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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 Avilla (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 Avilla. 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 southwest 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 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.

Avilla is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Cherokee (KS), Crawford (KS), Barton, Dade, Lawrence & Newton.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Avilla)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avilla, with the one closest to Avilla listed first.
    • Maple Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Forest Mills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Reeds
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Reeds is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • La Russell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sarcoxie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Motley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Parshley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Carthage
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Fidelity
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Carytown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Carytown is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
    • Jasper
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Brooklyn Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Brooklyn Heights is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Alba
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Alba is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
  • Barry County
  • Barton County
  • Cedar County
    • Jerico Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jerico Springs is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerico Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
  • Dade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avilla, with the one closest to Avilla listed first.
    • Lockwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lockwood is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • South Greenfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • South Greenfield is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Greenfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Greenfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pilgrim
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Everton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Arcola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Arcola is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
    • Glen Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Glen Town is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Town
    • Corry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lawrence County
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avilla, with the one closest to Avilla listed first.
    • Talmage City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Talmage City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage City
    • Wentworth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Wentworth is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Park is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park
    • Ritchey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Ritchey is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritchey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Diamond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Granby City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Granby City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby City
    • Granby
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Silver Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Silver Creek is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
      • Estimated population in 2012: 631 people
    • Newtonia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Leawood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Leawood is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leawood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Saginaw
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Saginaw is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Dennis Acres
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Dennis Acres is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Shoal Creek Estates
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Shoal Creek Estates is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Cherokee County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avilla, with the one closest to Avilla listed first.
    • Badger
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Lawton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • East Galena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galena
    • Empire City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Empire City is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
    • Galena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • South Galena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • South Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Galena
  • Crawford County (KS)

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

Cemeteries Near Avilla ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Avilla.

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 Avilla - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 Avilla had a population of 180 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Avilla had a population of 131 people.

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

  • Maple Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Reeds
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Reeds is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • Bowers Mill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bowers Mill is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers Mill
  • Red Oak
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Knights
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Knights is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Sarcoxie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Dudenville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Dudenville is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudenville
  • Parshley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Carthage
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Fidelity
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Talmage City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Talmage City is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage City
  • Malty
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Malty is located in Barton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malty
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Clarkson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarkson is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
    • Phelps
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Phelps is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
    • Meinert
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Meinert is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meinert

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

Newspapers Published in Avilla ...

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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Avilla.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Avilla, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Avilla.

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 either 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 Avilla:

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 Avilla, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Avilla) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.