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 Benton (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 Benton. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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.
Benton is located in Yazoo County.
To see how the shape of Mississippi's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Yazoo County: Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Madison, Sharkey & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Benton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Benton:
- Yazoo County (The home county of Benton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Evans
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Evans is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Nod
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Nod is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nod
- Pearce ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pearce is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearce
- Yazoo City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Yazoo City is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yazoo City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
- Former names for Yazoo City:
- Hannan's Bluff
- Manchester
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yazoo City <1>
- Fordyke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fordyke is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyke
- Jonestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Jonestown is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
- Eden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Eden is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Vaughan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Vaughan is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
- Dover ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dover is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Anding
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Anding is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anding
- Oil City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Oil City is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Crump
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Crump is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crump
- Bentonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Attala County
- Newport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Newport is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Hinds County
- Brownsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Brownsville is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Holmes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Coxburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Coxburg is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxburg
- Bee Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bee Lake is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Lake
- Bee Lake has also been known as:
- Bee Lake Plantation
- Tolarville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tolarville is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolarville
- Pickens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Pluto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pluto is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pluto
- Richland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Richland is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Good Hope
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Good Hope is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Mileston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mileston is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mileston
- Jones Crossing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jones Crossing is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossing
- Goodman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gwin is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwin
- Lexington
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Tchula
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Tchula is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tchula
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Humphreys County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Lake City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lake City is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Louise
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Louise is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louise
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Silver City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Silver City is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Belzoni
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gooden Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gooden Lake is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gooden Lake
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Sharpsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sharpsburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
- Kearney Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Kearney Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney Park
- Davis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Davis is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Cobbville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cobbville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbville
- Mill Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Town is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
- Flora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Canton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Maris Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Maris Town is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maris Town
- Mannsdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mannsdale is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannsdale
- Sharon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sharon is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Adelle
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Adelle is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelle
- Camden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Twelve Oaks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Twelve Oaks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Oaks
- Sharkey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Auter
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Auter is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auter
- Richey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Richey is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richey
- Warren County
- Russellville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Russellville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Benton, see our County-by-County Page for Benton.
Cemeteries Near Benton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Benton.
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 Benton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Benton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Pickett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Luce Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Coopers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Smith's Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hicks Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Old Temple Love Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. James Church of God In Christ Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Midway UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bethany Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hardshell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bull Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (286 more) ...
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Tranquil Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ellison Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 Benton had a population of 251 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
- Hilton ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hilton is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton
- Evans
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Evans is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Pearce ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pearce is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearce
- Myrleville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Myrleville is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrleville
- Free Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Free Run is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Run
- Yazoo City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Yazoo City is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yazoo City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
- Former names for Yazoo City:
- Hannan's Bluff
- Manchester
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yazoo City <1>
- Deasonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Deasonville is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deasonville
- Fordyke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fordyke is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyke
- Zeiglerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zeiglerville is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeiglerville
- Eden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Eden is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Anding
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Anding is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anding
- Vaughan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Vaughan is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Dover ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dover is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Coxburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Coxburg is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxburg
- Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Valley is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Benton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Benton.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Benton ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Benton.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Benton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Benton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Benton.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<3> of Benton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Benton:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Yazoo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Attala County
- Hinds County
- Holmes County
- Humphreys County
- Madison County
- Sharkey County
- Warren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Mississippi
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 Benton, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Benton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |