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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 Ray City (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 Ray City. 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 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.

Ray City is located in Berrien 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 Berrien County: Atkinson, Coffee, Cook, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes & Tift.

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

  • Berrien County     (The home county of Ray City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Nashville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Alapaha
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Enigma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Atkinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Willacoochee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Leliaton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Leliaton is located in Atkinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leliaton
    • Pearson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Axson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Brooks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Barney
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Morven
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fodie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fodie is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fodie
      • Estimated population in 2019: 5,037 people
    • Tallokas ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Tallokas is located in Brooks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallokas
      • Estimated population in 2019: 171 people
    • Quitman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinch County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Du Pont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Homerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cogdell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Cogdell is located in Clinch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cogdell
  • Coffee County
    • Mora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mora is located in Coffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mora
      • Estimated population in 2019: 444 people
  • Colquitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Ellenton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Berlin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Cook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Cecil
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Adel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Sparks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lenox
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Staunton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Staunton is located in Cook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staunton
  • Echols County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Howell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Howell is located in Echols County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Statenville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Fruitland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Fruitland is located in Echols County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
  • Lanier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Lakeland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Stockton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Lowndes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Franklinville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Franklinville is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklinville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 971 people
    • Hahira
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Naylor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Barko Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Barko Village is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barko Village
    • Mineola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Mineola is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineola
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 150 people
    • Shiloh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Shiloh is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Remerton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Remerton is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remerton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
    • Valdosta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Dasher
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Dasher is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
    • Lake Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Clyattville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Melrose
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Melrose is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Tift County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray City, with the one closest to Ray City listed first.
    • Brookfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Omega
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Unionville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Unionville is located in Tift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville

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

Cemeteries Near Ray City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ray City.

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 Ray City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Beaver Dam Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. John MB Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Baskins Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fisher Gaskins Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Money Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hightower Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Avera Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hendley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Bennett Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Eastview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Connell Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (138 more) ...
    • Poplar Springs Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Daniels Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • St. James Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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>

While we didn't find Ray City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ray City.

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

  • Nashville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Hahira
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Naylor
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Mineola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mineola is located in Lowndes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineola
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 150 people
  • Adel
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Valdosta
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Morven
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Du Pont
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Lenox
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Alapaha
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Dasher
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Dasher is located in Lowndes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dasher
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
  • Bayboro ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bayboro is located in Colquitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayboro
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Ousley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Ousley is located in Lowndes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ousley
    • Withers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Withers is located in Clinch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withers
    • Enigma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Ray City ...

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 Ray City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ray City, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ray City.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Ray City:

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