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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 Bird Springs (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 Bird Springs. 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 Bird Springs ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bird Springs: Bird Spgs. (or less commonly used: Bird Spngs. or Bird Sprngs.)

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 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.

Bird Springs is located in Ozark 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 Ozark County: Baxter (AR), Fulton (AR), Marion (AR), Douglas, Howell & Taney.

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

  • Ozark County     (The home county of Bird Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Dora
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Trail
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Trail is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trail
    • Zanoni ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Zanoni is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zanoni
    • Brixey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Brixey is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brixey
    • Elijah
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Elijah is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elijah
    • Rockbridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Tecumseh
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Hardenville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Udall
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Udall is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udall
    • Gainesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Romance
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Romance is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
    • Almartha
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Almartha is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almartha
    • Bakersfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Bakersfield is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Richville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Richville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
    • Gentryville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Gentryville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentryville
    • Buckhart
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckhart is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhart
    • Drury
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Drury is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drury
    • Vanzant
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Vanzant is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanzant
    • Squires
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Squires is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squires
    • Olathia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Olathia is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olathia
    • Ava
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ava is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ava
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,905 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ava <1>
    • Smallett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Smallett is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smallett
    • Rome
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Rome is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
  • Howell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Siloam Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Siloam Springs is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam Springs
    • Pottersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Pottersville is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersville
    • Caulfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • South Fork
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • South Fork is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
    • Burnham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Burnham is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
    • Pomona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Pomona is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
    • Ott
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ott is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott
    • West Plains
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Moody
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Moody is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
    • Cottbus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Cottbus is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottbus
    • Willow Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sterling ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Sterling is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
    • Lebo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lebo is located in Howell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebo
  • Taney County
    • McClurg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • McClurg is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClurg
  • Texas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Sargent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sargent is located in Texas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
    • Cabool
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Dunn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Dunn is located in Texas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
      • Former name for Dunn:
      • Impo
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Mountain Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Norwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Macomb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Macomb is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomb
  • Baxter County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Clarkridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Clarkridge is located in Baxter County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkridge
    • Gamaliel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Custer ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Custer is located in Baxter County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
    • Henderson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Midway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mountain Home
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Wake ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Wake is located in Baxter County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wake
    • Lakeview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fulton County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Ott
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ott is located in Fulton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott
    • Gepp
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Gepp is located in Fulton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gepp
    • Viola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Viola is located in Fulton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Viola <1>
    • Sturkie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sturkie is located in Fulton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturkie
    • Elizabeth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Moko
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Moko is located in Fulton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moko
  • Marion County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bird Springs, with the one closest to Bird Springs listed first.
    • Oakland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Price Place
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Price Place is located in Marion County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price Place

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

Cemeteries Near Bird Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bird Springs.

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 Bird Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Parson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hale Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • County Line Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Sweeton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Trail Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Woods Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Frazier Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Oak Mound Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Eaton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fish Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (191 more) ...

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 Bird Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bird Springs.

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

  • Dora
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Sycamore
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sycamore is located in Ozark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
  • Trail
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Trail is located in Ozark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trail
  • Oak Mound
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Mound is located in Ozark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Mound
  • Richville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Richville is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
  • Siloam Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Siloam Springs is located in Howell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam Springs
  • Sharp
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Sharp is located in Ozark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp
  • Cureall
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cureall is located in Howell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cureall
  • Rockbridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Buckhart
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckhart is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhart
  • Pottersville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Pottersville is located in Howell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersville
  • Gainesville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Udall
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Udall is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Udall
    • Romance
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Romance is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
    • Almartha
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Almartha is located in Ozark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almartha

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

Newspapers Published in Bird Springs ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bird Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bird Springs, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bird Springs.

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 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 Bird Springs:

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 Bird Springs, 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 from Point A (ie- Bird Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.