Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about West Bayou. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added West Bayou to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with West Bayou, 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 West Bayou (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 West Bayou. 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 West Bayou ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Bayou: W. Bayou
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 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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of West Bayou is historic, it would have been located within present day Arkansas 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 Arkansas County: Desha, Jefferson, Lincoln, Lonoke, Monroe, Phillips & Prairie.
Below are the counties that are near West Bayou. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Bayou:
- Arkansas County (The home county of West Bayou)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Humphrey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bayou Meto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bayou Meto is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Meto
- Stuttgart
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Almyra
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- De Witt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Gillett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Parham ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Parham is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parham
- Tichnor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Casscoe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Casscoe is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casscoe
- Preston Ferry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Preston Ferry is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston Ferry
- Crockett's Bluff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Crockett's Bluff is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett's Bluff
- Ethel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ethel is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
- Desha County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Mitchellville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mitchellville is located in Desha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
- Dumas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Cornerstone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cornerstone is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerstone
- Richardson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Richardson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Wabbaseka
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wabbaseka is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabbaseka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Madding
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Madding is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madding
- Altheimer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Moscow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Moscow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Reydell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reydell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reydell
- Noble Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Noble Lake is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble Lake
- Rob Roy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Rob Roy is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rob Roy
- Tamo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Tamo is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamo
- Sherrill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sherrill is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherrill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Pine Bluff
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Sarassa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sarassa is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarassa
- Grady
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Varner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Varner is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varner
- Yorktown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Yorktown is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Gould
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gould is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Population from the 2020 Census: 719 people
- South Bend ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- South Bend is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bend
- Crigler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Crigler is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crigler
- Meroney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Meroney is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meroney
- Star City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Palmyra
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Palmyra is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Tyro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tyro is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyro
- Warrenton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Warrenton is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenton
- Lonoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Allport
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Allport is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Humnoke
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Coy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Coy is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Seaton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Seaton is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaton
- England
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Parkers Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Parkers Corner is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkers Corner
- Keo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cobbs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cobbs is located in Lonoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbs
- Monroe County
- Roe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Roe is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Prairie County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Fairmount
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fairmount is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
- Ulm
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ulm is located in Prairie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Bayou, see our County-by-County Page for West Bayou.
Cemeteries Near West Bayou ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Bayou.
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 West Bayou - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Bayou covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Elam Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bayless Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Morning Star Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bloomy Shade Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Gascony Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. James Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wabbaseka Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Walstein Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Brent Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (215 more) ...
- Bayou Meto Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Meto Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bayou Meto Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the southeast of Humphrey.
- Philips Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Mound Bayou Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 West Bayou in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Bayou.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Bayou, with the one closest to West Bayou listed first.
- Lake Farm
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lake Farm is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Farm
- Cornerstone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cornerstone is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerstone
- Richardson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Richardson is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- New Gascony
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Gascony is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Gascony
- Swan Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Swan Lake is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Lake
- English
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- English is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
- Lake Dick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lake Dick is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Dick
- Madding
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Madding is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madding
- Wabbaseka
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wabbaseka is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabbaseka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Hagler
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Hagler is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagler
- Humphrey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Altheimer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Linwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Linwood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- Sarassa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sarassa is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarassa
- Bayou Meto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bayou Meto is located in Arkansas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Meto
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Bayou. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Bayou.
Newspapers Published in West Bayou ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Bayou.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Bayou, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Bayou.
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 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 West Bayou:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Arkansas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Desha County
- Jefferson County
- Lincoln County
- Lonoke County
- Monroe County
- Prairie County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
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 West Bayou, 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> | 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> | 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- West Bayou) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |