RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Arkansas >> Polk County >> Roff >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Roff. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Roff to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Roff, 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 Roff (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 Roff. 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 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Roff is historic, it would have been located within present day Polk 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 Polk County: Howard, Montgomery, Scott, Sevier, Le Flore (OK) & McCurtain (OK).

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Roff)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roff, with the one closest to Roff listed first.
    • Bog Springs
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Bog Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bog Springs
    • Hatton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Hatton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
    • Vandervoort
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Vandervoort is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandervoort
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
    • Cove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Wickes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Grannis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Grannis is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grannis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
    • Hatfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Potter
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Potter is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
    • Potter Junction
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Potter Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter Junction
    • Dallas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Dallas is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Mena
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Mountain Fork
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Mountain Fork is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Fork
    • Board Camp
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Board Camp is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Board Camp
  • Calhoun County
    • Unco
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Unco is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unco
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roff, with the one closest to Roff listed first.
    • Galena
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Galena is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
    • Umpire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Umpire is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umpire
    • Mineola
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Mineola is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineola
    • Athens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Euclid
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Euclid is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euclid
    • Dierks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Little River County
    • Cerrogordo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cerrogordo is located in Little River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
  • Scott County
    • Gate ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gate is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate
  • Sevier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roff, with the one closest to Roff listed first.
    • Gillham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Gillham is located in Sevier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • De Queen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Process City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Process City is located in Sevier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Process City
    • Horatio
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Norwoodville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Norwoodville is located in Sevier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwoodville
    • Lockesburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lockesburg is located in Sevier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
  • Le Flore County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roff, with the one closest to Roff listed first.
    • Octavia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Cedar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Big Cedar is located in Le Flore County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cedar
    • Ludlow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ludlow is located in Le Flore County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
    • Muse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • McCurtain County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roff, with the one closest to Roff listed first.
    • Watson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Smithville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hochatown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Eagletown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Bethel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Broken Bow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Battiest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Roff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roff.

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

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

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

  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Cecil Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Westview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Witherspoon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Cecil Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Foote Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Buffalo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Daniel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Whole Council of God Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Whole Council of God Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Watson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Grannis Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (122 more) ...
    • Crystal Hill Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Sixmile Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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 Roff in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Roff.

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

  • Cove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Duckett
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Duckett is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckett
  • Hartley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Hartley is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
  • Potter
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Potter is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
  • Antimony ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Antimony is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antimony
  • Dallas
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dallas is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
  • Rocky
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Rocky is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky
  • Galena
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Galena is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
  • Mountain Fork
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Mountain Fork is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Fork
  • Chapel Hill
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Chapel Hill is located in Sevier County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
  • Umpire
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Umpire is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umpire
  • New Moon ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • New Moon is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moon
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Board Camp
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Board Camp is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Board Camp
    • Ink
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Ink is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ink
    • Rich Mountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Rich Mountain is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Mountain

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

Newspapers Published in Roff ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roff.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roff, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roff.

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 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 Roff:

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 Roff, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 from Point A (ie- Roff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.