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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Mercer. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Mercer to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Mercer, please Contact Us.

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 Mercer (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 Mercer. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Mercer is historic, it would have been located within present day Attala 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 Attala County: Carroll, Choctaw, Holmes, Leake, Madison, Montgomery, Neshoba, Winston & Yazoo.

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

  • Attala County     (The home county of Mercer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mercer, with the one closest to Mercer listed first.
    • Ethel
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Ethel is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
    • Gregory ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Gregory is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
    • Kosciusko
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • McCool
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • McCool is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Langley ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Langley is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langley
    • Hesterville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Hesterville is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesterville
    • Rocky Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Point is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
    • Zemuly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Zemuly is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zemuly
    • Possumneck
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Possumneck is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possumneck
    • Sallis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Auris ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Auris is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auris
    • Newport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Newport is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
  • Carroll County
    • Vaiden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Choctaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mercer, with the one closest to Mercer listed first.
    • French Camp
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Weir
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Weir is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weir
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weir <2>
    • Bankston ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Bankston is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankston
    • Ackerman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Williams
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Williams is located in Choctaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
  • Holmes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mercer, with the one closest to Mercer listed first.
    • West
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Durant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Goodman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Leake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mercer, with the one closest to Mercer listed first.
    • Coosa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Coosa is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosa
    • Redwater
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Redwater is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwater
    • Saint Ann
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Ann is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Ann
    • Carthage
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Standing Pine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Standing Pine is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standing Pine
    • High Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • High Hill is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Hill
    • Tuscola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Tuscola is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscola
    • Walnut Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Madison County
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mercer, with the one closest to Mercer listed first.
    • Sibleyton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sibleyton is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibleyton
      • Sibleyton has also been known as:
      • Sibleton
    • Kilmichael
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Kilmichael is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilmichael
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
  • Neshoba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mercer, with the one closest to Mercer listed first.
    • Pearl River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Pearl River is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl River
    • Laurel Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Laurel Hill is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
    • Hope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Hope is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Dowdville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Dowdville is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowdville
    • Philadelphia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Dixon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dixon is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
  • Winston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mercer, with the one closest to Mercer listed first.
    • Vowell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Vowell is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowell
    • Hinze
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Hinze is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinze
    • Plattsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Plattsburg is located in Winston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
    • Noxapater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Louisville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mercer, see our County-by-County Page for Mercer.

Cemeteries Near Mercer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mercer.

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

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

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

  • Breazeale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Tabernacle Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Brooks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the southeast of Kosciusko.
    • The Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Jerusalem Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1992671 <4>
  • Smyrna Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Carson Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Leviton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (430 more) ...
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Doty Springs Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo 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.

While we didn't find Mercer in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mercer.

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

  • Newtonville ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Newtonville is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtonville
  • Smyrna
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Smyrna is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna
  • Ethel
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Ethel is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
  • Kosciusko
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Vowell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Vowell is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowell
  • Rural Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Rural Hill is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
  • Hinze
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Hinze is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinze
  • Marydell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Marydell is located in Leake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marydell
  • McVille
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • McVille is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
  • Renfroe
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Renfroe is located in Leake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfroe
  • Rome
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Rome is located in Winston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
  • McCool
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • McCool is located in Attala County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCool
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Alice
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Alice is located in Neshoba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
    • McAdams
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • McAdams is located in Attala County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdams
    • Coosa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Coosa is located in Leake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosa

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

Newspapers Published in Mercer ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mercer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mercer, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mercer.

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 helpful 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 Mercer:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Mercer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mercer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.