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 Rayburn (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 Rayburn. 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 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.
Rayburn is located in Mason County.
To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Mason County: Gallia (OH), Meigs (OH), Cabell, Jackson & Putnam.
Below are the counties that are near Rayburn. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rayburn:
- Mason County (The home county of Rayburn)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Flatrock
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Flatrock is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock
- Sassafras
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sassafras is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassafras
- Meadowbrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Meadowbrook is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Letart
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Letart is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letart
- York
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- York is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Brighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brighton is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Point Pleasant
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Henderson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Columbia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- West Columbia is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Columbia
- Clifton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Clifton is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- New Haven
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fivemile
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fivemile is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivemile
- Cabell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Crown City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Crown City is located in Cabell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown City
- Milton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Millwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Millwood is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
- Huntsville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Huntsville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Willow Grove ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Grove is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Angerona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Angerona is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angerona
- Flatwoods
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Flatwoods is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Ravenswood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sherman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sherman is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Ripley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Skull Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Skull Run is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skull Run
- Sandyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mozelle ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mozelle is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mozelle
- Neptune
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Neptune is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Buffalo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pliny
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pliny is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pliny
- Indian Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Indian Village is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Fraziers Bottom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fraziers Bottom is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraziers Bottom
- Midway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Midway is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Eleanor
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Red House
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Paradise
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Paradise is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Winfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Sigman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sigman is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigman
- Bancroft
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bancroft is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
- Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
- Roane County
- Flint Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Flint Town is located in Roane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Town
- Wirt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Windy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Windy is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy
- Peewee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Peewee is located in Wirt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peewee
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Wesley ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wesley is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
- Eli
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Eli is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli
- Athens County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Pratts Fork
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pratts Fork is located in Athens County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratts Fork
- Shade
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Vanderhoof
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Vanderhoof is located in Athens County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderhoof
- Albany
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Carsey Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Carsey Town is located in Athens County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsey Town
- Coolville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Youba
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Youba is located in Athens County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youba
- Guysville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Guysville is located in Athens County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guysville
- Stewart
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stewart is located in Athens County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
- Gallia County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Cheshire
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cheshire is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheshire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Carlton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carlton is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
- Kyger
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kyger is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyger
- Gallipolis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Westbrook Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Westbrook Village is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
- Mills Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Mills Village is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills Village
- Kerr
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Kerr is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
- Rodney
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Rodney is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
- Bladen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bladen is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladen
- Eureka
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eureka is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Wigner ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wigner is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wigner
- Cora
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cora is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
- Jackson County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Pattonsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pattonsville is located in Jackson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pattonsville
- Rempel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rempel is located in Jackson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rempel
- Oak Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Banner ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Banner is located in Jackson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Blackfork Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Blackfork Junction is located in Jackson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackfork Junction
- Lawrence County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Greasy Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Greasy Ridge is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greasy Ridge
- Waterloo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Waterloo is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Athalia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Athalia is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athalia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Scottown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Scottown is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottown
- Sherritts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sherritts is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherritts
- Meigs County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Letart Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Letart Falls is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letart Falls
- Plants
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Plants is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plants
- Middleport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Syracuse
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Racine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pomeroy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Welshtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Welshtown is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welshtown
- Dorcas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dorcas is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorcas
- Thomas Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Thomas Village is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Village
- Spiller
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Spiller is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spiller
- Rutland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bashan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bashan is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashan
- Vinton County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Wilkesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilkesville is located in Vinton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Arbaugh
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Arbaugh is located in Vinton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbaugh
- Vales Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vales Mills is located in Vinton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vales Mills
- Oreton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oreton is located in Vinton County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rayburn, see our County-by-County Page for Rayburn.
Cemeteries Near Rayburn ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rayburn.
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 Rayburn - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rayburn covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Hoschar Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Infirmary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Lutton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Ball Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Greer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Upper Flats - White Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rickard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Eddy Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ward Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Peter Fry Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (804 more) ...
- Zuspan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- McCulloch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Rayburn in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rayburn.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rayburn, with the one closest to Rayburn listed first.
- Flatrock
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Flatrock is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock
- Oldtown ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oldtown is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldtown
- Ambrosia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ambrosia is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrosia
- Sassafras
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sassafras is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassafras
- Point Pleasant
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Brighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Brighton is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Letart Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Letart Falls is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letart Falls
- Letart
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Letart is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letart
- Henderson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Couch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Couch is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couch
- Rollins
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rollins is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Plants
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Plants is located in Meigs County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plants
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Maggie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Maggie is located in Mason County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maggie
- Cheshire
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cheshire is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheshire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Addison
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Addison is located in Gallia County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rayburn. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rayburn.
Newspapers Published in Rayburn ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rayburn.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rayburn, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rayburn.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Rayburn:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Mason County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cabell County
- Jackson County
- Putnam County
- Roane County
- Wirt County
- Wood County
- Athens County
- Gallia County
- Jackson County
- Lawrence County
- Meigs County
- Vinton County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Rayburn) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Rayburn, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |