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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 Port Gibson (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 Port Gibson. 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 Port Gibson ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Port Gibson: Prt. Gibson

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 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Port Gibson is located in Claiborne County and is the County Seat.

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 Claiborne County: Tensas (LA), Copiah, Hinds, Jefferson & Warren.

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

  • Claiborne County     (The home county of Port Gibson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Gibson, with the one closest to Port Gibson listed first.
    • Grand Gulf
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Willows
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Westside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside
      • Westside is located in Claiborne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westside
      • From Port Gibson to Westside
    • Saint Elmo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Carlisle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carlisle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
      • Carlisle is located in Claiborne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carlisle
      • From Port Gibson to Carlisle
    • Rocky Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Adams County
    • Selma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Selma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Selma is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Selma
      • From Port Gibson to Selma
  • Copiah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Gibson, with the one closest to Port Gibson listed first.
    • Myles
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Myles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myles
      • Myles is located in Copiah County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Myles
      • From Port Gibson to Myles
    • Carpenter
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Allen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Allen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
      • Allen is located in Copiah County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Allen
      • From Port Gibson to Allen
    • Bowerton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bowerton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerton
      • Bowerton is located in Copiah County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bowerton
      • From Port Gibson to Bowerton
    • Glancy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glancy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glancy
      • Glancy is located in Copiah County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glancy
      • From Port Gibson to Glancy
  • Franklin County
  • Hinds County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Gibson, with the one closest to Port Gibson listed first.
    • Cayuga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Utica
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Newman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
      • Newman is located in Hinds County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newman
      • From Port Gibson to Newman
    • Bear Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Adams
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Learned
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Learned have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Learned
      • Learned is located in Hinds County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Learned <2>
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Gibson, with the one closest to Port Gibson listed first.
    • Red Lick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Lick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lick
      • Red Lick is located in Jefferson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Lick
      • From Port Gibson to Red Lick
    • Rodney
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Harriston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Fayette
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
      • Fayette is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayette <2>
  • Lincoln County
    • Caseyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Gibson, with the one closest to Port Gibson listed first.
    • Stout
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stout. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
      • Stout is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stout
      • From Port Gibson to Stout
    • Vicksburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vicksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicksburg
      • Vicksburg is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,351 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vicksburg <2>
    • Newmans
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newmans have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmans
      • Newmans is located in Warren County
  • Madison Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Gibson, with the one closest to Port Gibson listed first.
    • Delta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
      • Delta is located in Madison Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delta <2>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delta
      • From Port Gibson to Delta
    • Coleman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coleman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
      • Coleman is located in Madison Parish (LA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coleman
      • From Port Gibson to Coleman
    • Mound
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Thomastown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Barnes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
      • Barnes is located in Madison Parish (LA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Barnes
      • From Port Gibson to Barnes
    • Duck Port ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duck Port have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Port
      • Duck Port is located in Madison Parish (LA)
  • Tensas Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Gibson, with the one closest to Port Gibson listed first.
    • Yucatan Landing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Joseph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Newellton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newellton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newellton
      • Newellton is located in Tensas Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 927 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newellton <2>
    • Waterproof
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterproof have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterproof
      • Waterproof is located in Tensas Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 532 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterproof <2>
    • Newlight
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newlight. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlight
      • Newlight is located in Tensas Parish (LA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newlight
      • From Port Gibson to Newlight
    • Highland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Port Gibson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Port Gibson.

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

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

  • Wintergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wintergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wintergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Port Gibson Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Port Gibson Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Port Gibson Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jewish Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jewish Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jewish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scott Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilson Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spring Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Humphreys Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Humphreys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Humphreys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holly Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holly Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holly Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Douglass Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Douglass Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Douglass Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Briscoe Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Briscoe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Briscoe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Turnipseed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turnipseed Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turnipseed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (259 more) ...
    • Shiloh Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shiloh Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shiloh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Willis Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willis Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Grand Gulf Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Gulf Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Gulf Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Port Gibson had a population of 124 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Port Gibson had a population of 1,287 people.

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

  • Oaklawn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oaklawn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklawn
    • Oaklawn is located in Claiborne County
  • Gordon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Gordon is located in Claiborne County
  • Russum
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russum
    • Russum is located in Claiborne County
  • Ingleside
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ingleside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Ingleside is located in Claiborne County
  • Grand Gulf
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Hermanville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermanville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermanville
    • Hermanville is located in Claiborne County
  • Westside
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside
    • Westside is located in Claiborne County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Westside
    • From Port Gibson to Westside
  • Saint Elmo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Red Lick
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Lick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lick
    • Red Lick is located in Jefferson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Red Lick
    • From Port Gibson to Red Lick
  • Humphreys
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Humphreys have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphreys
    • Humphreys is located in Claiborne County
  • Carlisle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carlisle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Carlisle is located in Claiborne County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Carlisle
    • From Port Gibson to Carlisle
  • Stonington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
    • Stonington is located in Jefferson County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rocky Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rodney
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Yokena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yokena have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yokena
      • Yokena is located in Warren County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Port Gibson ...

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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Port Gibson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Port Gibson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Port Gibson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Port Gibson.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<5> of Port Gibson.

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 Port Gibson:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 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.
<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 Port Gibson, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Port Gibson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Port Gibson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9568, Longitude: -90.9834    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025