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 Westwood (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 Westwood. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Westwood is located in Webster 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 Webster County: Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Montgomery & Oktibbeha.
Below are the counties that are near Westwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westwood:
- Webster County (The home county of Westwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Eupora
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Sapa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sapa is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapa
- Walthall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Walthall is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Mathiston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fame
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fame is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fame
- Clarkson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clarkson is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
- Montevista
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Montevista is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevista
- Cumberland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Hohenlinden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hohenlinden is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hohenlinden
- Mantee
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mantee is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Attala County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- McCool
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- McCool is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Langley ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Langley is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langley
- Gregory ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Gregory is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Ethel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ethel is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Slate Spring
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Slate Spring is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Spring
- Slate Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Slate Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Benela
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Benela is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benela
- Calhoun City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Derma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Derma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 961 people
- Big Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Big Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Vardaman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Pittsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pittsboro is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Loyd
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Loyd is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
- Bruce
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Carroll County
- Vaiden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chickasaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Woodland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Woodland is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Anchor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Anchor is located in Chickasaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor
- Houston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Choctaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Reform
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Reform is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
- Bankston ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bankston is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
- Williams
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Williams is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
- Ackerman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- French Camp
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Weir
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Pheba
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Beasley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Beasley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beasley
- Montpelier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Montpelier is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
- Cedar Bluff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cedar Bluff is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
- Griffith
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Griffith is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Abbott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Abbott is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Mhoons Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mhoons Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mhoons Valley
- Grenada County
- Elliott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Elliott is located in Grenada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Sibleyton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sibleyton is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibleyton
- Sibleyton has also been known as:
- Sibleton
- Minerva
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Minerva is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
- Kilmichael
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kilmichael is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilmichael
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Sweatman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sweatman is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweatman
- Eskridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Eskridge is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskridge
- Duck Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Duck Hill is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,760 people
- Winona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Oktibbeha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Maben
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Maben is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 817 people
- Double Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Double Springs is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Springs
- Sturgis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Adaton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Adaton is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adaton
- Bradley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bradley is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Longview
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Longview is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Starkville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Westwood, see our County-by-County Page for Westwood.
Cemeteries Near Westwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood.
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 Westwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Westwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Eupora Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Liberty Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Church Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Webster Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Ebenezer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff Spring Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hays Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hays Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Walthall.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #59774 <2>
- Cooper Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Still Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (368 more) ...
- La Grange Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sapa Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Long Branch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Westwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Westwood, with the one closest to Westwood listed first.
- Eupora
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Grady
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grady is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Sapa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sapa is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapa
- Walthall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Walthall is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Bellefontaine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bellefontaine is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
- Bywy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bywy is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bywy
- Embry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Embry is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embry
- Mathiston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Stewart
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stewart is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
- Reform
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Reform is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
- Clarkson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clarkson is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
- Bankston ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bankston is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Maben
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Maben is located in Oktibbeha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 817 people
- Montevista
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Montevista is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevista
- Chester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Chester is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Westwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Westwood.
Newspapers Published in Westwood ...
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 Westwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westwood.
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 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 Westwood:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Webster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Attala County
- Calhoun County
- Carroll County
- Chickasaw County
- Choctaw County
- Clay County
- Grenada County
- Montgomery County
- Oktibbeha 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> | 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 Westwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Westwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |