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 Johns (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 Johns. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Johns 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 Johns. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Johns:
- Rankin County (The home county of Johns)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Cato
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Puckett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Galilee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Galilee is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galilee
- Pelahatchie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Brandon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Greenfield is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Florence
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Pearl
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- King
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- King is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Pearson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Pearson is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
- Richland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fannin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fannin is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fannin
- Flowood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Copiah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Hopewell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Georgetown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Georgetown is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Covington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Mount Olive
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Olive is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Arbo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arbo is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbo
- Hinds County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Jackson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- North Town Plaza
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- North Town Plaza is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Town Plaza
- Choctaw Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Choctaw Village is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Village
- Byram
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Terry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lawrence County
- New Hebron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Ridgeland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Madison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Madisonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Madisonville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonville
- Twelve Oaks
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Twelve Oaks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Oaks
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Cooperville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cooperville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperville
- Hunter Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hunter Town is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Town
- Morton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Kalem
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kalem is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalem
- Branch
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Branch is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
- Raworth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Raworth is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raworth
- Forest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beach is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
- Clifton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Simpson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- D'Lo
(10 miles [16.1 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
(10 miles [16.1 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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Sanatorium
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
- Magee
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Westville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Westville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Coats
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Coats is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
- Shivers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Shivers is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shivers
- Jaynesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Daniel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Polkville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Trenton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Burns
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Raleigh
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bezer
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Mize
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Springs
(27 miles [43.5 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 east)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Johns, see our County-by-County Page for Johns.
Cemeteries Near Johns ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johns.
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 Johns - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Johns covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Silverena Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Johns Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cato Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rosehill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Puckett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Antioch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Steen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- County Line Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (426 more) ...
- Burnham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Barnett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Johns had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Johns, with the one closest to Johns listed first.
- Cato
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Puckett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Dobson ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dobson is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobson
- Lynwood ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lynwood is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood
- Daniel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Everett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Everett is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett
- Gunn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gunn is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
- Polkville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Braxton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Braxton is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braxton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
- D'Lo
(10 miles [16.1 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
- Thomasville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Thomasville is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
- Rankin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rankin is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankin
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Pelahatchie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Trenton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Brandon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Johns. See our List of 1890's Communities around Johns.
Newspapers Published in Johns ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johns.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johns, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johns.
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 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 Johns:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Rankin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Copiah County
- Covington County
- Hinds County
- Lawrence 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> | 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 Johns, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Johns) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |