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 Rayville (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 Rayville. 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.
Rayville is located in Grays Harbor County.
To see how the shape of Washington's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Grays Harbor County: Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, Pacific & Thurston.
Below are the counties that are near Rayville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rayville:
- Grays Harbor County (The home county of Rayville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
- Garden City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- McCleary
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sine
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
- McCleary Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
- Malone
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Elma
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Elma is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <1>
- Malone - Porter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
- Porter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Satsop
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Satsop is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsop
- Brady
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brady is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
- Cedarville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Oakville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Montesano
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
- Galvin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fords Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
- Doty
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fayette
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fayette is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Centralia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mason County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
- New Kamilche
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
- Matlock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Matlock is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matlock
- Deckerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Deckerville is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
- Shelton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bayshore
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bayshore is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
- Mohrweis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mohrweis is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
- Skokomish
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Skokomish is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
- Union ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Union is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Potlatch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Tahuya
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hoodsport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Grapeview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lilliwaup
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pierce County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
- Herron Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Longbranch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
- Home
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Home is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- Lakebay
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian is located in Pierce County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Thurston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
- Bordeaux ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
- Littlerock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Independence
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Independence is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Rochester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Olympia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Tumwater
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Grand Mound
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Olympia
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lacey
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Puget
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Puget is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
- Tanglewilde
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
- Tenino
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kellys Korner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rayville, see our County-by-County Page for Rayville.
Cemeteries Near Rayville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rayville.
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 Rayville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rayville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
- McCleary Pythian Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oddfellow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Masonic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elma Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sharon Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Turnow Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Squaxin Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shelton Memorial Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wynooche Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oakville Pioneer Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- McLane Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLane Cemetery
- The McLane Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mud Bay Cemetery
- Miller Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (21 more) ...
- Oakland Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Union Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Mills & Mills Memorial Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills & Mills Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mills & Mills Memorial Park is located outside and to the southwest of Tumwater.
- The Mills & Mills Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Olympic Memorial Garden Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76974 <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>
While we didn't find Rayville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rayville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rayville, with the one closest to Rayville listed first.
- Elma
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Elma is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <1>
- Porter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Satsop
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Satsop is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsop
- New Kamilche
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- New Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
- Kamilche
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kamilche is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kamilche
- Cedarville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Montesano
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Matlock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Matlock is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matlock
- Oakville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Melbourne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Melbourne is located in Grays Harbor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
- Shelton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Littlerock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Belmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Belmore is located in Thurston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
- Rochester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Tumwater
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rayville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rayville.
Newspapers Published in Rayville ...
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 161 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rayville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rayville, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rayville.
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 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 Rayville:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to Grays Harbor County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lewis County
- Mason County
- Pierce County
- Thurston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Washington
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 Rayville, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rayville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |