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 Altona (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 Altona. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Altona is located in Bates County.
To see how the shape of Missouri's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bates County: Linn (KS), Miami (KS), Cass, Henry, Saint Clair & Vernon.
Below are the counties that are near Altona. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Altona:
- Bates County (The home county of Altona)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Adrian
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mayesburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mayesburg is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayesburg
- Passaic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Passaic is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Passaic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Butler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burdett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Burdett is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdett
- Nyhart
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nyhart is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyhart
- Amsterdam
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Merwin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Merwin is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Amoret
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Amoret is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amoret
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Foster
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Foster is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
- New Home
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Home is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Home
- Drexel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Cass County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Austin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Austin is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Archie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Creighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Main City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Main City is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Main City
- East Lynne
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gunn City
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gunn City is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Harrisonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Freeman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Annette
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Annette is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Annette
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- West Line
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- West Line is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Coleman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Coleman is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Urich
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hartwell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hartwell is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwell
- Montrose
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Maurine
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Maurine is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurine
- Blairstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Blairstown is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
- La Due
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- La Due is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Due
- Population from the 2010 Census: 28 people
- Norris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Norris is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Clinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Deepwater
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Brownington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Brownington is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Alberta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Alberta is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Quick City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Quick City is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick City
- La Tour
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- La Tour is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Tour
- Latour
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Latour is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latour
- Chilhowee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chilhowee is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Kingsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Holden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Appleton City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Vernon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Schell City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Metz
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Metz is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Harwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Harwood is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
- Horton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Horton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Linn County (KS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Linn Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Linn Valley is located in Linn County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 876 people
- Boicourt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Boicourt is located in Linn County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boicourt
- La Cygne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pleasanton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Miami County (KS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Jingo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Jingo is located in Miami County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jingo
- New Lancaster
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- New Lancaster is located in Miami County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lancaster
- Louisburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Louisburg is located in Miami County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,590 people
- Former name for Louisburg:
- New Saint Lewis
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louisburg <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Altona, see our County-by-County Page for Altona.
Cemeteries Near Altona ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Altona.
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 Altona - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Altona covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- France Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cloud Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Nichols Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Owen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Earheart Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- The Earheart Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earheart Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #28508 <2>
- Gragg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pulliam Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Austin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Peter Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (186 more) ...
- Cove Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Crescent Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- White Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Altona had a population of 125 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Altona, with the one closest to Altona listed first.
- Ballard ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ballard is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Dayton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Dayton is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Adrian
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Austin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Austin is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Passaic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Passaic is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Passaic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
- Mayesburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mayesburg is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayesburg
- Archie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Spruce
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Spruce is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce
- Johnstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Johnstown is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Butler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lucas
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lucas is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
- Creighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Garden City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Everett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Everett is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everett
- Lone Tree
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lone Tree is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Tree
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Altona. See our List of 1890's Communities around Altona.
Newspapers Published in Altona ...
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 166 newspapers that have been published in the area around Altona.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Altona, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Altona.
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 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 Altona:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Bates County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cass County
- Henry County
- Johnson County
- Saint Clair County
- Vernon County
- Linn County
- Miami County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
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 Altona, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Altona) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |