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 Colby (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 Colby. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Colby 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 Colby. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colby:
- Yazoo County (The home county of Colby)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Kearney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Kearney is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney
- Jonestown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Jonestown is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
- Yazoo City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Satartia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Satartia is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satartia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
- Crump
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Crump is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crump
- Pearce ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pearce is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearce
- Dover ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dover is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Oil City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oil City is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Anding
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Anding is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anding
- Eden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Eden is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Bentonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Nod
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Nod is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nod
- Evans
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Evans is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Hinds County
- Delta City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Delta City is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta City
- Holmes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Pluto
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pluto is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pluto
- Bee Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Good Hope
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Good Hope is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Coxburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Coxburg is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxburg
- Mileston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mileston is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mileston
- Tolarville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tolarville is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolarville
- Humphreys County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Louise
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Louise is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louise
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Lake City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lake City is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Gooden Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gooden Lake is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gooden Lake
- Silver City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Silver City is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Belzoni
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Isola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Isola is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Jaketown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jaketown is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaketown
- Issaquena County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Booth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Booth is located in Issaquena County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booth
- Valley Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Park is located in Issaquena County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Park
- Mayersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mayersville is located in Issaquena County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 517 people
- Tallula
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Tallula is located in Issaquena County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallula
- Chotard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chotard is located in Issaquena County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chotard
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Kearney Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kearney Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney Park
- Adelle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Adelle is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelle
- Sharkey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Richey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Richey is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richey
- Anguilla
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mont Helena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mont Helena is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Helena
- Auter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Auter is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auter
- Riverside Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Riverside Junction is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Junction
- Rolling Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Nitta Yuma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nitta Yuma is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitta Yuma
- Lorenzen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lorenzen is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorenzen
- Cary
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cary is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Issaquena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Issaquena is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Issaquena
- Panther Burn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Panther Burn is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther Burn
- Blanton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blanton is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
- Onward
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Onward is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onward
- Sunflower County
- New Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- New Town is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Russellville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Russellville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Haynes Bluff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Haynes Bluff is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Bluff
- Redwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Redwood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Murphy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Murphy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
- Willet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Willet is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Overby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Overby is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overby
- Hampton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hampton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Hollandale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Forrest City ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Forrest City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forrest City
- Byrne City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Byrne City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrne City
- Arcola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Arcola is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- East Carroll Parish (LA)
- Lake Providence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colby, see our County-by-County Page for Colby.
Cemeteries Near Colby ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colby.
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 Colby - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Colby covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Tanglewood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Valley Home Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Campbellsville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Shannon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Goshen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jeffery Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Kettleman Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Balup Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Huddleston Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Harris Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Banks Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- John Roberson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (113 more) ...
- Mayday Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Vicks Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Centrana Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Colby in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Colby.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colby, with the one closest to Colby listed first.
- Kearney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Kearney is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney
- Anguilla
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mont Helena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mont Helena is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Helena
- Enola
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Enola is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Lake City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lake City is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- Auter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Auter is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auter
- Riverside Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Riverside Junction is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Junction
- Rolling Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Egremont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Egremont is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egremont
- Nitta Yuma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nitta Yuma is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitta Yuma
- Lorenzen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lorenzen is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorenzen
- Cary
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cary is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Valley is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley
- Blanton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blanton is located in Sharkey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
- Satartia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Satartia is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satartia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colby. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colby.
Newspapers Published in Colby ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colby.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colby, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colby.
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 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 Colby:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Yazoo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hinds County
- Holmes County
- Humphreys County
- Issaquena County
- Madison County
- Sharkey County
- Sunflower County
- Warren County
- Washington County
- East Carroll Parish
- 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Colby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Colby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |