Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Bests. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Bests to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bests, please Contact Us.
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 Bests (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 Bests. 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 hospitals and 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Bests is historic, it would have been located within present day Ouachita 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 Ouachita County: Calhoun, Clark, Columbia, Dallas, Nevada & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Bests. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bests:
- Ouachita County (The home county of Bests)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Bearden
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Millville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millville is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- East Camden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Camden is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Camden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Vanduzer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vanduzer is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanduzer
- Camden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cullendale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cullendale is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullendale
- Wyloe ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Wyloe is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyloe
- Bragg City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bragg City is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
- Joyce City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Joyce City is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyce City
- Chidester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chidester is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chidester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
- Louann
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Louann is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louann
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Liberty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Lufra ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lufra is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufra
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Banks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Banks is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Lanark
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lanark is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanark
- Jersey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Farmville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Farmville is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmville
- Gravelridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gravelridge is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelridge
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Harlow
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Harlow is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlow
- Hopeville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hopeville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Thornton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thornton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Hampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tinsman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tinsman is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinsman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Harrell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Harrell is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Vaden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Vaden is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaden
- Griffithtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Griffithtown is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffithtown
- Whelen Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Whelen Springs is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whelen Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Cleveland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Kingsland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kingsland is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- New Edinburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- New Edinburg is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Edinburg
- Saline
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Saline is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline
- Orlando
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Orlando is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- White Oak Bluff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- White Oak Bluff is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Bluff
- Rison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Staves
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Staves is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staves
- Toledo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Toledo is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Fordyce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ivan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ivan is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivan
- Bunn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bunn is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunn
- Sparkman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sparkman is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparkman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 359 people
- Manning
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Manning is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
- Carthage
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Carthage is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Dalark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dalark is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalark
- Grant County
- Leola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Nevada County
- Bluff City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Smackover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Sandy Land
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sandy Land is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Land
- Calion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Calion is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
- Norphlet
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Norphlet is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norphlet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 772 people
- White County
- Holly Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Holly Springs is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bests, see our County-by-County Page for Bests.
Cemeteries Near Bests ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bests.
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 Bests - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bests covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Moss Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Moss Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Harlow Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Evans Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Calaway Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Clemons Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Double Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dedman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thomas Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wheelers Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Holly Springs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (193 more) ...
- Stroud Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- McDonald Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Stevenson 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.
While we didn't find Bests in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bests.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bests, with the one closest to Bests listed first.
- Bearden
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Harlow
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Harlow is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlow
- Millville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millville is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Hopeville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hopeville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeville
- Eagle Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eagle Mills is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Mills
- Thornton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thornton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Holly Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Holly Springs is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Lilley ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lilley is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilley
- Chambersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Chambersville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersville
- Ramsey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ramsey is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Vanduzer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vanduzer is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanduzer
- Locust Bayou
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Locust Bayou is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Bayou
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Fordyce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Grove is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
- Hampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bests. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bests.
Newspapers Published in Bests ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bests.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bests, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bests.
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 helpful 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 Bests:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Ouachita County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradley County
- Calhoun County
- Clark County
- Cleveland County
- Dallas County
- Grant County
- Nevada County
- Union County
- White County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bests, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bests) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |