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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 Gay (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 Gay. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Gay is located in Meriwether County.

To see how the shape of Georgia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Meriwether County: Coweta, Harris, Pike, Spalding, Talbot, Troup & Upson.

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

  • Meriwether County     (The home county of Gay)
  • Clayton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gay, with the one closest to Gay listed first.
    • Lovejoy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bonanza
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bonanza is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
    • Irondale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Irondale is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
    • Clayton Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Clayton Ridge is located in Clayton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton Ridge
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,193 people
  • Coweta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gay, with the one closest to Gay listed first.
    • Haralson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Bexton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bexton is located in Coweta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexton
    • Senoia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Smith City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Smith City is located in Coweta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith City
    • Jade Lake Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jade Lake Village is located in Coweta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jade Lake Village
    • Turin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Sharpsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Grantville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Moreland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Newnan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • East Newnan is located in Coweta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Newnan
    • Newnan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Smokey Acres
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Smokey Acres is located in Coweta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smokey Acres
      • Estimated population in 2019: 56,666 people
    • Sargent
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gay, with the one closest to Gay listed first.
    • Brooks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Foreston Place
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Foreston Place is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foreston Place
      • Estimated population in 2019: 20,020 people
    • Hamptons Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hamptons Corner is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamptons Corner
      • Estimated population in 2019: 8,073 people
    • Woolsey Woods
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Peachtree City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Woolsey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Woolsey is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolsey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
    • Tinsley Mill Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Tinsley Mill Village is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinsley Mill Village
    • Harp
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Keyland Woods
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Keyland Woods is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyland Woods
      • Estimated population in 2019: 332 people
    • Inman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • McIntosh Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • McIntosh Village is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh Village
    • Fayette Villa Estates
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Fayette Villa Estates is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette Villa Estates
      • Estimated population in 2019: 17,991 people
    • Fayetteville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gay, with the one closest to Gay listed first.
    • Palmetto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Carlton Woods
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Carlton Woods is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton Woods
      • Estimated population in 2019: 260 people
    • Fife
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Harris County
  • Heard County
    • Corinth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Corinth is located in Heard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
  • Henry County
  • Lamar County
  • Pike County
  • Spalding County
  • Talbot County
  • Troup County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gay, with the one closest to Gay listed first.
    • Mountville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Hogansville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Louise
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Louise is located in Troup County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louise
      • Estimated population in 2019: 2,215 people
    • Whitfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Asta Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Asta Village is located in Troup County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asta Village
    • Brays Lakeview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • LaGrange
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Sassafrass Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Sassafrass Hills is located in Troup County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassafrass Hills
      • Estimated population in 2019: 255 people
    • Sunny Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Sunny Point is located in Troup County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Point
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,303 people
    • Graysons Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Graysons Landing is located in Troup County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysons Landing
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,452 people
    • Pioneer Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pioneer Village is located in Troup County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
    • Rockwell Estates
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Rockwell Estates is located in Troup County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell Estates
  • Upson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gay, with the one closest to Gay listed first.
    • Barker Spring
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunset Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hannahs Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Hannahs Mill is located in Upson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannahs Mill
    • Delray
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Thomaston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lincoln Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lincoln Park is located in Upson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,503 people
    • The Rock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Yatesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Gay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gay.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Gay had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Gay had a population of 82 people.

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

  • Oakland
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Oakland is located in Meriwether County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
  • Alps
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Alps is located in Meriwether County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alps
  • Neal
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Neal is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neal
  • Woodbury
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Molena
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Concord
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Rocky Mount
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Hollonville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollonville is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollonville
  • Haralson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Midway
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Midway is located in Meriwether County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
  • Jolly
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jolly is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolly
  • Beeks ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Beeks is located in Pike County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeks
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Harris City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Harris City is located in Meriwether County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris City
    • Raleigh
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Raleigh is located in Meriwether County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
    • Hendricks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hendricks is located in Upson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricks

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

Newspapers Published in Gay ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gay.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gay, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gay.

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 helpful 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 Gay:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gay) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Gay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.