Bayou ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Bayou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Bayou
      • Fort Bayou is located in Jackson County
    • Fountainebleau
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Gautier
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gautier have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gautier
      • Gautier is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,379 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gautier <2>
    • Vancleave
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hickory Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
      • Hickory Hills is located in Jackson County
    • Martin Bluff
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Bluff
      • Martin Bluff is located in Jackson County
  • Stone County

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

Cemeteries Near Gulfport ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gulfport.

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Gulfport had a population of 79 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Gulfport had a population of 71,438 people.

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

  • Mississippi City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Long Beach
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
    • Long Beach is located in Harrison County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,125 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Long Beach <2>
  • Handsboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Handsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handsboro
    • Handsboro is located in Harrison County
  • De Buys
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Buys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Buys
    • De Buys is located in Harrison County
  • Beauvoir
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Wool Market
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Pass Christian
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Delisle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delisle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delisle
    • Delisle is located in Harrison County
  • Biloxi
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Henderson Point
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henderson Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Point
    • Henderson Point is located in Harrison County
  • Bay Saint Louis
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Saint Louis
    • Bay Saint Louis is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,529 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay Saint Louis <2>
  • Ocean Springs
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Springs
    • Ocean Springs is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,791 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocean Springs <2>
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Waveland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waveland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waveland
      • Waveland is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,315 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waveland <2>
    • Airey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Airey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airey
      • Airey is located in Harrison County
    • Kiln
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Gulfport ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gulfport.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Gulfport. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Gulfport and those printed in the larger area surrounding Gulfport.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6> of Gulfport.

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 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 Gulfport:

The official website for Gulfport: www.ci.gulfport.ms.us/

The official website for Harrison County: www.co.harrison.ms.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Gulfport, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Gulfport) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gulfport. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.3768, Longitude: -89.0930    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025