Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Valena. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Valena to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Valena, 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 Valena (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 Valena. 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 and doctors 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 Valena 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 Valena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Valena:
- Attala County (The home county of Valena)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Newport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Newport is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Sallis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Zemuly
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Zemuly is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zemuly
- Possumneck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Possumneck is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possumneck
- Kosciusko
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Point is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Hesterville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hesterville is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesterville
- Auris ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Auris is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auris
- Ethel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ethel is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
- Langley ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Langley is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langley
- Gregory ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gregory is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Vaiden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Coila
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Coila is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coila
- Holmes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Goodman
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pickens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Richland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Richland is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Durant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lexington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- West
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Jones Crossing
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Jones Crossing is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Crossing
- Coxburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Coxburg is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxburg
- Tolarville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Tolarville is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolarville
- Acona
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Acona is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acona
- Ituma
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ituma is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ituma
- Gwin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gwin is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwin
- Leake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Saint Ann
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Ann is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Ann
- Redwater
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Redwater is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwater
- Carthage
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Coosa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Coosa is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosa
- Lena
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tuscola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tuscola is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscola
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Camden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Sharpsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sharpsburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsburg
- Davis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Davis is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Cobbville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cobbville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbville
- Sharon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sharon is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Mill Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mill Town is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
- Maris Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Maris Town is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maris Town
- Canton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Madisonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Madisonville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonville
- Scott County
- Ludlow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ludlow is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
- Yazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Vaughan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Vaughan is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
- Fordyke
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fordyke is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyke
- Evans
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Evans is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Nod
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Nod is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nod
- Eden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Eden is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Pearce ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pearce is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearce
- Dover ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dover is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Yazoo City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Yazoo City is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yazoo City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
- Former names for Yazoo City:
- Hannan's Bluff
- Manchester
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yazoo City <2>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Valena, see our County-by-County Page for Valena.
Cemeteries Near Valena ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valena.
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 Valena - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Valena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Pole Pen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- New Banyon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Saint Mark Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ables Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Seneasha Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Roby Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dickerson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pisgah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (412 more) ...
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sandy Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Union 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.
While we didn't find Valena in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Valena.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Valena, with the one closest to Valena listed first.
- Goodman
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Shrock ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Shrock is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrock
- Pickens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Newport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Newport is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Richland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Richland is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Cameron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cameron is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Sallis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Durant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Franklin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Oaks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oaks is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Camden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- McAdams
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McAdams is located in Attala County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdams
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ebenezer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ebenezer is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
- Vaughan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Vaughan is located in Yazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
- Thomastown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Thomastown is located in Leake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomastown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Valena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Valena.
Newspapers Published in Valena ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valena.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Valena, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Valena.
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 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 Valena:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Attala County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Holmes County
- Leake County
- Madison County
- Scott County
- Yazoo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Mississippi
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 Valena, 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> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Valena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |