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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 Kelso (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 Kelso. 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 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.

Kelso is located in Desha County.

To see how the shape of Arkansas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Desha County: Arkansas, Chicot, Drew, Lincoln, Phillips & Bolivar (MS).

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

  • Desha County     (The home county of Kelso)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Rohwer
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Watson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • McArthur
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pea Ridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Napoleon ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Napoleon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
      • Napoleon is located in Desha County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Napoleon
      • From Kelso to Napoleon
    • Hopedale ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopedale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
      • Hopedale is located in Desha County
    • Reed
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reed have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed
      • Reed is located in Desha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Pickens
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickens
      • Pickens is located in Desha County
    • Dumas
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Arkansas City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arkansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansas City
      • Arkansas City is located in Desha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
    • McGehee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mitchellville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchellville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
      • Mitchellville is located in Desha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Snow Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Lake
      • Snow Lake is located in Desha County
  • Arkansas County
  • Chicot County
  • Drew County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Winchester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Tillar
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tillar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillar
      • Tillar is located in Drew County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
    • Selma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Selma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Selma is located in Drew County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Selma
      • From Kelso to Selma
    • Collins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jerome
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerome have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
      • Jerome is located in Drew County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
  • Jefferson County
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • South Bend ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bend
      • South Bend is located in Lincoln County
    • Gould
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Warrenton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Warrenton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenton
      • Warrenton is located in Lincoln County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Warrenton
      • From Kelso to Warrenton
    • Varner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Tyro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Meroney
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Crigler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Phillips County
    • Crumrod
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crumrod have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumrod
      • Crumrod is located in Phillips County
  • Bolivar County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Eutaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eutaw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eutaw
      • Eutaw is located in Bolivar County (MS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eutaw
      • From Kelso to Eutaw
    • Rosedale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Mound Landing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Beulah
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Christmas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Wright
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Lake Vista
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Vista
      • Lake Vista is located in Bolivar County (MS)
    • Benoit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benoit have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
      • Benoit is located in Bolivar County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benoit <1>
    • Dahomy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dahomy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahomy
      • Dahomy is located in Bolivar County (MS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dahomy
      • From Kelso to Dahomy
    • Scott
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Waxhaw
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Mound City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Grapeland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grapeland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
      • Grapeland is located in Bolivar County (MS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grapeland
      • From Kelso to Grapeland
  • Washington County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Metcalfe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Metcalfe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalfe
      • Metcalfe is located in Washington County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 935 people
    • Greenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Napanee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Napanee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napanee
      • Napanee is located in Washington County (MS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Napanee
      • From Kelso to Napanee

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

Cemeteries Near Kelso ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kelso.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Kelso Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kelso Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kelso Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Memorial Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rolling Water Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rolling Water Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rolling Water Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morgan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morgan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Warrington Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Warrington Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Warrington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McArthur Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McArthur Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McArthur Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Irby Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Irby Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Irby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Porter Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Porter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Porter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scott Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hopkins Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopkins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jones Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jones Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (176 more) ...
    • Turner Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turner Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jefferson Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jefferson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jefferson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bogue Pilgrim Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bogue Pilgrim Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bogue Pilgrim Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<4>

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

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

  • Watson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Red Fork
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Fork
    • Red Fork is located in Desha County
  • Eutaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eutaw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eutaw
    • Eutaw is located in Bolivar County (MS)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Eutaw
    • From Kelso to Eutaw
  • Medford ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
    • Medford is located in Desha County
  • Hopedale ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopedale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
    • Hopedale is located in Desha County
  • Winchester
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Tillar
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tillar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillar
    • Tillar is located in Drew County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
  • White River
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White River have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
    • White River is located in Desha County
  • McGehee
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Arkansas City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arkansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansas City
    • Arkansas City is located in Desha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
  • Pendleton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pendleton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
    • Pendleton is located in Desha County
  • Dumas
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rosedale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Mound Landing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bolivar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolivar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
      • Bolivar is located in Bolivar County (MS)

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

Newspapers Published in Kelso ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kelso.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kelso, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kelso.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Kelso:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Kelso. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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 Kelso, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kelso) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kelso. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7995, Longitude: -91.2702    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025