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 McRae (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 McRae. 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 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 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.
McRae is located in White County.
To see how the shape of Arkansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of White County: Cleburne, Faulkner, Independence, Jackson, Lonoke, Prairie & Woodruff.
Below are the counties that are near McRae. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McRae:
- White County (The home county of McRae)
- The following are listed by their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Garner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beebe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Walker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Walker is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Higginson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Higginson is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Floyd
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Floyd is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
- Griffithville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Griffithville is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffithville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Searcy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Center Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Center Hill is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Kensett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- West Point is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Judsonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Romance
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- El Paso
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Rainbow Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rainbow Island is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Island
- Yuba
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Yuba is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Wilburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wilburn is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilburn
- Heber Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Heber Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heber Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,906 people
- Former name for Heber Springs:
- Sugar Loaf
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heber Springs <1>
- Pearson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pearson is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
- Quitman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tumbling Shoals
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Faulkner County
- The following are listed by their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Mount Vernon
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Vernon is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Otto
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Otto is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- Vilonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Enola
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Enola is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
- Beryl
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Beryl is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beryl
- Holland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Holland is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
- Centerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Enders
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Enders is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enders
- Hamlet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hamlet is located in Faulkner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Lonoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Ward
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Austin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Austin is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,504 people
- Oak Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Cabot
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Parnell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parnell is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
- Carlisle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- McCreanor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- McCreanor is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCreanor
- Sisemore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sisemore is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sisemore
- Lonoke
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bayou Meto
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bayou Meto is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Meto
- Prairie County
- The following are listed by their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Hickory Plains
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory Plains is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Plains
- Des Arc
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Sand Hill is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hill
- Screeton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Screeton is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screeton
- Cuneo ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cuneo is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuneo
- Little Dixie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Little Dixie is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Dixie
- Hazen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- De Valls Bluff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fredonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fredonia is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Jacksonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gravel Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gibson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gibson is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- McAlmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- McAlmont is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAlmont
- Sherwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Booker
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Booker is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker
- Woodruff County
- The following are listed by their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Gregory
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Gregory is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Augusta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Flynn ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Flynn is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to McRae, see our County-by-County Page for McRae.
Cemeteries Near McRae ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McRae.
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 McRae - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McRae covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Cheek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Weir Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bass Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bryles Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Green Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Walker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Liberty Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Goodman Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gum Springs Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Butlerville Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dogwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (217 more) ...
- Dogwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Apple Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Monk Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, McRae had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, McRae had a population of 671 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McRae, with the one closest to McRae listed first.
- Garner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beebe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Antioch
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Antioch is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Walker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Walker is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Higginson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Higginson is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 743 people
- Butlerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Butlerville is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butlerville
- Hickory Plains
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory Plains is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Plains
- Floyd
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Floyd is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
- Ward
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Egbert ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Egbert is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egbert
- Searcy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sunrise ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Sunrise is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Kensett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Austin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Austin is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,504 people
- West Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- West Point is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around McRae. See our List of 1890's Communities around McRae.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of McRae ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around McRae.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of McRae. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of McRae and those printed in the larger area surrounding McRae.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> of McRae.
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 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 McRae:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to White County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cleburne County
- Faulkner County
- Lonoke County
- Prairie County
- Pulaski County
- Woodruff County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
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 McRae, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- McRae) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |