52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 – Week 44: Rural

NOTE: I accepted the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge headed by fellow genealogy blogger Amy Johnson Crow. The idea behind this challenge is that you will receive email prompts, a word or phrase, every week, and you find something about your research or family history to write about.  Click HERE to read my first 52 Ancestors blog post in 2019.

Grays, Arkansas was a small community in Woodruff County, Arkansas, known in the early 1900s for its role as a postal stop. The city’s population started to decline in 1946. Today the community of Grays consists of farming and timber production and is no longer an incorporated city.

Grays, Arkansas holds a special place in my family history. This is where my mother was born as well as her mother and her siblings. This was a place of family, community, daily life, and love. Though the town itself has faded away, it will always remain a part of my family history.