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 Berlin (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 Berlin. 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/Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest 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 south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties/parishes 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 south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Berlin is located in Ashley 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 Ashley County: Bradley, Chicot, Drew, Union, Morehouse (LA) & Union (LA).
Below are the counties/parishes that are near Berlin. For each of these counties/parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Berlin:
- Ashley County (The home county of Berlin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Elon ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elon is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Wilmot
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wilmot is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Hamburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- North Crossett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Crossett is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Crossett
- Parkdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Crossett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Meridian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Meridian is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- West Crossett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- West Crossett is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Crossett
- Portland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Fountain Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fountain Hill is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Montrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Montrose is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Blanchton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Blanchton is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchton
- Long View Ferry
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Long View Ferry is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View Ferry
- Johnsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Johnsville is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
- Sturgis ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sturgis is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Ingalls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ingalls is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalls
- Chicot County
- Eudora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Drew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Lacey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lacey is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Jerome
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jerome is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Felsenthal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Felsenthal is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felsenthal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Huttig
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Huttig is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huttig
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Bolding
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bolding is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolding
- Lapile
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lapile is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapile
- Morehouse Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Jones
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bonita
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brodnax ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
- Mer Rouge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bastrop
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Collinston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Windsor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Windsor is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Union Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Haile
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Haile is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haile
- Marion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ouachita City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ouachita City is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ouachita City
- West Carroll Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Fiske
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fiske is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiske
- Kilbourne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Forest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Forest is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest <1>
- Pioneer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Berlin, see our County-by-County Page for Berlin.
Cemeteries Near Berlin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Berlin.
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 Berlin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Berlin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Extra UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Extra UMC Cemetery
- The Extra UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Extra Cemetery
- Extra Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #53838 <2>
- Poley Bridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Antioch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Harris Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cleveland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Carter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Causey Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Grant Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Beech Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hogue Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (130 more) ...
- Pinewood Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- United Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hamburg Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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 Berlin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Berlin.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Berlin, with the one closest to Berlin listed first.
- Elon ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elon is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Hamburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Causey ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Causey is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Causey
- Jones
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bonita
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Parkdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Brodnax ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
- Sunshine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sunshine is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Snyder
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Snyder is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Portland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Berea
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Berea is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Milo
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Milo is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Fountain Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fountain Hill is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Mer Rouge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Trafalgar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Trafalgar is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trafalgar
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Berlin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Berlin.
Newspapers Published in Berlin ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Berlin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Berlin, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Berlin.
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 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 Berlin:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Ashley County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradley County
- Chicot County
- Drew County
- Union County
- Morehouse Parish
- Union Parish
- West Carroll Parish
- 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> | 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 Berlin, 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- Berlin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |