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 Donbey (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 Donbey. 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/Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Donbey is located in Ashley 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 Ashley County: Bradley, Chicot, Drew, Union, Morehouse (LA) & Union (LA).
Below are the counties/parishes that are near Donbey. For each of these counties/parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Donbey:
- Ashley County (The home county of Donbey)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Montrose
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Montrose is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Portland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Parkdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hamburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wilmot
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Wilmot is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Fountain Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fountain Hill is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- North Crossett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- North Crossett is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Crossett
- Elon ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elon is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Crossett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Crossett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Crossett is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Crossett
- Meridian
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Meridian is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Long View Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Long View Ferry is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View Ferry
- Johnsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Johnsville is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
- Chicot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Lake Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Dermott
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Eudora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Desha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- McGehee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Reed
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Reed is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Arkansas City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Arkansas City is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansas City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- McArthur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- McArthur is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McArthur
- Drew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Jerome
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jerome is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Collins
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Collins is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Lacey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lacey is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Monticello
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Selma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Selma is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Tillar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tillar is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Rose Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rose Hill is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Morehouse Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Jones
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bonita
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- West Carroll Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Kilbourne
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fiske
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fiske is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiske
- Washington County (MS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Avon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Avon is located in Washington County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- James
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- James is located in Washington County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
- Byrne City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Byrne City is located in Washington County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrne City
- Greenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Donbey, see our County-by-County Page for Donbey.
Cemeteries Near Donbey ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donbey.
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 Donbey - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Donbey covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Portland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Snyder Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Holly Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Powell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- New Troy Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Old Troy Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Townsend Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Griswould Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (163 more) ...
- Central Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- St. Marion Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Silver Mound Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
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 Donbey in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Donbey.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Donbey, with the one closest to Donbey listed first.
- Portland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Trafalgar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Trafalgar is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trafalgar
- Snyder
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Snyder is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Sunshine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sunshine is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Berea
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Berea is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Hudspeth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hudspeth is located in Chicot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudspeth
- Parkdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hamburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Lake Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Baxter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Baxter is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Collins
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Collins is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Scipio
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Scipio is located in Drew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipio
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Dermott
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fountain Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fountain Hill is located in Ashley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Halley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Halley is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Donbey. See our List of 1890's Communities around Donbey.
Newspapers Published in Donbey ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donbey.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donbey, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donbey.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Donbey:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Ashley County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradley County
- Chicot County
- Desha County
- Drew County
- Morehouse Parish
- West Carroll Parish
- Washington 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> | 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 Donbey, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Donbey) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |