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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 Murray (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 Murray. 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 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 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.

Murray is located in Calloway County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Calloway County: Graves, Marshall, Trigg, Henry (TN) & Stewart (TN).

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

  • Calloway County     (The home county of Murray)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Almo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almo
      • Almo is located in Calloway County
    • Harris Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kirksey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirksey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksey
      • Kirksey is located in Calloway County
    • Hazel
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • New Providence
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dexter
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dexter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
      • Dexter is located in Calloway County
    • New Concord
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Protemus
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Graves County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Bell City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
      • Bell City is located in Graves County
    • Farmington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
      • Farmington is located in Graves County
    • Tri City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tri City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri City
      • Tri City is located in Graves County
    • Lynnville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Sedalia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Mayfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Westplains
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westplains. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westplains
      • Westplains is located in Graves County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westplains
      • From Murray to Westplains
    • Hickory
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Hickory is located in Graves County
    • Pryorsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Wingo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wingo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingo
      • Wingo is located in Graves County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wingo <3>
    • Symsonia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Symsonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Symsonia
      • Symsonia is located in Graves County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Symsonia <3>
    • Boaz
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Viola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hickman County
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Grand Rivers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Rivers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Rivers
      • Grand Rivers is located in Livingston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Rivers <3>
    • Lake City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Lyon County
    • Carmack
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmack have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmack
      • Carmack is located in Lyon County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Hardin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hardin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
      • Hardin is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hardin <3>
    • Olive
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Olive. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive
      • Olive is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Olive
      • From Murray to Olive
    • Aurora
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dogtown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Fairdealing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Benton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Scale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Tatumsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Sharpe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sharpe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpe
      • Sharpe is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sharpe
      • From Murray to Sharpe
    • Gilbertsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbertsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertsville
      • Gilbertsville is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilbertsville <3>
    • Calvert City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • McCracken County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Krebs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Reidland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Trigg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Canton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Canton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Canton is located in Trigg County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Canton
      • From Murray to Canton
    • Trigg Furnace
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Benton County (TN)
  • Henry County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Conyersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Puryear
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Mandels ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mandels have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandels
      • Mandels is located in Henry County (TN)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 10,349 people
    • Whitlock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Mount Vista ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vista
      • Mount Vista is located in Henry County (TN)
    • Oak Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
      • Oak Hill is located in Henry County (TN)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 4,703 people
    • Cottage Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • India
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for India have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for India
      • India is located in Henry County (TN)
    • New Boston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Boston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
      • New Boston is located in Henry County (TN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Boston
      • From Murray to New Boston
    • Paris
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Oakland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Springville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Manleyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Houston County (TN)
    • McKinnon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McKinnon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinnon
      • McKinnon is located in Houston County (TN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McKinnon
      • From Murray to McKinnon
  • Stewart County (TN)
  • Weakley County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Dunlap ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunlap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
      • Dunlap is located in Weakley County (TN)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 5,068 people
    • Latham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ore Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tumbling
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Murray ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Murray.

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 Murray covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Murray Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murray Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • England Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the England Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the England Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forrester Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forrester Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forrester Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Murray Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Rose Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concord Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Concord Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Concord Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waterfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waterfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waterfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Plains Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Plains Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Plains Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Outland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Outland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Outland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (992 more) ...
    • Hicks Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Miller Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Outland Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Outland Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Outland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Murray had a population of 518 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Murray had a population of 19,437 people.

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

  • Harris Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pottertown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pottertown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottertown
    • Pottertown is located in Calloway County
  • Hazel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • New Providence
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Shiloh
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shiloh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Shiloh is located in Calloway County
  • Kirksey
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirksey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksey
    • Kirksey is located in Calloway County
  • Coldwater
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coldwater have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Coldwater is located in Calloway County
  • New Concord
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Wadesboro
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadesboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadesboro
    • Wadesboro is located in Calloway County
  • Dexter
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dexter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
    • Dexter is located in Calloway County
  • Hico
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hico have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
    • Hico is located in Calloway County
  • Hardin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hardin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
    • Hardin is located in Marshall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hardin <3>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Backusburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Backusburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Backusburg
      • Backusburg is located in Calloway County
    • Puryear
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Conyersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Murray ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Murray.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Murray. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Murray and those printed in the larger area surrounding Murray.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6> of Murray.

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 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 Murray:

The official website for Murray: www.murrayky.gov/

The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Murray, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Murray) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Murray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6106, Longitude: -88.3152    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025