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 Raleigh (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 Raleigh. 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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Raleigh is located in Shelby County.
To see how the shape of Tennessee's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Shelby County: Crittenden (AR), DeSoto (MS), Marshall (MS), Fayette & Tipton.
Below are the counties that are near Raleigh. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Raleigh:
- Shelby County (The home county of Raleigh)
- The following are listed by their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Spring Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Lake is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Estimated population in 2014: 34,269 people
- Binghampton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Binghampton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghampton
- Bartlett
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- The Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- The Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
- Lucy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lucy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Woodstock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodstock is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Hunt Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hunt Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,234 people
- Memphis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cordova
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Millington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ramsey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Oakville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Parkway Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Parkway Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway Village
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Canadaville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Canadaville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadaville
- Hickory Withe
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Hickory Withe is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Withe
- Gallaway
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Elba
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Elba is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Piperton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Piperton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piperton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,128 people
- New Bethel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- New Bethel is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bethel
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,324 people
- Oakland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Oakland is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,669 people
- Braden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rossville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Macon
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Macon is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Feathers Chapel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Feathers Chapel is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Feathers Chapel
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,102 people
- Williston
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Williston is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Hancock County
- Keeling
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Keeling is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeling
- Haywood County
- Fredonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fredonia is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Lauderdale County
- Fulton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fulton is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Tipton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Wilkinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wilkinsville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinsville
- Atoka
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Drummonds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Munford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Idaville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Idaville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Corona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Corona is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Randolph
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Randolph is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Brighton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clopton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clopton is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clopton
- Estimated population in 2014: 9,889 people
- Gainesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gainesville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
- Estimated population in 2014: 958 people
- Gilt Edge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Gilt Edge is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilt Edge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Burlison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mason
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Crittenden County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Mound City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mound City is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Hulbert
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hulbert is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulbert
- Marion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Marion is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,290 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>
- Sunset
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Sunset is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- West Memphis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- James Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- James Mill is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Mill
- Jericho
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Jericho is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Amanca
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Amanca is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanca
- Clarkedale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Clarkedale is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Turrell
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Crawfordsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Edmondson
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Edmondson is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmondson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 378 people
- Gilmore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gilmore is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Mississippi County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Frenchmans Bayou
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Frenchmans Bayou is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchmans Bayou
- Joiner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Joiner is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
- Wilson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 803 people
- Bassett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bassett is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Bardstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bardstown is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardstown
- Birdsong
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Birdsong is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Denwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Denwood is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denwood
- Driver
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Driver is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driver
- Marie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Marie is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Whitton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Whitton is located in Mississippi County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitton
- DeSoto County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Olive Branch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Southaven
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- De Soto Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- De Soto Village is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto Village
- Horn Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Aldens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Aldens is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldens
- Lynchburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lynchburg is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
- Southhaven
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Southhaven is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southhaven
- Walls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Walls is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,441 people
- Former name for Walls:
- Alpika
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walls <1>
- Nesbit
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bright
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bright is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright
- Glover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Glover is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Norfolk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Norfolk is located in DeSoto County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk
- Hernando
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Marshall County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Barton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Barton is located in Marshall County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton
- Cayce
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cayce is located in Marshall County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
- Byhalia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Taska
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Taska is located in Marshall County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taska
- Mount Pleasant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Victoria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Victoria is located in Marshall County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Raleigh, see our County-by-County Page for Raleigh.
Cemeteries Near Raleigh ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Raleigh.
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 Raleigh - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Raleigh covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Raleigh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Egypt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Memphis National Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis National Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Memphis National Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Memphis.
- The Memphis National Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mississippi River National Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #15596 <2>
- Barton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Vernon Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eastlawn Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Forest Hill Cemetery East
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pt. Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hill Chapel Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Potters Field
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (417 more) ...
- Ward Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery is located in Memphis.
- The St. Johns Episcopal Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Central Avenue Cemetery
- Ridge High Cemetery
- St. Johns Episcopal Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1164395 <2>
- Memorial Park Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Park Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Memorial Park Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Memphis.
- The Memorial Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Memphis Memorial Park
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #15595 <2>
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Raleigh had a population of 139 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Raleigh, with the one closest to Raleigh listed first.
- Berclair
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Berclair is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berclair
- Bartlett
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Frayser
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Frayser is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frayser
- Woodstock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodstock is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Lucy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lucy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
- Buntyn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Buntyn is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buntyn
- Pearley ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pearley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearley
- Memphis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bellevue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bellevue is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Hopefield ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Hopefield is located in Crittenden County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopefield
- Oakville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Oakville is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
- Brunswick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Millington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ramsey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Germantown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Raleigh. See our List of 1890's Communities around Raleigh.
Newspapers Published in Raleigh ...
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 228 newspapers that have been published in the area around Raleigh.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Raleigh, 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 Raleigh.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Raleigh:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Hancock County
- Haywood County
- Lauderdale County
- Tipton County
- Crittenden County
- Mississippi County
- DeSoto County
- Marshall County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Raleigh, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Raleigh) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |