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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 Jonesboro (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 Jonesboro. 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 Jonesboro ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

Another variation: Jonesborough.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Jonesboro. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Jonesboro.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Jonesboro is located in Craighead County and is the County Seat.

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 Craighead County: Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett & Dunklin (MO).

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

  • Craighead County     (The home county of Jonesboro)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
    • Philadelphia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Brookland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bono
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Bay
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Obear ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Obear is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obear
    • Lake City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Lake View
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Lake View is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
    • Cash
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Cash is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 359 people
    • Egypt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Black Oak
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Black Oak is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
    • Monette
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Caraway
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Red Onion
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cross County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
    • Bay Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Bay Village is located in Cross County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
    • Cherry Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
    • Finch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Pine Knot
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Walcott
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Light
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Light is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light
    • Paragould
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Crowley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Oak Grove Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Grove Heights is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,095 people
    • Beech Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Beech Grove is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
    • Bard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Delaplaine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Delaplaine is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaplaine
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Lafe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lafe is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
    • Stonewall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Marmaduke
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jackson County
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
    • Sedgwick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoxie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Minturn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Minturn is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minturn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
    • Walnut Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Alicia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • College City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • College City is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College City
      • Estimated population in 2016: 506 people
    • Portia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Powhatan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mississippi County
  • Poinsett County
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
    • O'Kean
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Serene
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Manson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dunklin County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jonesboro, with the one closest to Jonesboro listed first.
    • Red Onion
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cockrum
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Arkmo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cardwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Arbyrd
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Arbyrd is located in Dunklin County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbyrd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
    • Rington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Jonesboro ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jonesboro.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Jonesboro had a population of 2,065 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Jonesboro had a population of 79,859 people.

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

  • Nettleton
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Nettleton is located in Craighead County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleton
  • Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ridge is located in Craighead County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
  • Bay
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Brookland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Bono
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • 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>
  • Buffalolick ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Buffalolick is located in Poinsett County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalolick
  • Lorado
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Lorado is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorado
  • Obear ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Obear is located in Craighead County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obear
  • Greenfield
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Lake City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Finch
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Bethel
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethel is located in Greene County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Jonesboro ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jonesboro.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Jonesboro. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Jonesboro and those printed in the larger area surrounding Jonesboro.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of Jonesboro.

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 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 Jonesboro:

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 Jonesboro, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jonesboro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.