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 Wards Crossing (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 Wards Crossing. 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.
Name Variations for Wards Crossing ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Wards Crossing: Wards Xing.
- While the name of this community is Wards Crossing, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Wards Crossing may originally have been Ward's Crossing.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Wards Crossing might be written as Ward Crossing.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Wards Crossing is located in Yell 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 Yell County: Conway, Garland, Logan, Montgomery, Perry, Pope & Scott.
Below are the counties that are near Wards Crossing. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wards Crossing:
- Yell County (The home county of Wards Crossing)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Plainview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wing is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Ola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Danville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Briggsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Briggsville is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
- Corinth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Corinth is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
- Birta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Birta is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birta
- Belleville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Petit Jean
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Petit Jean is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petit Jean
- Aly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Aly is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aly
- Centerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Centerville is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Conway County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Pontoon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pontoon is located in Conway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontoon
- Winrock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Winrock is located in Conway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winrock
- Garland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Gladstone ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Gladstone is located in Garland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
- Avant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Avant is located in Garland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avant
- Jessieville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Springs is located in Garland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Springs
- Hot Springs Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Pine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Royal
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Piney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Piney is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney
- Knoxville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Knoxville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 754 people
- Logan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Delaware
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Delaware is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
- New Blaine
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Blue Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Mountain is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Corley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Corley is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Sand Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Ridge is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Magazine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Magazine is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magazine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 824 people
- Subiaco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Fannie
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fannie is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fannie
- Story
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Washita
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Washita is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washita
- Fir ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fir is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fir
- Joplin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Joplin is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joplin
- Sims
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sims is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sims
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Casa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Casa is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Deberrie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Deberrie is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deberrie
- Adona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Adona is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Perryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pope County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Holla Bend
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Holla Bend is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holla Bend
- North Dardanelle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Dardanelle is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dardanelle
- Bernice
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Bernice is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernice
- Russellville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- London
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Pottsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pottsville is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,361 people
- Former names for Pottsville:
- Pott's Inn
- Pott's Station
- Georgetown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Georgetown is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Center Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Center Valley is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Valley
- Wilson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Taral
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Taral is located in Pope County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taral
- Atkins
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Little Texas
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Little Texas is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Texas
- Nebraska ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Nebraska is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebraska
- Harvey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Harvey is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wards Crossing, see our County-by-County Page for Wards Crossing.
Cemeteries Near Wards Crossing ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wards Crossing.
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 Wards Crossing - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wards Crossing covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Sunlight Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hogan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Barnett Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hunts Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nooner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Shed Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ballew Family Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Earl Ladd Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (254 more) ...
- Hames #2 Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hames Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Danville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Wards Crossing in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wards Crossing.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wards Crossing, with the one closest to Wards Crossing listed first.
- Gilkey ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gilkey is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkey
- Rover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Onyx
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Onyx is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onyx
- Wing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wing is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
- Ava
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ava is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ava
- Danville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ola
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Briggsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Briggsville is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
- Shark
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Shark is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shark
- Birta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Birta is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birta
- Belleville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Alpha
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Alpha is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ranger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ranger is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranger
- Aly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Aly is located in Yell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aly
- Gladstone ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Gladstone is located in Garland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wards Crossing. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wards Crossing.
Newspapers Published in Wards Crossing ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wards Crossing.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wards Crossing, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wards Crossing.
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 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 Wards Crossing:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Yell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Conway County
- Garland County
- Johnson County
- Logan County
- Montgomery County
- Perry County
- Pope County
- Scott County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Wards Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Wards Crossing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |