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 Big 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 Big 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 Big 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 Big Ridge: Big Rdg. (or less commonly used: Big Rdge. or Big Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big 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 northwest 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 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.
Big Ridge is located in New Madrid 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 New Madrid County: Fulton (KY), Dunklin, Mississippi, Pemiscot, Scott, Stoddard & Lake (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Big Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Ridge:
- New Madrid County (The home county of Big Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Canalou
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canalou is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canalou
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Matthews
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ogden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ogden is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Kewanee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kewanee is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kewanee
- Morehouse
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Morehouse is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Catron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Catron is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- North Lilbourn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- North Lilbourn is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lilbourn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- La Forge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- La Forge is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Forge
- Lilbourn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Howardville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Howardville is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- New Madrid
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parma is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 602 people
- Bollinger County
- Sturdivant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sturdivant is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturdivant
- Butler County
- Fisk
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cape Girardeau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Randles
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Randles is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randles
- Green Cox
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Green Cox is located in Cape Girardeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cox
- Dunklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Malden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clarkton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clarkton is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,139 people
- Wrightsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wrightsville is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
- Campbell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gibson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gibson is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Holcomb
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mississippi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- East Prairie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Whiting
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Whiting is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
- Bertrand
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bertrand is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertrand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
- Anniston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Anniston is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anniston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Pinhook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pinhook is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook
- Estimated population in 2012: 30 people
- Charleston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Charleston is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
- Thirtyfour Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Thirtyfour Corner is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirtyfour Corner
- Wolf Island
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Wolf Island is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Island
- Wilson City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson City is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Pemiscot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Hayward
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hayward is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
- Stewart
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Stewart is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
- North Wardell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- North Wardell is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wardell
- Wardell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wardell is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
- Homestown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Homestown is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Netherlands
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Netherlands is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Netherlands
- Peach Orchard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Peach Orchard is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Miner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Miner is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 939 people
- Crowder
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Crowder is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowder
- Vanduser
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Vanduser is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanduser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
- Haywood City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Haywood City is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Blodgett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Blodgett is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Diehlstadt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Diehlstadt is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Morley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Morley is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Oran
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lambert
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lambert is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
- Benton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Perkins
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Perkins is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Caney Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Caney Creek is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Creek
- Stoddard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Baker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Baker is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3 people
- LaValle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- LaValle is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaValle
- Grayridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Grayridge is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayridge
- Penermon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Penermon is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penermon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Circle City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Circle City is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circle City
- Essex
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Essex is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex
- Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
- Guam ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Guam is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guam
- Dexter
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bernie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Bloomfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bell City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bell City is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Dudley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dudley is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Fulton County (KY)
- Hickman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hickman County (KY)
- Columbus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Columbus is located in Hickman County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Lake County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- New Markham
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- New Markham is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Markham
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,354 people
- Proctor City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Proctor City is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor City
- Tiptonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sunkist Beach
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sunkist Beach is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunkist Beach
- Estimated population in 2014: 547 people
- Owl City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Owl City is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl City
- Obion County (TN)
- Samburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Big Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Big Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big 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 Big Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Noxall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Matthews Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Steele Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Rhodes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Knox Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Graham Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomfield Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Simmons Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lee Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hunter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (221 more) ...
- Como Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sherwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Stones Chapel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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 Big Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Ridge, with the one closest to Big Ridge listed first.
- Ogden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ogden is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Little River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Little River is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Ristine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ristine is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ristine
- La Forge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- La Forge is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Forge
- Buffington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Buffington is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffington
- Morehouse
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Morehouse is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Como
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Como is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
- Grayridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Grayridge is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayridge
- New Madrid
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sikeston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Essex
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Essex is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex
- Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
- Idalia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Idalia is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idalia
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- East Prairie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Whiting
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Whiting is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
- Dexter
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Big 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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Ridge, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Ridge.
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 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 Big Ridge:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to New Madrid County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bollinger County
- Butler County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Dunklin County
- Mississippi County
- Pemiscot County
- Scott County
- Stoddard County
- Fulton County
- Hickman County
- Lake County
- Obion 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 Big Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |