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 Melis (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 Melis. 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/Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.
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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Melis is located in Walthall 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 Walthall County: Washington (LA), Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion & Pike.
Below are the counties/parishes that are near Melis. For each of these counties/parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Melis:
- Walthall County (The home county of Melis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Sartinville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sartinville is located in Walthall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartinville
- Tylertown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Amite County
- McElveen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- McElveen is located in Amite County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElveen
- Jefferson Davis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Oak Vale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Vale is located in Jefferson Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Vale
- Bassfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bassfield is located in Jefferson Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Prentiss
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Verna
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Verna is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verna
- Tilton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Tilton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Arm
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Arm is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arm
- Monticello
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rosella
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rosella is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosella
- Silver Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Nola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Nola is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nola
- Hooker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Hooker is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Wellman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wellman is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellman
- Norfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Norfield is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfield
- Brookhaven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Kokomo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Goss
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Goss is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
- Expose
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Expose is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Expose
- Columbia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Twin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Twin is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin
- Pinebur
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pinebur is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinebur
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Topisaw
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Topisaw is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topisaw
- Holmesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Holmesville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Bacots
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bacots is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bacots
- Smithburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Smithburg is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithburg
- Bear Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bear Town is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Town
- McComb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Magnolia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Summit
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Chatawa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chatawa is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatawa
- Osyka
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tangipahoa Parish (LA)
- Kentwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Washington Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Popeville ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Popeville is located in Washington Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popeville
- Mount Hermon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pine
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Pine is located in Washington Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine
- Sunny Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sunny Hill is located in Washington Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
- Angie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Angie is located in Washington Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angie <1>
- Franklinton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Varnado
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Stoney Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stoney Point is located in Washington Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Point
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Melis, see our County-by-County Page for Melis.
Cemeteries Near Melis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melis.
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 Melis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Melis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Spence Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Boyd Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Isaac Duncan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Charlie Duncan Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- China Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Darbun Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Magees Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Foil Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Duncan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Holmes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Darbun Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (688 more) ...
- Elisha Thornhill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rushing Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kokomo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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 Melis in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Melis.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Melis, with the one closest to Melis listed first.
- Topisaw
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Topisaw is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topisaw
- Holmesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Holmesville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Tilton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Tilton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
- Goss
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Goss is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
- Ruth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ruth is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Oak Vale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Vale is located in Jefferson Davis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Vale
- Smithburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Smithburg is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithburg
- Pickwick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Pickwick is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick
- Columbia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- McComb
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fernwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fernwood is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernwood
- Magnolia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Mount Hermon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Popeville ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Popeville is located in Washington Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popeville
- Wellman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wellman is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellman
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Melis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Melis.
Newspapers Published in Melis ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melis, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melis.
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 Melis:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Walthall County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amite County
- Jefferson Davis County
- Lawrence County
- Lincoln County
- Marion County
- Pike County
- Tangipahoa Parish
- Washington 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> | 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 Melis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Melis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |