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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 Centerville (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 Centerville. 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 and 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 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.

Centerville is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Craighead, Cross, Independence, Lawrence, Poinsett, White & Woodruff.

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

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Centerville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Kenyon
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Swifton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Tuckerman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Elgin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Elgin is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
    • Campbell Station
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Campbell Station is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Station
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Diaz
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Diaz is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diaz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,208 people
    • Airport Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Airport Village is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Village
    • Jacksonport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Grubbs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Newport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Island Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Island Town is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Town
    • Amagon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Craighead County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Egypt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Egypt is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Egypt <1>
    • Cash
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Cash is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 359 people
    • Obear ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Obear is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obear
    • Bono
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Bono is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,595 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bono <1>
    • Philadelphia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Jonesboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Independence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Cord
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Charlotte
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Charlotte is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
    • Newark
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Magness
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Magness is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magness
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Sulphur Rock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Sulphur Rock is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Rock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
    • Oil Trough
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Moorefield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Moorefield is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Cave City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rosie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pfeiffer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Thida
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Salado
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Salado is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salado
  • Lawrence County
  • Poinsett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Weiner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Waldenburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Fisher
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fisher is located in Poinsett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
  • Randolph County
  • Sharp County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Grange
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Maxville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Poughkeepsie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Sidney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Sidney is located in Sharp County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
    • Evening Shade
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • White County
    • Bradford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bradford is located in White County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 736 people

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

Cemeteries Near Centerville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Centerville.

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 Centerville - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Dowell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Centerville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Bandy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Foust - Adams Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cole Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Swifton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Durfee Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Happy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Cheshire Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lawrence Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Gracelawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (304 more) ...
    • Prysock Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • McNutt Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Williams Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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.<2>

While we didn't find Centerville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Centerville.

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

  • Kenyon
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Elgin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Elgin is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
  • Tuckerman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Swifton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Cord
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hazel Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hazel Grove is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Grove
  • Dota
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Dota is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dota
  • Alicia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Strangers Home
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Strangers Home is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strangers Home
  • Diaz
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Diaz is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diaz
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,208 people
  • Paroquet
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Paroquet is located in Independence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paroquet
  • Jacksonport
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Strawberry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Grubbs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Clover Bend
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Clover Bend is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Bend

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

Newspapers Published in Centerville ...

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 Centerville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Centerville, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Centerville.

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 Centerville:

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>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 Centerville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Centerville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.