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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 McNeil (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 McNeil. 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 southeast 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 south.

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 south 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.

McNeil is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Lafayette, Nevada, Ouachita, Union, Claiborne (LA) & Webster (LA).

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of McNeil)
  • Hempstead County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McNeil, with the one closest to McNeil listed first.
    • Patmos
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Patmos is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patmos
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Centerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Shover Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Perrytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Perrytown is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
  • Lafayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McNeil, with the one closest to McNeil listed first.
    • Buckner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Buckner is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
    • Stamps
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • McKamie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Lewisville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Old Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Old Town is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Kress City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Kress City is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kress City
    • Bradley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Miller County
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McNeil, with the one closest to McNeil listed first.
    • Willisville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Willisville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
    • Rosston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bodcaw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Cale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Cale is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
    • Zama ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Zama is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zama
    • Laneburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Bluff City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Emmet
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Emmet is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
  • Ouachita County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McNeil, with the one closest to McNeil listed first.
    • Stephens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Pace City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Pace City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace City
    • Lufra ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lufra is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufra
    • Liberty
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Louann
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Bragg City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Bragg City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
    • Cullendale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Chidester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Chidester is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chidester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
    • Camden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Reader
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McNeil, with the one closest to McNeil listed first.
    • Mount Holly
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Lisbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Dodge City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dodge City is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
    • Dumas City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Dumas City is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas City
    • Smackover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Sandy Land
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Claiborne Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McNeil, with the one closest to McNeil listed first.
    • Haynesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Gordon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Dykesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Webster Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McNeil, with the one closest to McNeil listed first.
    • Springhill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Shongaloo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Cullen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Cullen is located in Webster Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,056 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cullen <1>

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

Cemeteries Near McNeil ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McNeil.

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

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

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

  • Green Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Matthews Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hartsfield Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • New Bethel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Dickson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Free Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Miner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Waldo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Magnolia Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Columbia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (219 more) ...
    • Strong Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Magnolia Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Old Bethel / St. John Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that McNeil had a population of 294 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, McNeil had a population of 468 people.

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

  • Milner ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Milner is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
  • College Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Waldo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Magnolia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Laughlin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Laughlin is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
  • Lumber
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Lumber is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber
  • Calhoun
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Delta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Delta is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
  • Glenville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Glenville is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenville
  • Village
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Macedonia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Willisville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Willisville is located in Nevada County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willisville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Troy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Troy is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
    • Woodlawn ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodlawn is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Brister
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Brister is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brister

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

Newspapers Published in McNeil ...

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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around McNeil.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McNeil, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McNeil.

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 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 McNeil:

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 McNeil, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- McNeil) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.