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 Handsboro (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 Handsboro. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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.
Handsboro is located in Harrison 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 Harrison County: Hancock, Jackson & Stone.
Below are the counties that are near Handsboro. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Handsboro:
- Harrison County (The home county of Handsboro)
- The following are listed by their distance from Handsboro, with the one closest to Handsboro listed first.
- Mississippi City
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mississippi City is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mississippi City
- Beauvoir
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Beauvoir is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauvoir
- Lorraine Community ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lorraine Community is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorraine Community
- Coalville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coalville is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Gulfport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- North Gulfport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- North Gulfport is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Gulfport
- Wool Market
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wool Market is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wool Market
- Wool Market has also been known as:
- Woolmarket
- Biloxi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- D'Iberville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Long Beach
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lyman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lyman is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyman
- Wortham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wortham is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wortham
- Pass Christian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handsboro, with the one closest to Handsboro listed first.
- Bay Saint Louis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Diamondhead
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Waveland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Shoreline Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Shoreline Park is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoreline Park
- Kiln
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Necaise
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Necaise is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necaise
- Lakeshore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lakeshore is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshore
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Handsboro, with the one closest to Handsboro listed first.
- Saint Martin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Saint Martin is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Martin
- Gulf Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Gulf Hills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Hills
- Latimer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Latimer is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimer
- Ocean Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Gulf Park Estates
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Gulf Park Estates is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Park Estates
- Fort Bayou ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Fort Bayou is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Bayou
- Fountainebleau
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Fountainebleau is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainebleau
- Gautier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Vancleave
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hickory Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hickory Hills is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Martin Bluff
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Martin Bluff is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Bluff
- Brewton ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brewton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewton
- Brewton has also been known as:
- Brewer's Bluff
- Escatawpa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Escatawpa is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
- Stone County
- McHenry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- McHenry is located in Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHenry
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Handsboro, see our County-by-County Page for Handsboro.
Cemeteries Near Handsboro ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Handsboro.
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 Handsboro - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Handsboro covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Handsboro, with the one closest to Handsboro listed first.
- Floral Hills Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Handsboro Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. James Catholic Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Henry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mississippi City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mississippi City Cemetery
- The Mississippi City Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Mississippi City Cemetery
- Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- The Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery
- The Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery has also been known as:
- Confederate Veterans Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #641001 <2>
- Southern Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Blackwell Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stiglets Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Turkey Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen Garden Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (147 more) ...
- Jones Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Biloxi National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Woolmarket Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
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 Handsboro had a population of 1,021 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Handsboro, with the one closest to Handsboro listed first.
- Mississippi City
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mississippi City is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mississippi City
- De Buys
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- De Buys is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Buys
- Beauvoir
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Beauvoir is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauvoir
- Gulfport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wool Market
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wool Market is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wool Market
- Wool Market has also been known as:
- Woolmarket
- Biloxi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Long Beach
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ocean Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pass Christian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Delisle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Delisle is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delisle
- Henderson Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Henderson Point is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Point
- Airey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Airey is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airey
- Continue List (9 more) ...
- Fort Bayou ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Fort Bayou is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Bayou
- Bay Saint Louis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Waveland
(22 miles [35.4 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 Handsboro. See our List of 1890's Communities around Handsboro.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Handsboro ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Handsboro.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Handsboro. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Handsboro and those printed in the larger area surrounding Handsboro.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Handsboro.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Handsboro:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Harrison County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hancock County
- Jackson County
- Stone 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> | To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Mississippi City and Biloxi. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Handsboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Handsboro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |