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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 Higgins (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 Higgins. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Higgins is located in Lamar County.

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 Lamar County: Covington, Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Marion & Pearl River.

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

  • Lamar County     (The home county of Higgins)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Sumrall
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • West Hattiesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Hattiesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hattiesburg
      • West Hattiesburg is located in Lamar County
    • Purvis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purvis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Wells Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wells Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Town
      • Wells Town is located in Lamar County
    • Lumberton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumberton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Covington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Lux
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lux
      • Lux is located in Covington County
    • Seminary
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Williamsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williamsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Williamsburg is located in Covington County
    • Kola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kola
      • Kola is located in Covington County
    • Collins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
      • Collins is located in Covington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,417 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collins <1>
    • Arbo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arbo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbo
      • Arbo is located in Covington County
    • Hot Coffee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
      • Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
    • Mount Olive
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Mount Olive is located in Covington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
  • Forrest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Hattiesburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Petal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petal
      • Petal is located in Forrest County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petal <1>
    • Goodluck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodluck
      • Goodluck is located in Forrest County
    • McLaurin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLaurin
      • McLaurin is located in Forrest County
  • Jefferson Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Bassfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bassfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentiss
      • Prentiss is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 925 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prentiss <1>
    • Oak Vale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Vale
      • Oak Vale is located in Jefferson Davis County
  • Jones County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Ellisville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Soso
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
      • Soso is located in Jones County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Service
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Service. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Service
      • Service is located in Jones County
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Arm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arm
      • Arm is located in Lawrence County
    • Tilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
      • Tilton is located in Lawrence County
    • 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.<2> 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 <1>
    • Grange ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grange. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange
      • Grange is located in Lawrence County
    • Hooker
      (30 miles [48.3 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
      • Hooker is located in Lawrence County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Columbia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Expose
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Expose
      • Expose is located in Marion County
    • Goss
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
      • Goss is located in Marion County
    • Pinebur
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinebur
      • Pinebur is located in Marion County
    • Kokomo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Simpson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Jaynesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jaynesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
      • Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
    • Coats
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
      • Coats is located in Simpson County
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins, with the one closest to Higgins listed first.
    • Taylorsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylorsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
      • Taylorsville is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,241 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylorsville <1>
    • Mize
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mize have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mize
      • Mize is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mize <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Higgins ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Higgins.

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

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

  • Fairview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jones Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jones Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • King Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the King Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the King Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sumrall Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Graham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Williamson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williamson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williamson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hickory Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hickory Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hickory Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Russell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Russell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Russell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Martin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clark Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clark Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clark Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lott Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (553 more) ...
    • Melba Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Melba Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Melba Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Old Melba Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Melba Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Melba Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Old Broom Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Broom Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Broom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<5>

While we didn't find Higgins in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Higgins.

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

  • Williamsburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williamsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
    • Williamsburg is located in Covington County
  • Moscos
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscos have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscos
    • Moscos is located in Covington County
  • Ora
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
    • Ora is located in Covington County
  • Goss
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • 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.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
    • Goss is located in Marion County
  • Columbia
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Eastabuchie
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastabuchie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastabuchie
    • Eastabuchie is located in Forrest County
  • Hattiesburg
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Moselle
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moselle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moselle
    • Moselle is located in Jones County
  • Oak Vale
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Vale
    • Oak Vale is located in Jefferson Davis County
  • Mount Olive
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Mount Olive is located in Covington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
  • Pickwick
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick
    • Pickwick is located in Marion County
  • Spring Cottage
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Cottage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Cottage
    • Spring Cottage is located in Marion County
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Tilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
      • Tilton is located in Lawrence County
    • Jaynesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jaynesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
      • Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
    • Ellisville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Higgins ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Higgins.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Higgins, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Higgins.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Higgins:

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

The official website for Lamar County: www.lamarcounty.com/

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

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 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.
<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 Higgins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Higgins) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Higgins. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4232, Longitude: -89.5976       In this case, the coordinates for Higgins have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025