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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 Lavaca (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 Lavaca. 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 and 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 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.

Lavaca is located in Sebastian 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 Sebastian County: Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Scott, Le Flore (OK) & Sequoyah (OK).

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

  • Sebastian County     (The home county of Lavaca)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavaca, with the one closest to Lavaca listed first.
    • Bloomer
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Central City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Central City is located in Sebastian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
    • Ursula
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Barling
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Greenwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jenny Lind
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Buell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Fort Smith
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Bonanza
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bonanza is located in Sebastian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 560 people
    • Hackett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Huntington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Huntington is located in Sebastian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
    • Mansfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavaca, with the one closest to Lavaca listed first.
    • New Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • New Town is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Kibler
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kibler is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
    • Wright Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Wright Town is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright Town
    • Alma
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Alma is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,887 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
    • Dyer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Concord is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Mulberry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Van Buren
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rudy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rudy is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Mountainburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Cedarville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Uniontown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Uniontown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavaca, with the one closest to Lavaca listed first.
    • Charleston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Dahoma ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Dahoma is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahoma
    • Leon ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Leon is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
    • Branch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Donald ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Cecil
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cecil is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
    • Etna
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Cravens
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Webb City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Webb City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb City
    • Felkner Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Felkner Town is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felkner Town
    • Ozark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • White Oak
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnson County
    • Coal Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavaca, with the one closest to Lavaca listed first.
    • Ratcliff
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Caulksville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Caulksville is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caulksville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Lucas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Booneville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Carolan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Carbon City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Carbon City is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon City
    • Golden City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Magazine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Paris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cotton Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Cotton Town is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
    • Blue Mountain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Blue Mountain is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Subiaco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Scott County
  • Le Flore County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavaca, with the one closest to Lavaca listed first.
    • Arkoma
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Braden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Pocola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Pocola is located in Le Flore County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocola <1>
    • Rock Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rock Island is located in Le Flore County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Island
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 648 people
    • Fort Coffee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Fort Coffee is located in Le Flore County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Coffee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
    • Cameron
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Cameron is located in Le Flore County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cameron <1>
    • Skullyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Spiro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Monroe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Panama
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Panama is located in Le Flore County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <1>
  • Sequoyah County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavaca, with the one closest to Lavaca listed first.
    • Moffett
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Moffett is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moffett <1>
    • Roland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Roland is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,020 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roland <1>
    • Remy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Remy is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remy
    • Short
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Short is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
    • Muldrow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Muldrow is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muldrow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,279 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Muldrow <1>
    • Belfonte
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Belfonte is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfonte
    • Long
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Long is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long
    • Gans
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Gans is located in Sequoyah County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gans
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gans <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Lavaca ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lavaca.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lavaca, with the one closest to Lavaca 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Lavaca had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Lavaca had a population of 2,439 people.

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

  • Bloomer
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Beverly
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Beverly is located in Sebastian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
  • Haroldton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Haroldton is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haroldton
  • Auburn ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Auburn is located in Sebastian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
  • Island
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Island is located in Sebastian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island
  • Charleston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Vesta
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Vesta is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
  • Catcher
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Catcher is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catcher
  • Barling
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Massard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Massard is located in Sebastian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massard
  • Jenny Lind
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Burnville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Burnville is located in Sebastian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnville
    • Alma
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Alma is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,887 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
    • Dyer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lavaca ...

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 132 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lavaca.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lavaca. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lavaca and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lavaca.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3> of Lavaca.

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 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 Lavaca:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Lavaca) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Lavaca, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.