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 Wilkins (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 Wilkins. 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 northwest 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 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.
Wilkins is located in Cross 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 Cross County: Crittenden, Jackson, Poinsett, Saint Francis & Woodruff.
Below are the counties that are near Wilkins. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilkins:
- Cross County (The home county of Wilkins)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Wynne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Levesque
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Levesque is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levesque
- Vanndale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Vanndale is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanndale
- Parkin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cherry Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hickory Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hickory Ridge is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Bay Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bay Village is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
- Twist
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Twist is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twist
- Crittenden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Earle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jennette
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Jennette is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennette
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Proctor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Poindexter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Poindexter is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poindexter
- Anthonyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Anthonyville is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthonyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Crawfordsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Edmondson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Edmondson is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmondson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 378 people
- Heafer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Heafer is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heafer
- Pinckney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pinckney is located in Crittenden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckney
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Gourd Neck
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gourd Neck is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gourd Neck
- Beedeville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beedeville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beedeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Tupelo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Algoa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Algoa is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoa
- Balch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Balch is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balch
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Haynes
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Haynes is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Bledsoe
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bledsoe is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bledsoe
- Brickeys
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brickeys is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
- Winona ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Winona is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
- Felton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Felton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felton
- Marianna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Moro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Peters
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Peters is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Fargo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fargo is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
- Brinkley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Poinsett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Fisher
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fisher is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Harrisburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Waldenburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Black Oak
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Black Oak is located in Poinsett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Saint Francis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Colt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Colt is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colt <1>
- Caldwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Forrest City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Madison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Widener
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Widener is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widener
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Bonair
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bonair is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonair
- Palestine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palestine is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Heth
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Goodwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Goodwin is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwin
- Rawlinson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rawlinson is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawlinson
- Hughes
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wheatley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Woodruff County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Bemis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bemis is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
- Morton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Morton is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton
- Hunter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hunter is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- DeView
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- DeView is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeView
- McCrory
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- McCrory is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCrory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,496 people
- Colona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Colona is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colona
- Howell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Howell is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
- Patterson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Patterson is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
- Riverside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Riverside is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Cotton Plant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Flynn ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Flynn is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
- Gregory
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Gregory is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilkins, see our County-by-County Page for Wilkins.
Cemeteries Near Wilkins ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilkins.
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 Wilkins - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilkins covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Gatlen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Yarbo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McElroy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cogbill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hughes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes Cemetery
- The Hughes Cemetery has also been known as:
- Good Hope Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #583206 <2>
- Dorriss Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Wynne Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- New Sardis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Barnishaw Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (198 more) ...
- Stanley Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brown Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Beazley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find Wilkins in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilkins.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilkins, with the one closest to Wilkins listed first.
- Colt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Colt is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colt <1>
- Wynne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Newcastle
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Newcastle is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newcastle
- Caldwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wittsburg ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wittsburg is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittsburg
- Levesque
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Levesque is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levesque
- Hamlin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hamlin is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
- Forrest City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Vanndale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Vanndale is located in Cross County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanndale
- Madison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Widener
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Widener is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widener
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Palestine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palestine is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bonair
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bonair is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonair
- Blackfish
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Blackfish is located in Saint Francis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackfish
- Bemis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Bemis is located in Woodruff County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilkins. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilkins.
Newspapers Published in Wilkins ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilkins.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilkins, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilkins.
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 helpful 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 Wilkins:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Cross County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crittenden County
- Jackson County
- Lee County
- Monroe County
- Poinsett County
- Saint Francis County
- Woodruff 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> | 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 Wilkins, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wilkins) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |