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 Gays Ferry (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 Gays Ferry. 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 hospitals and 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.
Gays Ferry is located in Choctaw County.
To see how the shape of Alabama's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Choctaw County: Clarke, Marengo, Sumter, Washington, Clarke (MS), Lauderdale (MS) & Wayne (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Gays Ferry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gays Ferry:
- Choctaw County (The home county of Gays Ferry)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gays Ferry, with the one closest to Gays Ferry listed first.
- Lavaca
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Tompkinsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tompkinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
- Tompkinsville is located in Choctaw County
- Choctaw City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Choctaw City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw City
- Choctaw City is located in Choctaw County
- Pennington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Pennington is located in Choctaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Butler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
- Butler is located in Choctaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,694 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Butler <2>
- Jachin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Pelham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Red Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Red Springs is located in Choctaw County
- Lisman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisman
- Lisman is located in Choctaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Cedahoma ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Cromwell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest) - Needham
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest) - Pushmataha
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pushmataha
- Pushmataha is located in Choctaw County
- Clarke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gays Ferry, with the one closest to Gays Ferry listed first.
- Morvin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Campbell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Campbell is located in Clarke County
- Glover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - Thomasville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
- Thomasville is located in Clarke County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,766 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thomasville <2>
- Atkeison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkeison
- Atkeison is located in Clarke County
- Coffeeville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coffeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffeeville
- Coffeeville is located in Clarke County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coffeeville <2>
- Fakit Chipunta ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fakit Chipunta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fakit Chipunta
- Fakit Chipunta is located in Clarke County
- Fulton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast) - Zimco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimco
- Zimco is located in Clarke County
- Dickinson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marengo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gays Ferry, with the one closest to Gays Ferry listed first.
- Barrons ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Nanafalia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Putnam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Aimwell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Sweet Water
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
- Sweet Water is located in Marengo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Half Acre
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Acre
- Half Acre is located in Marengo County
- Former names for Half Acre:
- Hell's Half Acre
- Luther's Store
- Myrtlewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myrtlewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
- Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Beckleys ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Dixon's Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixon's Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon's Mills
- Dixon's Mills is located in Marengo County
- Blue Lock ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Griffins ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north) - Ellison ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east) - Linden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Linden is located in Marengo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,853 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linden <2>
- Sumter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gays Ferry, with the one closest to Gays Ferry listed first.
- Whitfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north) - Derby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Derby is located in Sumter County
- Kinterbish
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinterbish
- Kinterbish is located in Sumter County
- Ward
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest) - Intercourse
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Intercourse
- Intercourse is located in Sumter County
- Bellamy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellamy
- Bellamy is located in Sumter County
- Arrington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north) - Coatopa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatopa
- Coatopa is located in Sumter County
- Brewersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewersville
- Brewersville is located in Sumter County
- McDowell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north) - Cuba
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Cuba is located in Sumter County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
- Wilcox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gays Ferry, with the one closest to Gays Ferry listed first.
- Arlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Arlington is located in Wilcox County
- Anne Manie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anne Manie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anne Manie
- Anne Manie is located in Wilcox County
- Pine Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east) - Kimbrough
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east) - Lamison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lauderdale County (MS)
- Whynot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whynot
- Whynot is located in Lauderdale County (MS)
- Whynot
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gays Ferry, see our County-by-County Page for Gays Ferry.
Newspapers Published in Gays Ferry ...
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 Gays Ferry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gays Ferry, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gays Ferry.
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 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 Gays Ferry:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Alabama Department of Archives & History
- Pages specific to Choctaw County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clarke County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Marengo County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sumter County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Wilcox County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Lauderdale County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Clarke County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Alabama
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Alabama
- Cemeteries of Choctaw County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Alabama
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Alabama
- Cemeteries of Choctaw County
Cemeteries Near Gays Ferry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gays Ferry.
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 Gays Ferry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gays Ferry, with the one closest to Gays Ferry listed first.
- Mt. Mariah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Mariah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Mariah Cemetery
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hickory Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hickory Grove Cemetery
- Nanafalia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nanafalia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nanafalia Cemetery
- Howell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howell Cemetery
- Red House Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Red House Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Red House Cemetery
- White Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Cemetery
- Spencer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spencer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spencer Cemetery
- Putnam Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Putnam Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Putnam Cemetery
- Gibson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gibson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gibson Cemetery
- St. Paul Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
- Hopewell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopewell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopewell Cemetery
- Geneva Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Geneva Presbyterian Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Geneva Presbyterian Church Cemetery
- Continue List (228 more) ...
- Lily Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lily Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lily Cemetery
- Luker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Luker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Luker Cemetery
- Canathan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canathan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canathan Cemetery
- Lily Cemetery
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>
While we didn't find Gays Ferry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gays Ferry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gays Ferry, with the one closest to Gays Ferry listed first.
- Nanafalia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Putnam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Mount Sterling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Mount Sterling is located in Choctaw County
- Morvin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Tompkinsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tompkinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
- Tompkinsville is located in Choctaw County
- Aimwell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Robjohn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Butler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
- Butler is located in Choctaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,694 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Butler <2>
- Ararat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Nicholsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholsville
- Nicholsville is located in Marengo County
- Sweet Water
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
- Sweet Water is located in Marengo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Campbell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Campbell is located in Clarke County
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Myrtlewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myrtlewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
- Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Cunningham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cunningham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
- Cunningham is located in Clarke County
- Bashi
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Myrtlewood
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gays Ferry. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gays Ferry.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gays Ferry. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gays Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gays Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0910, Longitude: -88.0439 In this case, the coordinates for Gays Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Gays Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |