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 Hand Valley (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 Hand Valley. 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 Hand Valley ...
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 Hand Valley: Hand Vly. (or less commonly used: Hand Vally. or Hand Vlly.)
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 northwest 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 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.
Hand Valley is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Baxter, Boone, Searcy, Ozark (MO) & Taney (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Hand Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hand Valley:
- Marion County (The home county of Hand Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Rea Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rea Valley is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rea Valley
- Rush ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rush is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
- Flippin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yellville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Summit
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
- Bull Shoals
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bruno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bruno is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruno
- Oakland
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Dodd City ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dodd City is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodd City
- Eros
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Eros is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eros
- Pyatt
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Pyatt is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pyatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
- Price Place
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Price Place is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price Place
- Peel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baxter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Buffalo City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo City is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo City
- Cotter
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gassville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lone Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lone Rock is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Rock
- Colfax
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Colfax is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Norfork Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Norfork Village is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfork Village
- Mountain Home
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Norfork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Amos
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Amos is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amos
- Lakeview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Briarcliff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Briarcliff is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarcliff
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Salesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Midway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Everton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Zinc
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Zinc is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zinc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Rally Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Rally Hill is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rally Hill
- South Lead Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Lead Hill is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lead Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Lead Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Elixir ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Elixir is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elixir
- Valley Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Valley Springs is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Keener ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Keener is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Diamond City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bergman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bellefonte
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bellefonte is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefonte
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Elizabeth
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gepp
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gepp is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gepp
- Bexar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ott is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott
- Izard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Iuka
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Iuka is located in Izard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
- Calico Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Dolph
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Dolph is located in Izard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph
- Pineville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wideman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wideman is located in Izard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wideman
- Jumbo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jumbo is located in Izard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Newton County
- Western Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Western Grove is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Searcy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Cozahome
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cozahome is located in Searcy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cozahome
- Harriet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lone Pine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lone Pine is located in Searcy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
- Gilbert
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Baker
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Baker is located in Searcy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Marshall
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Saint Joe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pindall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pindall is located in Searcy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pindall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Leslie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Blanco
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Blanco is located in Searcy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanco
- Watts
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Watts is located in Searcy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watts
- Stone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Onia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Onia is located in Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onia
- Fifty-Six
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alco
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Alco is located in Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
- Timbo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fox
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fox is located in Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox
- Van Buren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Rumley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rumley is located in Van Buren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumley
- Dennard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Howell County (MO)
- Ott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ott is located in Howell County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott
- Ozark County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Pontiac
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Isabella
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sundown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sundown is located in Ozark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundown
- Udall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Udall is located in Ozark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udall
- Gainesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hardenville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Theodosia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Theodosia is located in Ozark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theodosia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
- Tecumseh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ocie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ocie is located in Ozark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocie
- Bakersfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bakersfield is located in Ozark County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Taney County (MO)
- Protem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hand Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Hand Valley.
Cemeteries Near Hand Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hand Valley.
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 Hand Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hand Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Hand Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Haskell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ott Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nelson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cotter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gassville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Burnt School House Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Tucker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Whiteville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Flippin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (239 more) ...
- Burch Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hurst Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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 Hand Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hand Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hand Valley, with the one closest to Hand Valley listed first.
- Buford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Buford is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buford
- Gassville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rush ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rush is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
- Independence ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Independence is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Flippin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lone Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lone Rock is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Rock
- Mountain Home
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Yellville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Amos
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Amos is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amos
- Stone ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stone is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone
- Big Flat
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- McPhearson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- McPhearson is located in Baxter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPhearson
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Tomahawk
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tomahawk is located in Searcy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
- George's Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- George's Creek is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George's Creek
- Bruno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bruno is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruno
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hand Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hand Valley.
Newspapers Published in Hand Valley ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hand Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hand Valley, 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 Hand Valley.
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 Hand Valley:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Marion County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Baxter County
- Boone County
- Fulton County
- Izard County
- Newton County
- Searcy County
- Stone County
- Van Buren County
- Howell County
- Ozark County
- Taney 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 Hand Valley, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hand Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |