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 Brandon (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 Brandon. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Brandon is located in Drew 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 Drew County: Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Desha & Lincoln.
Below are the counties that are near Brandon. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brandon:
- Drew County (The home county of Brandon)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Barkada
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Barkada is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkada
- Wilmar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wilmar is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
- Rose Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Monticello
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lacey
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lacey is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Selma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Selma is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Collins
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Winchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Tillar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Tillar is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Ashley County
- Fountain Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fountain Hill is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Warren
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sumpter
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sumpter is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Farmville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Farmville is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmville
- Banks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Banks is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Long View Ferry
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Long View Ferry is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View Ferry
- Hermitage
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lanark
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lanark is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanark
- Johnsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Johnsville is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
- Gravelridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gravelridge is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelridge
- Ingalls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ingalls is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalls
- Jersey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sturgis ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sturgis is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Calhoun County
- Tinsman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Tinsman is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinsman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
- Chicot County
- Dermott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cleveland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Rye
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rye is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
- Annover ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Annover is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annover
- Pansy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pansy is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Orlando
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Orlando is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlando
- New Edinburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- New Edinburg is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Edinburg
- Toledo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Toledo is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
- Rison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saline
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saline is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline
- Kingsland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kingsland is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Staves
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Staves is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staves
- White Oak Bluff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- White Oak Bluff is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Bluff
- Dallas County
- Fordyce
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Desha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Hopedale ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Hopedale is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
- Pickens
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pickens is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickens
- Reed
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Reed is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Dumas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mitchellville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mitchellville is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
- McGehee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Pinebergen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Pinebergen is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinebergen
- Tamo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tamo is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamo
- Moscow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Moscow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Cornerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cornerville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Palmyra
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Palmyra is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Tyro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tyro is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyro
- Star City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Warrenton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Warrenton is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenton
- Crigler
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Crigler is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crigler
- Meroney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Meroney is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meroney
- Yorktown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Yorktown is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Gould
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gould is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Population from the 2020 Census: 719 people
- Grady
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Varner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Varner is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varner
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brandon, see our County-by-County Page for Brandon.
Cemeteries Near Brandon ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brandon.
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 Brandon - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brandon covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Andrews Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Torian Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Springs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Searcy Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Cemetery #2
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Blankenship Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Turner Hills Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wilmar Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (235 more) ...
- Old Saline Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 Brandon in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brandon.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brandon, with the one closest to Brandon listed first.
- Barkada
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Barkada is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkada
- Plantersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Plantersville is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plantersville
- Montongo
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Montongo is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montongo
- Annover ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Annover is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annover
- Wilmar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wilmar is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
- Saline ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Saline is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline
- Rose Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Relf's Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Relf's Bluff is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relf's Bluff
- Pansy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pansy is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- McKinney ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- McKinney is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinney
- Cornerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cornerville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerville
- Monticello
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Coleman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Coleman is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Warren
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Garnett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Garnett is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garnett
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brandon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brandon.
Newspapers Published in Brandon ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brandon.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brandon, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brandon.
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 Brandon:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Drew County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashley County
- Bradley County
- Calhoun County
- Chicot County
- Cleveland County
- Dallas County
- Desha County
- Jefferson County
- Lincoln 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> | 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 Brandon, 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- Brandon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |