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 Elgin (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 Elgin. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Elgin 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 Elgin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elgin:
- Jackson County (The home county of Elgin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Kenyon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kenyon is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenyon
- Centerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Centerville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Tuckerman
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Campbell Station
(6 miles [9.7 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
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Jacksonport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Swifton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Swifton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swifton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
- Newport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Airport Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Airport Village is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Village
- Island Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Island Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Town
- Grubbs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grubbs is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubbs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Remmel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Remmel is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remmel
- Cleburne County
- Almond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Almond is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
- Craighead County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Cash
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cash is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
- Population from the 2020 Census: 359 people
- Egypt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Obear ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Obear is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obear
- Bono
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cross County
- Hickory Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory Ridge is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Independence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Cord
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cord is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cord
- Charlotte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Charlotte is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
- Newark
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Magness
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Magness is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magness
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Sulphur Rock
(11 miles [17.7 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rosie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rosie is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosie
- Moorefield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Moorefield is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorefield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Thida
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thida is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thida
- Pfeiffer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Pfeiffer is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeiffer
- Salado
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Salado is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salado
- Batesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Izard County
- Mount Pleasant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Saffell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Saffell is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saffell
- Strawberry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Strawberry is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Alicia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alicia is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Lynn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Minturn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Minturn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minturn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Smithville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Smithville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Powhatan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Black Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Portia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hoxie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Annieville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Annieville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annieville
- Sedgwick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Poinsett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Weiner
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Weiner is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 662 people
- Waldenburg
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Sharp County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Grange
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grange is located in Sharp County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange
- Maxville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Maxville is located in Sharp County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
- Poughkeepsie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Poughkeepsie is located in Sharp County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poughkeepsie
- Sidney
(26 miles [41.8 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
- The following are listed by their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Bradford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bradford is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 736 people
- Davenport ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Davenport is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
- Bliss ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bliss is located in White County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss
- Russell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elgin, see our County-by-County Page for Elgin.
Cemeteries Near Elgin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elgin.
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 Elgin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elgin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Cheshire Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Moss Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Holloway Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cole Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Williams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Happy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Burgess Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Harrison Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dowell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (283 more) ...
- Edwards Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Roberts - Penix Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Elgin had a population of 23 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elgin, with the one closest to Elgin listed first.
- Kenyon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kenyon is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenyon
- Cord
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cord is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cord
- Tuckerman
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dota
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dota is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dota
- Paroquet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Paroquet is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paroquet
- Jacksonport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Diaz
(8 miles [12.9 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
- 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
- Newark
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Swifton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Swifton is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swifton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
- Akron ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Akron is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Elmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elmo is located in Independence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Sulphur Rock
(11 miles [17.7 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elgin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elgin.
Newspapers Published in Elgin ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elgin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elgin, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elgin.
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 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 Elgin:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Jackson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cleburne County
- Craighead County
- Cross County
- Independence County
- Izard County
- Lawrence County
- Poinsett County
- Sharp County
- White 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 Elgin, 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- Elgin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |