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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 McDonald (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 McDonald. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

McDonald is located in Covington 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 Covington County: Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Simpson & Smith.

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

  • Covington County     (The home county of McDonald)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Collins
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Kola
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Kola is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kola
    • Williamsburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Williamsburg is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
    • Seminary
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Arbo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Arbo is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbo
    • Hot Coffee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
    • Mount Olive
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Olive is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
    • Sanford
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sanford is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
    • Lux
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lux is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lux
  • Forrest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Hattiesburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Petal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Petal is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petal <1>
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Stringer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Moss
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Moss is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
      • Moss has also been known as:
      • Mossville
    • Bay Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jefferson Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Melba
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Melba is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melba
    • Bassfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bassfield is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Prentiss
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Prentiss is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentiss
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 925 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prentiss <1>
    • Oak Vale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Vale is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Vale
  • Jones County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Soso
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Soso is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
    • Amy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Amy is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
    • Ellisville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Service
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Service is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Service
    • Laurel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Antioch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Antioch is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Sumrall
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • West Hattiesburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • West Hattiesburg is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hattiesburg
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Grange ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Grange is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange
    • New Hebron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Silver Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Arm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Arm is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arm
    • Hooker
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Hooker is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
    • Tilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Tilton is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Expose
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Expose is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Expose
    • Goss
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Goss is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
    • Columbia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Simpson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Jaynesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
    • Coats
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Coats is located in Simpson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coats
    • Magee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Magee is located in Simpson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,094 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magee <1>
    • Sanatorium
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Sanatorium is located in Simpson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanatorium
    • Shivers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Shivers is located in Simpson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shivers
    • Westville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Westville is located in Simpson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
    • Mendenhall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McDonald, with the one closest to McDonald listed first.
    • Taylorsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mize
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bezer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Bezer is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bezer
    • Mineral Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Mineral Springs is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
    • Raleigh
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Sylvarena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • 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 McDonald, see our County-by-County Page for McDonald.

Cemeteries Near McDonald ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McDonald.

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

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

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

  • McDonald Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Cold Springs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Collins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Ora Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Hemeter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Horeb Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Williamsburg General Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Williamsburg Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Williamsburg Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Bullock Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Watts Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (608 more) ...
    • Kola Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Salem Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Coulter Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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 McDonald in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McDonald.

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

  • Ora
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ora is located in Covington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
  • Williamsburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Williamsburg is located in Covington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
  • Moscos
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Moscos is located in Covington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscos
  • Mount Olive
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Olive is located in Covington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people
  • Bunker Hill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bunker Hill is located in Smith County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
  • Jaynesville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jaynesville is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaynesville
  • Taylorsville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mize
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Gitano
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Gitano is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gitano
  • Moselle
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Moselle is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moselle
  • Magee
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Magee is located in Simpson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,094 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magee <1>
  • Soso
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Soso is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Eastabuchie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Eastabuchie is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastabuchie
    • Amy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Amy is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amy
    • Ellisville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in McDonald ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around McDonald.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McDonald, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McDonald.

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 McDonald:

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 McDonald, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- McDonald) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.