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 Lorena (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 Lorena. 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 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.
Lorena 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 Lorena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lorena:
- Smith County (The home county of Lorena)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Burns
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Trenton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Raleigh
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Polkville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Daniel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Bezer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Sylvarena
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Mineral Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mineral Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Mize
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Taylorsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Covington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Hot Coffee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
- Mount Olive
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Olive is located in Covington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Success ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Success is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
- Montrose
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Montrose is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Louin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Louin is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Hamlet ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hamlet is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Stevens ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stevens is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens
- Baxter ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Baxter is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Verba ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Verba is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verba
- Bay Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Turnerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Turnerville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
- Garlandsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Garlandsville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garlandsville
- McNeal ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- McNeal is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeal
- Ras
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ras is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ras
- Lake Como
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Como is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Como
- Leake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Lena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Walnut Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tuscola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Tuscola is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscola
- Newton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Six Towns ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Six Towns is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Towns
- Conehatta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Conehatta is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conehatta
- Newton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Bluff
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Bluff is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bluff
- Lucern
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lucern is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucern
- Hickory
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hickory is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 515 people
- Decatur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rankin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Galilee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Galilee is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galilee
- Puckett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Puckett is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Pelahatchie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cato
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cato is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cato
- Sand Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Hill is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hill
- Brandon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fannin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fannin is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fannin
- Goshen Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Goshen Springs is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen Springs
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Hunter Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hunter Town is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Town
- Forest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Raworth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Raworth is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raworth
- Kalem
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kalem is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalem
- Cooperville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cooperville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperville
- Morton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Clifton is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Branch is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
- Harperville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Harperville is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harperville
- Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Beach is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach
- Cash
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cash is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
- Sebastopol
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Simpson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Coats
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Coats is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
- Magee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sanatorium
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
- D'Lo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- D'Lo is located in Simpson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Lo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
- Mendenhall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- 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 Lorena, see our County-by-County Page for Lorena.
Cemeteries Near Lorena ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lorena.
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 Lorena - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lorena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Lorena Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Good Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Burns UMB Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barber Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burns Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Baptist Cemetery
- The Burns Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
- Burns Baptist Church Cemetery
- Noblin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Luther Chapel Lutheran Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Roberts Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Cemetery
- The Zion Cemetery has also been known as:
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
- Derrick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (357 more) ...
- Providence Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elam Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lemon Christian Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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 Lorena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lorena.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
- Burns
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burns is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
- Homewood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Homewood is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Shongelo
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Shongelo is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shongelo
- Trenton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Trenton is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
- Norris
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Norris is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Pulaski
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Raleigh
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Polkville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Polkville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 819 people
- Daniel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Daniel is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniel
- Raworth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Raworth is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raworth
- Forest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Gunn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gunn is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bezer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bezer is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
- Sylvarena
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvarena is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvarena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Morton
(14 miles [22.5 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 Lorena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lorena.
Newspapers Published in Lorena ...
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 Lorena.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lorena, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lorena.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Lorena:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Smith County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Covington County
- Jasper County
- Leake 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> | 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 Lorena, 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- Lorena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |