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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 Savannah (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 Savannah. 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/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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Savannah is located in Pearl River 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 Pearl River County: Saint Tammany (LA), Washington (LA), Forrest, Hancock, Lamar, Marion & Stone.

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

  • Pearl River County     (The home county of Savannah)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Juniper Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Juniper Grove is located in Pearl River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper Grove
    • Poplarville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hillsdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hillsdale is located in Pearl River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
    • Picayune
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Nicholson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Nicholson is located in Pearl River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
  • Forrest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Carnes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Carnes is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnes
    • Brooklyn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Necaise
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Necaise is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necaise
    • Kiln
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Diamondhead
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Gainesville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Gainesville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
    • Napoleon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Napoleon is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
    • Shoreline Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Shoreline Park is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoreline Park
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Howison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Howison is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howison
    • Saucier
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Wortham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Wortham is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wortham
    • Lyman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lyman is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyman
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Lumberton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Wells Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Wells Town is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Town
    • Purvis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Twin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Twin is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin
    • Pinebur
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pinebur is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinebur
  • Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Smith Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Smith Town is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Town
    • McHenry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • McHenry is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McHenry
    • Wiggins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Saint Tammany Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Bush
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Sun
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Sun is located in Saint Tammany Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sun <1>
    • Talisheek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hickory is located in Saint Tammany Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
    • Pearl River
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pearl River is located in Saint Tammany Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,618 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pearl River <1>
  • Washington Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Savannah, with the one closest to Savannah listed first.
    • Varnado
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Varnado is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnado
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Varnado <1>
    • Bogalusa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Bogalusa is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogalusa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,412 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bogalusa <1>
    • Lees Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Lees Creek is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Creek
    • Angie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Angie is located in Washington Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angie <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Savannah ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Savannah.

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

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

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

  • Rester Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Frye Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Myrick Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Steep Hollow Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Anner Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Dedeaux Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Lee Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Spiers Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Pearson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (252 more) ...
    • Necaise Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necaise Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Necaise Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Necaise.
    • Hester Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Bond Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Poplarville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hillsdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hillsdale is located in Pearl River County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
  • Orvisburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Orvisburg is located in Pearl River County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orvisburg
  • Chinquapin
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Chinquapin is located in Pearl River County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin
  • Lees Creek
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Lees Creek is located in Washington Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Creek
  • Kiln
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Sun
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Sun is located in Saint Tammany Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sun <1>
  • Airey
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Airey is located in Harrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airey
  • Talisheek
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Gainesville ‑ Historic
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Gainesville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
  • Delisle
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Delisle is located in Harrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delisle
  • Pearl River
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pearl River is located in Saint Tammany Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl River
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,618 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pearl River <1>
  • Spring Cottage
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Cottage is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Cottage

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

Newspapers Published in Savannah ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Savannah.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Savannah, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Savannah.

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 Savannah:

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>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 Savannah, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Savannah) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.