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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 Whitfield (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 Whitfield. 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 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.

Whitfield is located in Jones 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 Jones County: Clarke, Covington, Forrest, Jasper, Smith & Wayne.

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

  • Jones County     (The home county of Whitfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
    • Ovett
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ovett is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovett
    • Antioch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Antioch is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Ellisville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Laurel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Errata
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Errata is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errata
    • Service
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Service is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Service
    • Sandersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Sandersville is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
    • Soso
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Soso is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Amy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Amy is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
  • Covington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
    • Lux
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Lux is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lux
    • Sanford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Sanford is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
    • Seminary
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Hot Coffee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
    • Kola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kola is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kola
  • Forrest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
    • Goodluck
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Goodluck is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodluck
    • Petal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Petal is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petal <1>
    • Hattiesburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • McLaurin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • McLaurin is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLaurin
    • Brooklyn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
    • Bothwell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Bothwell is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bothwell
    • Avera
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Avera is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avera
    • Carson City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Carson City is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson City
    • McLain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • McLain is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
  • Jasper County
    • Moss
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Moss is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
      • Moss has also been known as:
      • Mossville
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
    • West Hattiesburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • West Hattiesburg is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hattiesburg
    • Sumrall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Purvis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
    • Richton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • New Augusta
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Wingate
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Wingate is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
    • Beaumont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaumont is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 894 people
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitfield, with the one closest to Whitfield listed first.
    • Mulberry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Mulberry is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
    • Whistler
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Whistler is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
    • Clara
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Clara is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara
    • Waynesboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chicora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Chicora is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicora

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

Cemeteries Near Whitfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitfield.

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

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

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

  • County Line Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Lancaster Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Ovett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Beech Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Walters Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Odom Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Jordan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Runnels Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Barlow Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Burch Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (330 more) ...
    • Morriston Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Odoms Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • McGilvary Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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 Whitfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Whitfield.

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

  • Moselle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Moselle is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moselle
  • Eastabuchie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Eastabuchie is located in Forrest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastabuchie
  • Ellisville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Hattiesburg
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Laurel
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Henderson
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Henderson is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
  • Errata
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Errata is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errata
  • Avera
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Avera is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avera
  • Whistler
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Whistler is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
  • Sandersville
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Sandersville is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
  • Soso
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Soso is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
  • Amy
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Amy is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Moscos
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Moscos is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscos
    • Gitano
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Gitano is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gitano
    • Eucutta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Eucutta is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eucutta

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

Newspapers Published in Whitfield ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitfield, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whitfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Whitfield:

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 Whitfield, 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- Whitfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.