RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Mississippi >> Winston County >> Claytown >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Claytown (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 Claytown. 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.

Claytown is located in Winston 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 Winston County: Attala, Choctaw, Kemper, Leake, Neshoba, Noxubee & Oktibbeha.

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

  • Winston County     (The home county of Claytown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claytown, with the one closest to Claytown listed first.
    • Handle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Handle is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handle
    • Noxapater
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Randalls Bluff ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Randalls Bluff is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalls Bluff
    • Fearns Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Fearns Springs is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearns Springs
    • Louisville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Plattsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Plattsburg is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
    • Hinze
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Hinze is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinze
    • Vowell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Vowell is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowell
  • Attala County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claytown, with the one closest to Claytown listed first.
    • McCool
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • McCool is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Gregory ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Gregory is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
    • Ethel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Ethel is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
  • Choctaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claytown, with the one closest to Claytown listed first.
    • Ackerman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Weir
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Weir is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weir
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weir <1>
  • Kemper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claytown, with the one closest to Claytown listed first.
    • Lynville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lynville is located in Kemper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynville
    • Spinks ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Spinks is located in Kemper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinks
    • De Kalb
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Wahalak
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Wahalak is located in Kemper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahalak
    • Rio
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Rio is located in Kemper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
    • Scooba
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Lauderdale County
    • Martin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Martin is located in Lauderdale County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Leake County
    • Coosa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Coosa is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosa
  • Lowndes County
    • Crawford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Neshoba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claytown, with the one closest to Claytown listed first.
    • Bogue Chitto
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bogue Chitto is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue Chitto
    • Ocobla
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Ocobla is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocobla
    • Philadelphia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tucker
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Tucker is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
    • Pearl River
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Pearl River is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl River
    • Hope
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Hope is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • House
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • House is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House
    • Neshoba
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Neshoba is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neshoba
    • Dixon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Dixon is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
    • Laurel Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Laurel Hill is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
    • Dowdville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Dowdville is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowdville
  • Newton County
    • Union
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Noxubee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claytown, with the one closest to Claytown listed first.
    • Hashuqua ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Hashuqua is located in Noxubee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hashuqua
    • Mashulaville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mashulaville is located in Noxubee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashulaville
    • Shuqualak
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Shuqualak is located in Noxubee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shuqualak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
    • Fairport ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairport is located in Noxubee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
    • Macon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Macon is located in Noxubee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,384 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Macon <1>
    • Brooksville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Oktibbeha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Claytown, with the one closest to Claytown listed first.
    • Sturgis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bradley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bradley is located in Oktibbeha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
    • Longview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Longview is located in Oktibbeha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview

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

Cemeteries Near Claytown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Claytown.

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

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

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

  • Vernon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Fulton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Enon Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Enon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Middleton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Vernon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Rocky Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Whitehead Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Harmony Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Woodruff Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (323 more) ...
    • Hight Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<2>

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

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

  • Handle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Handle is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handle
  • Noxapater
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Randalls Bluff ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Randalls Bluff is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalls Bluff
  • North Bend
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • North Bend is located in Neshoba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bend
  • Fearns Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fearns Springs is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearns Springs
  • Hashuqua ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Hashuqua is located in Noxubee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hashuqua
  • Preston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Preston is located in Kemper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
  • Perkinsville ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Perkinsville is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkinsville
  • Louisville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Plattsburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Plattsburg is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
  • Gholson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Gholson is located in Noxubee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
  • Mashulaville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mashulaville is located in Noxubee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashulaville
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Ocobla
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Ocobla is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocobla
    • Peden ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Peden is located in Kemper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peden
    • Singleton ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Singleton is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singleton

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

Newspapers Published in Claytown ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Claytown.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Claytown:

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 Claytown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Claytown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.