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The Commemorative Quarter for North Dakota





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 Ray (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 Ray. 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 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.

Ray is located in Williams County.

To see how the shape of North Dakota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Williams County: Roosevelt (MT), Sheridan (MT), Burke, Divide, McKenzie & Mountrail.

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

  • Williams County     (The home county of Ray)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray, with the one closest to Ray listed first.
    • Wheelock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheelock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelock
      • Wheelock is located in Williams County
    • Epping
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Epping have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epping
      • Epping is located in Williams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Epping <2>
    • Tioga
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
      • Tioga is located in Williams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,391 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tioga <2>
    • Springbrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
      • Springbrook is located in Williams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Wildrose
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Corinth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
      • Corinth is located in Williams County
    • Hamlet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
      • Hamlet is located in Williams County
    • McGregor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Alamo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Jessie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jessie
      • Lake Jessie is located in Williams County
    • Appam
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appam
      • Appam is located in Williams County
    • Williston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Zahl
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Burke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray, with the one closest to Ray listed first.
    • Battleview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battleview
      • Battleview is located in Burke County
    • Powers Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • McKenzie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray, with the one closest to Ray listed first.
    • Banks ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Banks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in McKenzie County
    • Keene
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Mountrail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ray, with the one closest to Ray listed first.
    • White Earth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Ross
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Ross is located in Mountrail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ray ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ray.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ray. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ray and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ray.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> of Ray.

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 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 Ray:

Cemeteries Near Ray ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ray.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
  • Sunset Rest Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Rest Cemetery
  • German Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
  • Wheelock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheelock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheelock Cemetery
  • Temple Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Temple Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Temple Cemetery
  • Epping Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Epping Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Epping Cemetery
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • United Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the United Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the United Cemetery
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
  • Bethany Valley Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Valley Cemetery
  • Eastside Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eastside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eastside Cemetery
  • Bakken Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bakken Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bakken Cemetery
  • Continue List   (48 more) ...
    • St. Paul Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • St. Olaf Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Olaf Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Olaf Cemetery

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ray had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Ray had a population of 943 people.

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

  • Wheelock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheelock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelock
    • Wheelock is located in Williams County
  • Springbrook
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
    • Springbrook is located in Williams County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
  • White Earth
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Avoca
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avoca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
    • Avoca is located in Williams County
  • Williston
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Manitou
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manitou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manitou
    • Manitou is located in Mountrail County
  • Ross
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
    • Ross is located in Mountrail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <2>

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ray. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of North Dakota: www.nd.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ray) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.3454, Longitude: -103.1641    
<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.
<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 Ray, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024