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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 Jennings (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 Jennings. 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.

Name Variations for Jennings ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

While the name of this community is Jennings, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Jennings may originally have been Jenning's.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Jennings. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Jennings.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Jennings is located in Pike 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 Pike County: Tangipahoa (LA), Washington (LA), Amite, Lincoln & Walthall.

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

  • Pike County     (The home county of Jennings)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • Bacots
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Bacots is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacots
    • Holmesville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Holmesville is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
    • Bear Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bear Town is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
    • McComb
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Magnolia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Topisaw
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Topisaw is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topisaw
    • Chatawa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Chatawa is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatawa
    • Smithburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Smithburg is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithburg
    • Osyka
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Amite County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • McElveen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • McElveen is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElveen
    • Glading
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Glading is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glading
    • Thompson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Thompson is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
    • Huron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Huron is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
    • Gillsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Gillsburg is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillsburg
    • Mount Olive
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Olive is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Brookside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Brookside is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Liberty
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Liberty is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 634 people
    • O'Neil
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • O'Neil is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neil
  • Franklin County
  • Jefferson Davis County
    • Oak Vale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Vale is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Vale
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • Verna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Verna is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
    • Tilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Tilton is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
    • Monticello
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Nola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Nola is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nola
    • Arm
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Arm is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arm
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • Norfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Norfield is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfield
    • Wellman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Wellman is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellman
    • Brookhaven
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Cobbs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cobbs is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbs
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • Kokomo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Goss
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Goss is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
  • Walthall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • Tylertown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Sartinville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sartinville is located in Walthall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartinville
  • Saint Helena Parish (LA)
    • Greensburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Tangipahoa Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • Kentwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Kentwood is located in Tangipahoa Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kentwood <2>
    • Tangipahoa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Fluker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Wilmer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Wilmer is located in Tangipahoa Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmer
    • Roseland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Roseland is located in Tangipahoa Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,279 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roseland <2>
  • Washington Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jennings, with the one closest to Jennings listed first.
    • Mount Hermon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Sunny Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Sunny Hill is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
    • Stoney Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Stoney Point is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Point
    • Franklinton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine
    • Popeville ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Popeville is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popeville

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

Cemeteries Near Jennings ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jennings.

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 Jennings - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jennings covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Martin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Warner Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Duff Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Navilla Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navilla Baptist Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Navilla Baptist Church Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Bacots.
    • The Navilla Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Navilla Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #61318 <3>
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Charles Young Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Andrews - Bickam - Quin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Webb Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Connally Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (791 more) ...
    • Bethany Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Durham Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Union Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Holmesville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Holmesville is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
  • Fernwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Fernwood is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernwood
  • Magnolia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • McComb
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Summit
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Topisaw
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Topisaw is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topisaw
  • Chatawa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Chatawa is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatawa
  • Johnstons Station
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Johnstons Station is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstons Station
  • Smithburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithburg is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithburg
  • Ruth
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Ruth is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
  • Osyka
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Norfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Norfield is located in Lincoln County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfield
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Thompson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Thompson is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
    • Huron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Huron is located in Amite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
    • Mount Hermon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Jennings ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jennings.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jennings, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jennings.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Jennings:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Jennings, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jennings) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.