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 Big Lake (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 Big Lake. 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.
Name Variations for Big Lake ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Lake: Big Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Lake.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 hospitals and 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.
Big Lake is located in Mississippi 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 Mississippi County: Craighead, Crittenden, Poinsett, Dunklin (MO), Pemiscot (MO), Dyer (TN), Lauderdale (TN) & Tipton (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Big Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Lake:
- Mississippi County (The home county of Big Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Manila
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dell
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dell is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Victoria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Victoria is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Stark City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Stark City is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stark City
- Leachville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Carroll's Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carroll's Corner is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll's Corner
- Carroll's Corner has also been known as:
- Little River
- Rington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rington is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rington
- Athelstan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Athelstan is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athelstan
- Etowah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Etowah is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Burdette
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Burdette is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdette
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Arkmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Arkmo is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkmo
- Gosnell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gosnell is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,066 people
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Rector
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bell City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bell City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
- Craighead County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Monette
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Caraway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Black Oak
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Black Oak is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Red Onion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Red Onion is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Onion
- Lake City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lake View
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lake View is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Bay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bay is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,816 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay <1>
- Brookland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Jonesboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Bard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bard
- Paragould
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Marmaduke
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Pine Knot
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Knot is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Knot
- Finch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Finch is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finch
- Poinsett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Rivervale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rivervale is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivervale
- Lepanto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Alto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Alto is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Hatchie Coon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hatchie Coon is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchie Coon
- Trumann
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Marked Tree
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tyronza
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dunklin County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Rington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rington is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rington
- Arkmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Arkmo is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkmo
- Hornersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hornersville is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
- Arbyrd
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Arbyrd is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbyrd
- Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
- Cardwell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cockrum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cockrum is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cockrum
- Red Onion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Red Onion is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Onion
- Cotton Plant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Cotton Plant is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
- Rives
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Rives is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Caruth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Caruth is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caruth
- Senath
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Senath is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Senath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,596 people
- Tinkerville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tinkerville is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinkerville
- Pemiscot County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Holland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Holland is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Cooter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gobler
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Gobler is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gobler
- Steele
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Deering
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Deering is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering
- Braggadocio
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Braggadocio is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braggadocio
- Mid City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mid City is located in Pemiscot County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- Lauderdale County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Daniels Point Landing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Daniels Point Landing is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels Point Landing
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,874 people
- Ashport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ashport is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashport
- Fulton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fulton is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Fort Pillow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Pillow is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pillow
- Luckett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Luckett is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luckett
- Glimp
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Glimp is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glimp
- Arp
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Arp is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
- Tipton County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Detroit
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Detroit is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Gilt Edge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gilt Edge is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilt Edge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Randolph
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Walnut Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Corona
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Corona is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Burlison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Garland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Garland is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Bride
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bride is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bride
- Drummonds
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Big Lake.
Cemeteries Near Big Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Lake.
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 Big Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Manila Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mooney Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Brinkley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Brinkley Cemetery is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the northwest of Osceola.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #53192 <3>
- Union Valley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Wilkerson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Leachville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leachville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Leachville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Leachville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #303437 <3>
- Box Elder Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gant Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Garden Point Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Three Way Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Rock Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (210 more) ...
- New Salem Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Horners Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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.<4>
While we didn't find Big Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Lake, with the one closest to Big Lake listed first.
- Athelstan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Athelstan is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athelstan
- Mangrum
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mangrum is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangrum
- Hornersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Hornersville is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
- Macey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Macey is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macey
- Osceola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Clear Lake is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Cockrum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cockrum is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cockrum
- Carson Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Carson Lake is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson Lake
- Cotton Plant
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Cotton Plant is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
- Nesbit
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Nesbit is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbit
- Sans Souci
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sans Souci is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sans Souci
- Lake City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Golddust
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Golddust is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golddust
- Caruth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Caruth is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caruth
- Senath
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Senath is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Senath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,596 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Lake.
Newspapers Published in Big Lake ...
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 Big Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Lake, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Lake.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Big Lake:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Mississippi County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Craighead County
- Greene County
- Poinsett County
- Dunklin County
- Pemiscot County
- Lauderdale County
- Tipton 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> | 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- Big Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Big Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |