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 Center Ridge (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 Center Ridge. 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.
Name Variations for Center Ridge ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Center Ridge: Center Rdg. (or less commonly used: Center Rdge. or Center Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Center Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Center Ridge.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 and hospitals 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.
Center Ridge is located in Smith 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 Smith County: Covington, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Rankin, Scott & Simpson.
Below are the counties that are near Center Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Center Ridge:
- Smith County (The home county of Center Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Bezer
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Mineral Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mineral Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Raleigh
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sylvarena
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Mize
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Taylorsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Burns
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Trenton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Daniel
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Polkville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Covington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Hot Coffee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
- Mount Olive
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Arbo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Arbo is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbo
- Collins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Kola
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Kola is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kola
- Williamsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Williamsburg is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Seminary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Bay Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hamlet ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hamlet is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Stevens ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Stevens is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens
- Stringer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Como
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Como is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
- Louin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Louin is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Turnerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Turnerville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
- Acme ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Acme is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Montrose
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Vernon ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Vernon is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Moss
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Moss is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
- Moss has also been known as:
- Mossville
- McNeal ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- McNeal is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeal
- Jones County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Amy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Amy is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
- Soso
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Soso is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
- Service
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Service is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Service
- Laurel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Errata
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Errata is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errata
- Sandersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sandersville is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
- Ellisville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Newton County
- Six Towns ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Six Towns is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Towns
- Rankin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Galilee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Galilee is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galilee
- Puckett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Cato
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Hunter Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hunter Town is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Town
- Cooperville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cooperville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperville
- Forest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Kalem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Kalem is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalem
- Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Morton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Raworth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Raworth is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raworth
- Simpson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Coats
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coats is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
- Magee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sanatorium
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
- Jaynesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
- Mendenhall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- D'Lo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- D'Lo is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Lo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
- Westville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Westville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Braxton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Braxton is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braxton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Center Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Center Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Center Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Center Ridge.
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 Center Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Center Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Hancock Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Unity Methodist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Center Ridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Ridge Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Center Ridge Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Mineral Springs.
- The Center Ridge Cemetery has also been known as:
- Burnett Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2255196 <3>
- Bezer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer Cemetery
- The Bezer Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bezer Cemetery East
- Ditch Cemetery
- Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jefcoats - Farnham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver Dam Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tillson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- McAlphin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Raleigh Christian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mineral Springs Missioanry Baptist
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Union Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (473 more) ...
- Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dry Ridge Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmount Waco Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Center Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Center Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Center Ridge, with the one closest to Center Ridge listed first.
- Bezer
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Raleigh
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mize
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sylvarena
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Taylorsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bunker Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bunker Hill is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Shongelo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Shongelo is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shongelo
- Hamlet ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hamlet is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Burns
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Gitano
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gitano is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gitano
- Magee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lake Como
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Como is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Mount Olive
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Turnerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Turnerville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
- Gunn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gunn is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Center Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Center Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Center Ridge ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Center Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Center Ridge, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Center Ridge.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Center Ridge:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Smith County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Covington County
- Jasper County
- Jones County
- Newton County
- Rankin County
- Scott County
- Simpson 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Center Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Center Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |