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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 Swifton (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 Swifton. 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.

Swifton is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Craighead, Cross, Independence, Lawrence, Poinsett, White & Woodruff.

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

  • Jackson County     (The home county of Swifton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swifton, with the one closest to Swifton listed first.
    • Centerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Kenyon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Tuckerman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Elgin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Elgin is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
    • Grubbs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Campbell Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Campbell Station is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Station
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Airport Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Airport Village is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Village
    • Diaz
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Diaz is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diaz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,208 people
    • Jacksonport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Newport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Amagon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Island Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Island Town is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Town
    • Remmel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Craighead County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swifton, with the one closest to Swifton listed first.
    • Egypt
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Egypt is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Egypt <1>
    • Cash
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Cash is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 359 people
    • Obear ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Obear is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obear
    • Bono
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Bono is located in Craighead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,595 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bono <1>
    • Philadelphia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jonesboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Cross County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swifton, with the one closest to Swifton listed first.
    • Light
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Light is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Light
    • Walcott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Finch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Independence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swifton, with the one closest to Swifton listed first.
    • Cord
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Charlotte
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Charlotte is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
    • Newark
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Magness
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Magness is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magness
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Sulphur Rock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Sulphur Rock is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Rock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
    • Oil Trough
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cave City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Rosie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Moorefield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Moorefield is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Thida
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pfeiffer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Salado
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Salado is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salado
    • Batesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Lawrence County
  • Poinsett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swifton, with the one closest to Swifton listed first.
    • Weiner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Waldenburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fisher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Fisher is located in Poinsett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
    • Greenfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Harrisburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Randolph County
  • Sharp County

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

Cemeteries Near Swifton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Swifton.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Swifton, with the one closest to Swifton 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Swifton had a population of 250 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Swifton had a population of 733 people.

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

  • Kenyon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Alicia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Strangers Home
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Strangers Home is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strangers Home
  • Tuckerman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Elgin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Elgin is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
  • Egypt
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Egypt is located in Craighead County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Egypt <1>
  • Cash
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Cash is located in Craighead County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 359 people
  • Minturn
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Minturn is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minturn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
  • Clover Bend
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Clover Bend is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Bend
  • Grubbs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Cord
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Lindsey
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lindsey is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindsey
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Hazel Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Hazel Grove is located in Independence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Grove
    • Diaz
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Diaz is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diaz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,208 people
    • Lynn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Swifton ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Swifton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Swifton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Swifton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Swifton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4> of Swifton.

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 websites either 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 Swifton:

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 Swifton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Swifton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.