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 Bell City (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 Bell City. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Bell City is located in Clay County.
To see how the shape of Arkansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Clay County: Greene, Randolph, Butler (MO), Dunklin (MO) & Ripley (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Bell City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bell City:
- Clay County (The home county of Bell City)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Nimmons
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Nimmons is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Greenway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Greenway is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Piggott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rector
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Francis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pollard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- McDougal
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- McDougal is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDougal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Moark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Moark is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moark
- Knobel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Knobel is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
- Corning
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Peach Orchard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Peach Orchard is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Craighead County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Red Onion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Red Onion is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Onion
- Monette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Marmaduke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bard
- Lafe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lafe is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
- Oak Grove Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove Heights is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,095 people
- Stonewall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Stonewall is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
- Paragould
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beech Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Beech Grove is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
- Crowley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crowley is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley
- Mississippi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Rington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Rington is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rington
- Arkmo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Arkmo is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkmo
- Gosnell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Gosnell is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,066 people
- Stark City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Stark City is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stark City
- Leachville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Blytheville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Manila
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Dell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Dell is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Butler County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Fagus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fagus is located in Butler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagus
- Qulin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Qulin is located in Butler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Qulin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Oglesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oglesville is located in Butler County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oglesville
- Broseley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Neelyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dunklin County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Kennett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- White Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Sumach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sumach is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumach
- Pine City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pine City is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
- Holcomb
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Caruth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Caruth is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caruth
- Senath
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Senath is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Senath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,596 people
- Gibson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gibson is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Tinkerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tinkerville is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinkerville
- Cotton Plant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cotton Plant is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
- Campbell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Clarkton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Clarkton is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,139 people
- New Madrid County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Gideon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tallapoosa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tallapoosa is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallapoosa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Risco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Risco is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Risco <1>
- Portageville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Parma is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 602 people
- Conran
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Conran is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conran
- Pemiscot County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Bragg City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bragg City is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Peach Orchard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peach Orchard is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
- Gobler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gobler is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gobler
- Mid City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mid City is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- Deering
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Deering is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering
- Homestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Homestown is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Pascola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pascola is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pascola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- North Wardell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- North Wardell is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wardell
- Wardell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Wardell is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
- Braggadocio
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Braggadocio is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braggadocio
- Steele
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hayti Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hayti Heights is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayti Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Stoddard County (MO)
- Bernie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dyer County (TN)
- Ayers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ayers is located in Dyer County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers
- Lake County (TN)
- Powells Ferry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Powells Ferry is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powells Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,319 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bell City, see our County-by-County Page for Bell City.
Cemeteries Near Bell City ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bell City.
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 Bell City - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bell City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Nimmons Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- McCulley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dunklin Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Marsh Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Gregory Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Williams Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Piggott Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Winston Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leonard Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sumach Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pine City Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (227 more) ...
- Lloyd Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Marys Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Rogers Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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 Bell City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bell City.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bell City, with the one closest to Bell City listed first.
- Kennett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- White Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Greenway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Greenway is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Sumach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sumach is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumach
- Piggott
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vincit
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Vincit is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincit
- Holcomb
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rector
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Senath
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Senath is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Senath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,596 people
- Caruth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Caruth is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caruth
- Saint Francis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pollard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Nesbit
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Nesbit is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbit
- Cotton Plant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cotton Plant is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
- Crockett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Crockett is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bell City. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bell City.
Newspapers Published in Bell City ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bell City.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bell City, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bell City.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Bell City:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Clay County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Craighead County
- Greene County
- Mississippi County
- Butler County
- Dunklin County
- New Madrid County
- Pemiscot County
- Stoddard County
- Dyer County
- Lake County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
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> | 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- Bell City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Bell City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |