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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 Mound Bayou (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 Mound Bayou. 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 doctors and 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.

Mound Bayou is located in Bolivar 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 Bolivar County: Desha (AR), Coahoma, Sunflower & Washington.

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

  • Bolivar County     (The home county of Mound Bayou)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mound Bayou, with the one closest to Mound Bayou listed first.
    • Winstonville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winstonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstonville
      • Winstonville is located in Bolivar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
    • Merigold
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Shelby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
      • Shelby is located in Bolivar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,910 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelby <2>
    • Renova
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Renova have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renova
      • Renova is located in Bolivar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Hushpuckena
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Cleveland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cleveland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
      • Cleveland is located in Bolivar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,846 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cleveland <2>
    • Pace
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace
      • Pace is located in Bolivar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
    • Victor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Duncan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duncan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
      • Duncan is located in Bolivar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
    • Deeson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deeson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deeson
      • Deeson is located in Bolivar County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Deeson
      • From Mound Bayou to Deeson
    • Boyle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Mound City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Coahoma County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mound Bayou, with the one closest to Mound Bayou listed first.
    • Roundaway
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Africa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
      • Africa is located in Coahoma County
    • Dublin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sunflower Landing
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Claremont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hopson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarksdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Lyon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Clover Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Leflore County
  • Quitman County
  • Sunflower County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mound Bayou, with the one closest to Mound Bayou listed first.
    • Drew
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Whitney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Whitney. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
      • Whitney is located in Sunflower County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Whitney
      • From Mound Bayou to Whitney
    • Halstead
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Halstead. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstead
      • Halstead is located in Sunflower County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Halstead
      • From Mound Bayou to Halstead
    • White City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Sunflower County
    • Ruleville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rome
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Doddsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doddsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
      • Doddsville is located in Sunflower County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Quiver ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quiver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiver
      • Quiver is located in Sunflower County
    • Roundaway
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Sunflower
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Faisonia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Faisonia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faisonia
      • Faisonia is located in Sunflower County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Faisonia
      • From Mound Bayou to Faisonia
    • Heathman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Heathman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathman
      • Heathman is located in Sunflower County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Heathman
      • From Mound Bayou to Heathman
  • Tallahatchie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mound Bayou, with the one closest to Mound Bayou listed first.
    • Tutwiler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sumner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Albin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Webb
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Webb. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
      • Webb is located in Tallahatchie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Webb
      • From Mound Bayou to Webb
    • Glendora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glendora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendora
      • Glendora is located in Tallahatchie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glendora <2>
    • Swan Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mound Bayou, with the one closest to Mound Bayou listed first.
    • Helm
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Helm. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helm
      • Helm is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Helm
      • From Mound Bayou to Helm
    • Napanee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Napanee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napanee
      • Napanee is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Napanee
      • From Mound Bayou to Napanee
  • Desha County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mound Bayou, with the one closest to Mound Bayou listed first.
    • Napoleon ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Napoleon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
      • Napoleon is located in Desha County (AR)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Napoleon
      • From Mound Bayou to Napoleon
    • Snow Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Lake
      • Snow Lake is located in Desha County (AR)
    • Watson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Phillips County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mound Bayou, with the one closest to Mound Bayou listed first.
    • Crumrod
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crumrod have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumrod
      • Crumrod is located in Phillips County (AR)
    • Mellwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellwood
      • Mellwood is located in Phillips County (AR)
    • Elaine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elaine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elaine
      • Elaine is located in Phillips County (AR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elaine <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Mound Bayou ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mound Bayou.

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

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

  • Merigold Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shelby Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hall Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • The Place of Prayer Memorial Garden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • German Lane Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Lane Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Lane Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bellamy Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bellamy Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bellamy Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith & Williams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith & Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith & Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brown Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shady Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (171 more) ...
    • Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Beaver Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaver Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • New Cleveland Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Cleveland Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Cleveland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Mound Bayou had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mound Bayou had a population of 1,341 people.

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

  • Merigold
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Shelby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
    • Shelby is located in Bolivar County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,910 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelby <2>
  • Renova
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Renova have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renova
    • Renova is located in Bolivar County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
  • Hushpuckena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Cleveland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cleveland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
    • Cleveland is located in Bolivar County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,846 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cleveland <2>
  • Duncan
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duncan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Duncan is located in Bolivar County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
  • Mound City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Boyle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Deeson
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deeson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deeson
    • Deeson is located in Bolivar County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Deeson
    • From Mound Bayou to Deeson
  • Perthshire
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Lehrton ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lehrton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehrton
    • Lehrton is located in Sunflower County
  • Gunnison
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • O'Reilly
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for O'Reilly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Reilly
      • O'Reilly is located in Bolivar County
    • Round Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Alligator
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mound Bayou ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mound Bayou.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mound Bayou. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mound Bayou and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mound Bayou.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<6> of Mound Bayou.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Mound Bayou:

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 Mound Bayou, 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' (or 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- Mound Bayou) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mound Bayou. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8796, Longitude: -90.7276