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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 Sandy Land (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 Sandy Land. 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.

Sandy Land is located in Union 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 Union County: Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Ouachita, Claiborne (LA), Morehouse (LA) & Union (LA).

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

  • Union County     (The home county of Sandy Land)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Land, with the one closest to Sandy Land listed first.
    • Smackover
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Norphlet
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Norphlet is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norphlet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 772 people
    • Dumas City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dumas City is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas City
    • El Dorado
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lisbon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Calion
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Calion is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
    • Perdue City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Perdue City is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue City
    • Crain City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Crain City is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crain City
    • Mount Holly
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Lawson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Scotland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Urbana
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Urbana is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
    • Blanchard Springs ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Bradley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Land, with the one closest to Sandy Land listed first.
    • Moro Bay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jersey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Gravelridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lanark
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Banks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Banks is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Land, with the one closest to Sandy Land listed first.
    • Hampton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Harrell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Harrell is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
    • Tinsman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Tinsman is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinsman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Harlow
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Columbia County
  • Ouachita County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Land, with the one closest to Sandy Land listed first.
    • Joyce City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Joyce City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyce City
    • Louann
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pace City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Pace City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace City
    • Cullendale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • East Camden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • East Camden is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Camden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
    • Camden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lufra ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lufra is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufra
    • Stephens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Vanduzer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Millville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Millville is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
    • Bearden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bragg City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bragg City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
  • Claiborne Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Land, with the one closest to Sandy Land listed first.
    • Junction City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Junction City is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
    • Wards Mill ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Wards Mill is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wards Mill
    • Summerfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Gordon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandy Land, with the one closest to Sandy Land listed first.
    • Lillie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Lillie is located in Union Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lillie <1>
    • Spearsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Sandy Land ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandy Land.

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 Sandy Land - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sandy Land, with the one closest to Sandy Land 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.<3>

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

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

  • Little Bay
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Bay is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Bay
  • Lisbon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • El Dorado
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Liberty
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Frenchport
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Frenchport is located in Ouachita County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchport
  • Champagnolle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Champagnolle is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champagnolle
  • Elliott
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliott is located in Ouachita County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
  • Mount Holly
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Shuler
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Shuler is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shuler
  • Wesson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Wesson is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesson
  • Locust Bayou
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Locust Bayou is located in Calhoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Bayou
  • Buena Vista
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Buena Vista is located in Ouachita County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Three Creeks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Three Creeks is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Creeks
    • Cornie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Cornie is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornie
    • Hillsboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Hillsboro is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro

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

Newspapers Published in Sandy Land ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandy Land.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sandy Land, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sandy Land.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Sandy Land:

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>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 Sandy Land, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Sandy Land) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.