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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 West Otis (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 Otis. 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 Otis ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Otis: W. Otis

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

West Otis is located in Sevier County.

To see how the shape of Arkansas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Sevier County: Hempstead, Howard, Little River, Polk & McCurtain (OK).

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

  • Sevier County     (The home county of West Otis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Otis, with the one closest to West Otis listed first.
    • Horatio
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horatio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horatio
      • Horatio is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,011 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Horatio <2>
    • Norwoodville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwoodville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwoodville
      • Norwoodville is located in Sevier County
    • Process City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Process City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Process City
      • Process City is located in Sevier County
    • De Queen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Queen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Queen
      • De Queen is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,406 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Queen <2>
    • Lockesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockesburg
      • Lockesburg is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
    • Gillham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillham
      • Gillham is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Ben Lomond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ben Lomond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Lomond
      • Ben Lomond is located in Sevier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ben Lomond <2>
    • Paraloma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paraloma
      • Paraloma is located in Sevier County
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Otis, with the one closest to West Otis listed first.
    • Dierks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Bayou
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Bayou
      • Blue Bayou is located in Howard County
    • Galena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
      • Galena is located in Howard County
    • Center Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
      • Center Point is located in Howard County
    • Euclid
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Euclid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euclid
      • Euclid is located in Howard County
    • Mineral Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
      • Mineral Springs is located in Howard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,139 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mineral Springs <2>
  • Little River County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Otis, with the one closest to West Otis listed first.
    • Cerrogordo
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cerrogordo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
      • Cerrogordo is located in Little River County
    • Winthrop
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Foreman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foreman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foreman
      • Foreman is located in Little River County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 922 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Foreman <2>
    • Alleene
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alleene have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleene
      • Alleene is located in Little River County
    • Wilton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Little River County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <2>
    • Ashdown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashdown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashdown
      • Ashdown is located in Little River County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,359 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashdown <2>
    • Yarborough Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarborough Landing
      • Yarborough Landing is located in Little River County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Otis, with the one closest to West Otis listed first.
    • Grannis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grannis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grannis
      • Grannis is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
    • Wickes
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wickes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickes
      • Wickes is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 741 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wickes <2>
    • Bog Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bog Springs
      • Bog Springs is located in Polk County
    • Hatton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
      • Hatton is located in Polk County
    • Vandervoort
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vandervoort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandervoort
      • Vandervoort is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
  • McCurtain County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Otis, with the one closest to West Otis listed first.
    • Eagletown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Haworth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
      • Haworth is located in McCurtain County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haworth <2>
    • Broken Bow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Holly Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Creek
      • Holly Creek is located in McCurtain County (OK)
    • Idabel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idabel
      • Idabel is located in McCurtain County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,876 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Idabel <2>
    • Hochatown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Golden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Garvin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvin
      • Garvin is located in McCurtain County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garvin <2>

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

Newspapers Published in West Otis ...

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 West Otis.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Otis, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Otis.

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 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 Otis:

Cemeteries Near West Otis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Otis.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • West Otis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Otis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Otis Cemetery
  • Cerrogordo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cerrogordo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cerrogordo Cemetery
  • West Line Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Line Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Line Cemetery
  • Sunset Acres Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Acres Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Acres Cemetery
  • Boggy Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boggy Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boggy Springs Cemetery
  • Pauley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pauley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pauley Cemetery
  • Horatio Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Horatio Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Horatio Cemetery
  • Strawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Strawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strawn Cemetery
  • Clear Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clear Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clear Creek Cemetery
  • Norwoodville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwoodville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwoodville Cemetery
  • Chapel Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Cemetery
  • Philadelphia Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Philadelphia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Philadelphia Cemetery
  • Continue List   (133 more) ...
    • Redman Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Redman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Redman Cemetery
    • Ultima Thule Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ultima Thule Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ultima Thule Cemetery
    • Cooper Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cooper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cooper Cemetery

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

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

  • Cerrogordo
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cerrogordo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
    • Cerrogordo is located in Little River County
  • Norwoodville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwoodville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwoodville
    • Norwoodville is located in Sevier County
  • Chapel Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
    • Chapel Hill is located in Sevier County
  • Lockesburg
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockesburg
    • Lockesburg is located in Sevier County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
  • Rocky Comfort
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Comfort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Comfort
    • Rocky Comfort is located in Little River County
  • Ben Lomond
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ben Lomond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Lomond
    • Ben Lomond is located in Sevier County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ben Lomond <2>
  • Antimony ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antimony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antimony
    • Antimony is located in Howard County
  • Lebanon
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lebanon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
    • Lebanon is located in Sevier County
  • Rankin ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rankin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankin
    • Rankin is located in Little River County
  • Brownstown
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
    • Brownstown is located in Sevier County
  • Richmond
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
    • Richmond is located in Little River County
  • Duckett
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duckett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duckett
    • Duckett is located in Howard County
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Woodstock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
      • Woodstock is located in Bowie County (TX)
    • Peytonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peytonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peytonville
      • Peytonville is located in Little River County
    • Galena
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
      • Galena is located in Howard County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Otis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Sevier County: www.seviercounty-ar.com/

The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Otis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Otis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9532, Longitude: -94.4363       In this case, the coordinates for West Otis have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 West Otis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024