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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 Rayville (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 Rayville. 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.

Rayville is located in Ray County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ray County: Caldwell, Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Jackson & Lafayette.

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

  • Ray County     (The home county of Rayville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
    • Wood Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Wood Heights is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
    • Woods Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Richmond
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Crystal Lakes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Crystal Lakes is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Knoxville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Homestead
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Homestead is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Excelsior Estates
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Excelsior Estates is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Lawson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Albany
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Albany is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
    • Orrick
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Camden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Fleming
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Fleming is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Henrietta
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Henrietta is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
  • Caldwell County
  • Carroll County
  • Clay County
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
    • Converse
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lathrop
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lilly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Turney
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Plattsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Keystone ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Keystone is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
    • Trimble
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Cameron
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
    • Sibley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Levasy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Levasy is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levasy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Buckner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Atherton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • River Bend
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • River Bend is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
    • Oak Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Adams
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Cement City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Cement City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cement City
    • Grain Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Blue Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Independence
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Tapawingo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Tapawingo is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapawingo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 719 people
  • Lafayette County
  • Livingston County
    • Ludlow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Platte County
    • Northmoor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Northmoor is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northmoor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
  • Saline County
    • Little Osage Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Little Osage Village is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Osage Village

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

Cemeteries Near Rayville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rayville.

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

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

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

  • Crowley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Sanderson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • McGaugh Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jacobs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Maddux Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pettus Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Dale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • McDonald Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Clevenger Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (263 more) ...
    • Johnson Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Rowland Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Gordan 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rayville had a population of 91 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2012, Rayville had a population of 219 people.

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

  • Dockery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Dockery is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dockery
  • Vibbard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Vibbard is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vibbard
  • Richmond
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Knoxville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Sandals
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Sandals is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandals
  • Millville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Millville is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
  • Excelsior Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Orrick
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Lawson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Fleming
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Fleming is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
  • Camden
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Morton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Taitsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Taitsville is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taitsville
    • Prathersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Prathersville is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prathersville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Floyd
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Floyd is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd

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

Newspapers Published in Rayville ...

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 Rayville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rayville, 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 Rayville.

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 Rayville:

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 Rayville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Rayville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.