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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Ridge: W. Ridge
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Ridge.
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 Ridge is located in Mississippi 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 Mississippi County: Craighead, Crittenden, Poinsett, Dunklin (MO), Pemiscot (MO), Dyer (TN), Lauderdale (TN) & Tipton (TN).
Below are the counties that are near West Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Ridge:
- Mississippi County (The home county of West Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Etowah
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Etowah is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etowah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
- Athelstan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Athelstan is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athelstan
- Carroll's Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Carroll's Corner is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll's Corner
- Carroll's Corner has also been known as:
- Little River
- Dyess
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Keiser
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Keiser is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keiser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
- Whitton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Whitton is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitton
- Bardstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bardstown is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardstown
- Marie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marie is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Victoria
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Victoria is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Bassett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bassett is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Denwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Denwood is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denwood
- Joiner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Joiner is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
- Driver
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Driver is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driver
- Craighead County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Caraway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Black Oak
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Black Oak is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Lake City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Monette
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lake View
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lake View is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Bay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Bay is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,816 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay <1>
- Red Onion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Red Onion is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Onion
- Brookland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Philadelphia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Philadelphia is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Crittenden County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Gilmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Gilmore is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Turrell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Heafer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Heafer is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heafer
- Poindexter
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Poindexter is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poindexter
- Clarkedale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Clarkedale is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkedale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Jericho
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Jericho is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- James Mill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- James Mill is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James Mill
- Earle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cross County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Twist
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Twist is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twist
- Bay Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bay Village is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Bard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bard
- Paragould
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Finch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Finch is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finch
- Pine Knot
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Knot is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Knot
- Poinsett County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Rivervale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rivervale is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivervale
- Lepanto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Alto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Alto is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Marked Tree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hatchie Coon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hatchie Coon is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchie Coon
- Tyronza
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Trumann
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Black Oak
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Black Oak is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Greenfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Greenfield is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Harrisburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dunklin County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Arkmo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Arkmo is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkmo
- Red Onion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Red Onion is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Onion
- Rington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rington is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rington
- Cockrum
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Cockrum is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cockrum
- Arbyrd
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Arbyrd is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbyrd
- Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
- Cardwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hornersville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hornersville is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
- Cotton Plant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cotton Plant is located in Dunklin County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
- Lauderdale County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Fulton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Fulton is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Daniels Point Landing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Daniels Point Landing is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels Point Landing
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,874 people
- Ashport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ashport is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashport
- Fort Pillow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Fort Pillow is located in Lauderdale County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pillow
- Shelby County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Cuba
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cuba is located in Shelby County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Giles Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Giles Town is located in Shelby County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Giles Town
- Ramsey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ramsey is located in Shelby County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Tipton County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Corona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Corona is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
- Randolph
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Drummonds
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Detroit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Detroit is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Detroit
- Gilt Edge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Gilt Edge is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilt Edge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Walnut Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Walnut Grove is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Burlison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Wilkinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wilkinsville is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinsville
- Garland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Garland is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Bride
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bride is located in Tipton County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bride
- Munford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for West Ridge.
Cemeteries Near West Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Three Way Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Garden Point Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Gant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Potter Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Rest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Conaster Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Caraway Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woolsey Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Union Valley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Brinkley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Brinkley Cemetery is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the northwest of Osceola.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #53192 <2>
- Continue List (214 more) ...
- Nichols Memorial Garden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols Memorial Garden
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Nichols Memorial Garden is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the northeast of Marked Tree.
- The Nichols Memorial Garden has also been known as:
- Nichols Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #55384 <2>
- Spear Lake Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mangrum Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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 West Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Athelstan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Athelstan is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athelstan
- Mangrum
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mangrum is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangrum
- Bardstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bardstown is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardstown
- Carson Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Carson Lake is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson Lake
- Hatchie Coon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hatchie Coon is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchie Coon
- Marked Tree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tyronza
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lake City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shawnee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shawnee is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
- Golden Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Golden Lake is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Lake
- Osceola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Macey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Macey is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macey
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Sans Souci
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sans Souci is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sans Souci
- Bay
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Bay is located in Craighead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,816 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay <1>
- Gilmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Gilmore is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Ridge.
Newspapers Published in West Ridge ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Ridge, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Ridge:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Mississippi County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Craighead County
- Crittenden County
- Cross County
- Greene County
- Poinsett County
- Dunklin County
- Lauderdale County
- Shelby County
- Tipton County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
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> | 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- West Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |