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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 Bethel Chapel (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 Bethel Chapel. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Bethel Chapel is located in Polk County.

To see how the shape of Arkansas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Howard, Montgomery, Scott, Sevier, Le Flore (OK) & McCurtain (OK).

Below are the counties that are near Bethel Chapel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethel Chapel:

  • Polk County     (The home county of Bethel Chapel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.
    • Vandervoort
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vandervoort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandervoort
      • Vandervoort is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Hatton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
      • Hatton is located in Polk County
    • Cove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hatfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wickes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wickes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickes
      • Wickes is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 741 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wickes <2>
    • Bog Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bog Springs
      • Bog Springs is located in Polk County
    • Potter Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter Junction
      • Potter Junction is located in Polk County
    • Grannis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grannis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grannis
      • Grannis is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
    • Potter
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
      • Potter is located in Polk County
    • Dallas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
      • Dallas is located in Polk County
    • Mena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Board Camp
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Board Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Board Camp
      • Board Camp is located in Polk County
    • Mountain Fork
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mountain Fork. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Fork
      • Mountain Fork is located in Polk County
  • Calhoun County
    • Unco
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unco
      • Unco is located in Calhoun County
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.
    • Galena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Galena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
      • Galena is located in Howard County
    • Umpire
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Umpire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umpire
      • Umpire is located in Howard County
    • Athens
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Euclid
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Euclid. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euclid
      • Euclid is located in Howard County
    • Dierks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Montgomery County
    • Cox Spring
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Spring
      • Cox Spring is located in Montgomery County
  • Pike County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.
    • Grandfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfield
      • Grandfield is located in Pike County
    • Newhope
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhope
      • Newhope is located in Pike County
    • Langley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Star of the West ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star of the West
      • Star of the West is located in Pike County
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.
    • Gate ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate
      • Gate is located in Scott County
    • Y City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Y City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Y City
      • Y City is located in Scott County
  • Sevier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.
    • Gillham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillham
      • Gillham is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • De Queen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Queen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Queen
      • De Queen is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,406 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Queen <2>
    • Process City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Process City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Process City
      • Process City is located in Sevier County
    • Lockesburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockesburg
      • Lockesburg is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
    • Norwoodville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Norwoodville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwoodville
      • Norwoodville is located in Sevier County
  • Le Flore County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.
    • Octavia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Cedar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cedar
      • Big Cedar is located in Le Flore County (OK)
  • McCurtain County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.
    • Watson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Smithville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Eagletown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hochatown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bethel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethel Chapel, see our County-by-County Page for Bethel Chapel.

Cemeteries Near Bethel Chapel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethel Chapel.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethel Chapel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.

  • Cecil Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cecil Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cecil Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Witherspoon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Witherspoon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Witherspoon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whole Council of God Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whole Council of God Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whole Council of God Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whole Council of God Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whole Council of God Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whole Council of God Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foote Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foote Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foote Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cecil Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cecil Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cecil Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tate Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tate Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tate Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lone Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lone Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Daniel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Daniel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Daniel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sixmile Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sixmile Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sixmile Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Buffalo Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buffalo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buffalo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (138 more) ...
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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 Bethel Chapel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethel Chapel.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethel Chapel, with the one closest to Bethel Chapel listed first.

  • Cove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Duckett
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duckett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckett
    • Duckett is located in Howard County
  • Hartley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
    • Hartley is located in Polk County
  • Potter
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
    • Potter is located in Polk County
  • Dallas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Dallas is located in Polk County
  • Rocky
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky
    • Rocky is located in Polk County
  • Antimony ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antimony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antimony
    • Antimony is located in Howard County
  • Galena
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Galena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
    • Galena is located in Howard County
  • New Moon ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Moon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moon
    • New Moon is located in Howard County
  • Board Camp
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Board Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Board Camp
    • Board Camp is located in Polk County
  • Mountain Fork
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mountain Fork. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Fork
    • Mountain Fork is located in Polk County
  • Umpire
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Umpire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umpire
    • Umpire is located in Howard County
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Ink
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ink have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ink
      • Ink is located in Polk County
    • Rich Mountain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rich Mountain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Mountain
      • Rich Mountain is located in Polk County
    • Pates ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pates
      • Pates is located in Howard County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethel Chapel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethel Chapel.

Newspapers Published in Bethel Chapel ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethel Chapel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethel Chapel, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethel Chapel.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Bethel Chapel:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bethel Chapel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Bethel Chapel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bethel Chapel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bethel Chapel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3932, Longitude: -94.3294       In this case, the coordinates for Bethel Chapel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025