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 Mount Olive (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 Mount Olive. 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 Mount Olive ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Mount Olive: Mt. Olive
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mount Olive. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mount Olive.
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 ...
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 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.
Mount Olive is located in Covington 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 Covington County: Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Simpson & Smith.
Below are the counties that are near Mount Olive. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mount Olive:
- Covington County (The home county of Mount Olive)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Arbo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Arbo is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbo
- Williamsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Williamsburg is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Collins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hot Coffee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
- Kola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kola is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kola
- Seminary
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sanford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sanford is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
- Lux
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lux is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lux
- Copiah County
- Georgetown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Georgetown is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Stringer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Bay Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moss
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Moss is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
- Moss has also been known as:
- Mossville
- Hamlet ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hamlet is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Lake Como
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Como is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
- Stevens ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stevens is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens
- Jefferson Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Prentiss
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bassfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bassfield is located in Jefferson Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Melba
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Melba is located in Jefferson Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melba
- Oak Vale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Vale is located in Jefferson Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Vale
- Jones County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Soso
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Soso is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Amy
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Amy is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
- Service
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Service is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Service
- Ellisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lamar County
- Sumrall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- New Hebron
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Grange ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Grange is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange
- Silver Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hooker
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hooker is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Arm
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arm is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arm
- Rosella
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rosella is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosella
- Monticello
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rankin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Galilee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Galilee is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galilee
- Puckett
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Cato
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Simpson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Coats
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coats is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
- Jaynesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
- Magee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sanatorium
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
- Westville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Westville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Mendenhall
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Shivers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Shivers is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shivers
- D'Lo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- D'Lo is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Lo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
- Braxton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Braxton is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braxton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Mize
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Taylorsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bezer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Mineral Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Raleigh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvarena
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Daniel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Burns
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Trenton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Polkville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mount Olive, see our County-by-County Page for Mount Olive.
Cemeteries Near Mount Olive ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Olive.
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 Mount Olive - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mount Olive covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Mt. Olive City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- McNair Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cooley Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Rock Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Landmark MB Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tom Sullivan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rutland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Sardis Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (610 more) ...
- Oakdale Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Blakley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Mount Olive had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Mount Olive had a population of 896 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mount Olive, with the one closest to Mount Olive listed first.
- Jaynesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
- Ora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ora is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
- Magee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bunker Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bunker Hill is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Mize
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Williamsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Williamsburg is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Moscos
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moscos is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscos
- Taylorsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bezer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Westville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Westville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Gitano
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Gitano is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gitano
- Shivers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Shivers is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shivers
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Grange ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Grange is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange
- Everett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Everett is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett
- Raleigh
(20 miles [32.2 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 Mount Olive. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mount Olive.
Newspapers Published in Mount Olive ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Olive.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mount Olive, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mount Olive.
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 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 Mount Olive:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Covington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Copiah County
- Jasper County
- Jefferson Davis County
- Jones County
- Lamar County
- Lawrence County
- Rankin County
- Simpson County
- Smith 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> | 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- Mount Olive) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Mount Olive, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |