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 Houston (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 Houston. 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.
Houston is located in Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County: Choctaw (AL), Sumter (AL), Clarke, Kemper & Newton.
Below are the counties that are near Houston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Houston:
- Lauderdale County (The home county of Houston)
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Marion
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Meridian
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bailey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bailey is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Nellieburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nellieburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nellieburg
- Hookston
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hookston is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookston
- Russell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Russell is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Lost Gap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lost Gap is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Gap
- Suqualena
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Suqualena is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suqualena
- Lockhart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lockhart is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
- Vimville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vimville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vimville
- Daleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Daleville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daleville
- Collinsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Martin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Martin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Enterprise
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Stonewall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Stonewall is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 946 people
- Quitman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Pachuta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pachuta is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pachuta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- De Soto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- De Soto is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Fellowship ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fellowship is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
- Former name for Fellowship:
- Masengale
- Fellowship has also been known as:
- Old Fellowship
- Orange
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Orange is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Rose Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rose Hill is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Penantly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Penantly is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penantly
- Garlandsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Garlandsville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garlandsville
- Kemper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Rio
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rio is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
- Narkeeta ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Narkeeta is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narkeeta
- Porterville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Porterville is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
- Spinks ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Spinks is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinks
- De Kalb
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sucarnoochee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sucarnoochee is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sucarnoochee
- Electric Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Electric Mills is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Electric Mills
- Neshoba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- House
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- House is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House
- Tucker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tucker is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- Neshoba
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Neshoba is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neshoba
- Ocobla
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ocobla is located in Neshoba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocobla
- Newton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Chunky
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hickory is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 515 people
- Decatur
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Union
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stamper ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Stamper is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamper
- Newton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pine Bluff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pine Bluff is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bluff
- Choctaw County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Pushmataha
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pushmataha is located in Choctaw County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pushmataha
- Cromwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cromwell is located in Choctaw County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
- Lisman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lisman is located in Choctaw County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Sumter County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Cuba
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cuba is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
- Kinterbish
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Kinterbish is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinterbish
- York
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- York is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,218 people
- Former names for York:
- New York Station
- York Station
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York <1>
- Ward
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ward is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Intercourse
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Intercourse is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Intercourse
- Boyd
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Boyd is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Derby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Derby is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Sledge ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sledge is located in Sumter County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sledge
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Houston, see our County-by-County Page for Houston.
Cemeteries Near Houston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Houston.
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 Houston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Houston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Magnolia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Luke Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Beth Israel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Confederate Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Lawn Memory Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Semmes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McLemore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (263 more) ...
- Barker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Houston in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Houston.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
- Meridian
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bailey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bailey is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Hookston
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hookston is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookston
- Russell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Russell is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Topton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Topton is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topton
- Lost Gap
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lost Gap is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Gap
- Lockhart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lockhart is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
- Lizelia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lizelia is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizelia
- Graham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Graham is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Vimville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vimville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vimville
- Daleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Daleville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daleville
- Collinsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Prismatic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Prismatic is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prismatic
- Oktibbeha ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oktibbeha is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oktibbeha
- Kemper Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kemper Springs is located in Kemper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemper Springs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Houston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Houston.
Newspapers Published in Houston ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Houston.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Houston, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Houston.
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 either 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 Houston:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Lauderdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Jasper County
- Kemper County
- Neshoba County
- Newton County
- Choctaw County
- Sumter 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> | 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 Houston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Houston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |