Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Matoka. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Matoka to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Matoka, please Contact Us.
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 Matoka (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 Matoka. 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/Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.
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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Although our information shows that the community of Matoka is historic, it would have been located within present day Ashley 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 Ashley County: Bradley, Chicot, Drew, Union, Morehouse (LA) & Union (LA).
Below are the counties/parishes that are near Matoka. For each of these counties/parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Matoka:
- Ashley County (The home county of Matoka)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Wilmot
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Wilmot is located in Ashley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Elon ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Elon is located in Ashley County
- Parkdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Parkdale is located in Ashley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parkdale <3>
- Hamburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Crossett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Crossett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Crossett
- North Crossett is located in Ashley County
- Crossett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crossett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossett
- Crossett is located in Ashley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,701 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crossett <3>
- Meridian
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Meridian is located in Ashley County
- Portland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Crossett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Crossett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Crossett
- West Crossett is located in Ashley County
- Montrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Montrose is located in Ashley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Fountain Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Hill
- Fountain Hill is located in Ashley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Blanchton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blanchton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchton
- Blanchton is located in Bradley County
- Long View Ferry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View Ferry
- Long View Ferry is located in Bradley County
- Johnsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
- Johnsville is located in Bradley County
- Sturgis ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sturgis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgis
- Sturgis is located in Bradley County
- Chicot County
- Eudora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Drew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Jerome
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerome have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
- Lacey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Lacey is located in Drew County
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Felsenthal
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felsenthal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felsenthal
- Felsenthal is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Huttig
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huttig have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huttig
- Huttig is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Bolding
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolding
- Bolding is located in Union County
- Morehouse Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Jones
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Jones is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jones <3>
- Bonita
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Brodnax ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brodnax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
- Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Mer Rouge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mer Rouge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mer Rouge
- Mer Rouge is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 534 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mer Rouge <3>
- Bastrop
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Collinston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collinston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinston
- Collinston is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collinston <3>
- Oak Ridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Oak Ridge is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Ridge <3>
- Windsor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Windsor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Windsor is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Union Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Haile
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haile
- Haile is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Ouachita City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ouachita City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ouachita City
- Ouachita City is located in Union Parish (LA)
- West Carroll Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Fiske
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiske
- Fiske is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
- Kilbourne
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Oak Grove is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Grove <3>
- Forest
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Forest is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest <3>
- Pioneer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
- Pioneer is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pioneer <3>
- Darnell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darnell
- Darnell is located in West Carroll Parish (LA)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Matoka, see our County-by-County Page for Matoka.
Cemeteries Near Matoka ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Matoka.
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 Matoka covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Poley Bridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Poley Bridge Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Poley Bridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Extra UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Extra UMC Cemetery
- The Extra UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Extra Cemetery
- Extra Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #53838 <5>
- Harris Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harris Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #53031 <5>
- Grant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grant Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #54082 <5>
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Wilmot Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilmot Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilmot Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Beech Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beech Creek Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beech Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Causey Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Causey Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Causey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Smith Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Hogue Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hogue Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hogue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Antioch Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (128 more) ...
- Cleveland Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cleveland Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cleveland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Wonner Grove Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wonner Grove Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wonner Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Parkdale Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
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.
While we didn't find Matoka in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Matoka.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Matoka, with the one closest to Matoka listed first.
- Jones
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Jones is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jones <3>
- Elon ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Elon is located in Ashley County
- Bonita
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Causey ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Causey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Causey
- Causey is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Parkdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Parkdale is located in Ashley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parkdale <3>
- Brodnax ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brodnax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
- Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Hamburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sunshine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunshine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Sunshine is located in Ashley County
- Portland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Snyder
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snyder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder
- Snyder is located in Ashley County
- Mer Rouge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mer Rouge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mer Rouge
- Mer Rouge is located in Morehouse Parish (LA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 534 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mer Rouge <3>
- Berea
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berea have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Berea is located in Ashley County
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Trafalgar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trafalgar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trafalgar
- Trafalgar is located in Ashley County
- Milo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Milo is located in Ashley County
- Bastrop
(22 miles [35.4 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 Matoka. See our List of 1890's Communities around Matoka.
Newspapers Published in Matoka ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Matoka.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Matoka, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Matoka.
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 Matoka:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Ashley County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradley County
- Chicot County
- Drew County
- Union County
- Morehouse Parish
- Union Parish
- West Carroll Parish
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> | 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 Matoka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<2> | 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. |
<3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
<4> | 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. |
<5> | 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. |
<6> | 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- Matoka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Matoka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0551, Longitude: -91.7154 In this case, the coordinates for Matoka have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |