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 McVay (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 McVay. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
McVay is located in Clarke County.
To see how the shape of Alabama's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Clarke County: Baldwin, Choctaw, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Washington & Wilcox.
Below are the counties that are near McVay. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McVay:
- Clarke County (The home county of McVay)
- The following are listed by their distance from McVay, with the one closest to McVay listed first.
- Toddtown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Toddtown is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddtown
- Winn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Winn is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
- Stave Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stave Creek is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stave Creek
- Zimco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Zimco is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimco
- Jackson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Walker Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Salitpa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Salitpa is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salitpa
- Grove Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Suggsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Suggsville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suggsville
- Whatley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Whatley is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whatley
- Alma
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alma is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Rockville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Baldwin County
- The following are listed by their distance from McVay, with the one closest to McVay listed first.
- Little River
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Blacksher
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Blacksher is located in Baldwin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacksher
- Choctaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from McVay, with the one closest to McVay listed first.
- Bladon Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bladon Springs is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladon Springs
- Womack Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Womack Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack Hill
- Cullomburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cullomburg is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullomburg
- Silas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bolinger
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bolinger is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolinger
- Souwilpa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Souwilpa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Souwilpa
- Marengo County
- Putnam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from McVay, with the one closest to McVay listed first.
- Claiborne
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Claiborne is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claiborne
- Finchburg ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Finchburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchburg
- Mount Pleasant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Perdue Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Perdue Hill is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue Hill
- Scratch Ankle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Scratch Ankle is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scratch Ankle
- Franklin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Franklin is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Mexia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mexia is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from McVay, with the one closest to McVay listed first.
- Leroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leroy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
- Carson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Carson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Saint Stephen's
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Prestwick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Prestwick is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prestwick
- Bassetts Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bassetts Creek is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassetts Creek
- Wagarville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bigbee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Bigbee is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigbee
- Frankville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frankville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Sunflower
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Sunflower is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunflower
- Hobson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hobson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson
- Hawthorn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hawthorn is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorn
- Chatom
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wilcox County
- Lower Peach Tree
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lower Peach Tree is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Peach Tree
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to McVay, see our County-by-County Page for McVay.
Cemeteries Near McVay ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McVay.
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 McVay - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McVay covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McVay, with the one closest to McVay listed first.
- Peniel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pine Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Old Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Antioch Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gaddies Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hollingsworth Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stave Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Parker Bell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Smith Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bumpers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- McKenzie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (234 more) ...
- Mathews Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Crest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Forman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 McVay in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McVay.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McVay, with the one closest to McVay listed first.
- Winn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Winn is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
- Jackson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Walker Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Salitpa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Salitpa is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salitpa
- Carson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Carson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Grove Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Stephen's
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Suggsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Suggsville is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suggsville
- Whatley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Whatley is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whatley
- Wagar
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wagar is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagar
- Alma
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alma is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- McEntyre
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- McEntyre is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McEntyre
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Dickinson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dickinson is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickinson
- Coffeeville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Frankville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frankville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around McVay. See our List of 1890's Communities around McVay.
Newspapers Published in McVay ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around McVay.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McVay, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McVay.
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 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 McVay:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Clarke County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Baldwin County
- Choctaw County
- Marengo County
- Monroe County
- Washington County
- Wilcox County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
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 McVay, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- McVay) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |