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 Rays Beach (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 Rays Beach. 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.
Name Variations for Rays Beach ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Rays Beach: Rays Bch.
- While the name of this community is Rays Beach, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Rays Beach may originally have been Ray's Beach.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Rays Beach might be written as Ray Beach.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Rays Beach is located in Gates County.
To see how the shape of North Carolina's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Gates County: Camden, Chowan, Hertford, Pasquotank, Perquimans & Southampton (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Rays Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rays Beach:
- Gates County (The home county of Rays Beach)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Eure
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gatesville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Roduco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Roduco is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roduco
- Gates
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Reynoldson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Reynoldson is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldson
- Willeyton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Willeyton is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willeyton
- Mintonsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mintonsville is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mintonsville
- Mitchells Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mitchells Fork is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchells Fork
- Muddy Cross
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Muddy Cross is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddy Cross
- Hobbsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hobbsville is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbsville
- Sunbury
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Bertie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Powellsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Powellsville is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
- Colerain
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Colerain is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Hexlena
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hexlena is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hexlena
- Aulander
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Aulander is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aulander
- Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
- Askewville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Askewville is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Askewville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
- Ashland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Edenhouse
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Edenhouse is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenhouse
- Edenhouse has also been known as:
- Eden House Point
- Eden House
- Edenhouse Point
- Merry Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Merry Hill is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Hill
- Drew
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Drew is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drew
- Kelford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kelford is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Roxobel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Roxobel is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Lewiston Woodville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lewiston Woodville is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston Woodville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 473 people
- Camden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Horseshoe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Horseshoe is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
- South Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Chowan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Gliden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Gliden is located in Chowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gliden
- Ryland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ryland is located in Chowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryland
- Center Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Center Hill is located in Chowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Mavaton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mavaton is located in Chowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavaton
- Edenton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hertford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Tunis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Tunis is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
- South Tunis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- South Tunis is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Tunis
- Cofield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cofield is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cofield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
- Tuscarora Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tuscarora Beach is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuscarora Beach
- Tuscarora Beach has also been known as:
- Barfield
- Barfields
- Harrellsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Harrellsville is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrellsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
- Winton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ahoskie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Como
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Poor Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Poor Town is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poor Town
- Barretts Crossroads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Barretts Crossroads is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barretts Crossroads
- Earleys
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Earleys is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earleys
- Murfreesboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Northampton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Pendleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pendleton is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
- Severn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Severn is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Severn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Woodland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Conway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Eagletown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Eagletown is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagletown
- Potecasi
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Potecasi is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potecasi
- Lasker
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lasker is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Rich Square
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Margarettsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Margarettsville is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Margarettsville
- Perquimans County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Snow Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Perquimans County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Belvidere
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Nicanor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Nicanor is located in Perquimans County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicanor
- Winfall
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Yeopim Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Yeopim Station is located in Perquimans County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeopim Station
- Yeopim Station has also been known as:
- Yeopim
- Hertford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Perquimans County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Burgess
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burgess is located in Perquimans County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
- Woodville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in Perquimans County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Franklin City (VA)
- Franklin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Isle of Wight County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Carrsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Carrsville is located in Isle of Wight County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Walters
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Walters is located in Isle of Wight County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Windsor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Windsor is located in Isle of Wight County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,800 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windsor <2>
- Southampton County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Riverdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Riverdale is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
- Kingsdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Kingsdale is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsdale
- Statesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Statesville is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statesville
- Sunbeam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sunbeam is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
- Delaware
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Delaware is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
- Watkins Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Watkins Corner is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins Corner
- Handsom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Handsom is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handsom
- Isaac
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Isaac is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isaac
- Cypress Manor
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Cypress Manor is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Manor
- Hunterdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Hunterdale is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunterdale
- Newsoms
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Newsoms is located in Southampton County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newsoms
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Boykins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Suffolk City (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Pittmantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pittmantown is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittmantown
- Whaley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whaley is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Whaleyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whaleyville is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaleyville
- Oak Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Holland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Holland is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Manning
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Manning is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
- Russell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Russell is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Kilby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kilby is located in Suffolk City (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilby
- Suffolk
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rays Beach, see our County-by-County Page for Rays Beach.
Cemeteries Near Rays Beach ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rays Beach.
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 Rays Beach - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rays Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Askew Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Willoughby Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vann Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brown Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Brantley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Weaver Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brinkley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Memorial Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Creek Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (91 more) ...
- Zion UMC Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Winslow - Ward Family Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Britt - Benthall Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
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.<5>
While we didn't find Rays Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rays Beach.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rays Beach, with the one closest to Rays Beach listed first.
- Tunis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Tunis is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
- South Tunis
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- South Tunis is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Tunis
- Eure
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Harrellsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Harrellsville is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrellsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
- Gatesville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Winton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bethlehem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bethlehem is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
- Sarem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sarem is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarem
- Gates
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Union is located in Hertford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Ahoskie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Willeyton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Willeyton is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willeyton
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Reynoldson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Reynoldson is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldson
- Dort
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dort is located in Gates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dort
- Powellsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Powellsville is located in Bertie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rays Beach. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rays Beach.
Newspapers Published in Rays Beach ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rays Beach.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rays Beach, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rays Beach.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Rays Beach:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Gates County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bertie County
- Camden County
- Chowan County
- Hertford County
- Northampton County
- Perquimans County
- Franklin City
- Isle of Wight County
- Southampton County
- Suffolk City
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rays Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Rays Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |