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 Cross Roads (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 Cross Roads. 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 Cross Roads ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Cross Roads: Cross Rds.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Cross Roads. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Cross Roads.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Cross Roads is located in Rankin 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 Rankin County: Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Scott, Simpson & Smith.
Below are the counties that are near Cross Roads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cross Roads:
- Rankin County (The home county of Cross Roads)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- Pelahatchie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Puckett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Cato
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Galilee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Galilee is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galilee
- Brandon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fannin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fannin is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fannin
- Greenfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Greenfield is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Sand Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Sand Hill is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hill
- Goshen Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Goshen Springs is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen Springs
- Pearl
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Flowood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Pearson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pearson is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
- Hinds County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- North Town Plaza
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Town Plaza is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Town Plaza
- Jackson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Choctaw Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Choctaw Village is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Village
- Byram
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jasper County
- Success ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Success is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
- Leake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- Lena
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Tuscola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tuscola is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscola
- Walnut Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- Madisonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Madisonville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonville
- Madison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ridgeland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Twelve Oaks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Twelve Oaks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Oaks
- Sharon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sharon is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Canton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Maris Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Maris Town is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maris Town
- Mill Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Town is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- Cooperville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cooperville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperville
- Morton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hunter Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hunter Town is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Town
- Kalem
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kalem is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalem
- Branch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Branch is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
- Raworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Raworth is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raworth
- Beach
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Beach is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
- Forest
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Ludlow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ludlow is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
- Harperville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Harperville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harperville
- Cash
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cash is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
- Simpson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- D'Lo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- D'Lo is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Lo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
- Braxton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Braxton is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braxton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
- Mendenhall
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sanatorium
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
- Magee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Coats
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Coats is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
- Westville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Westville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- Polkville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Daniel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Trenton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Burns
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Raleigh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bezer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Mineral Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Sylvarena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Mize
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cross Roads, see our County-by-County Page for Cross Roads.
Cemeteries Near Cross Roads ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cross Roads.
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 Cross Roads - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cross Roads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- Crossroads Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Thornhill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lodebar Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Concord Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Little Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Antioch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Walters Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pelahatchie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Old Polkville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Polkville Cemetery
- The Old Polkville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Polkville Cemetery
- Old Stubbs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (372 more) ...
- Line Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Eastside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Farris Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Cross Roads in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cross Roads.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cross Roads, with the one closest to Cross Roads listed first.
- Lynwood ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lynwood is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood
- Pelahatchie
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Polkville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Daniel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Rankin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rankin is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankin
- Dobson ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dobson is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobson
- Johns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Johns is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns
- Pulaski
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pulaski is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Morton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Trenton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Puckett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Cato
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Gunn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gunn is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
- Brandon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Raworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Raworth is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raworth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cross Roads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cross Roads.
Newspapers Published in Cross Roads ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cross Roads.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cross Roads, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cross Roads.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Cross Roads:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Rankin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hinds County
- Jasper County
- Leake County
- Madison County
- Scott County
- Simpson County
- Smith 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 Cross Roads, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cross Roads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |