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 Bowers Mill (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 Bowers Mill. 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 Bowers Mill ...
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.
Another variation: Bower Mills.
- A typical abbreviation for Bowers Mill: Bowers Ml. (or less commonly used: Bowers Mll.)
- While the name of this community is Bowers Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bowers Mill may originally have been Bower's Mill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bowers Mill might be written as Bower Mill.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Bowers Mill is primarily located in Lawrence County. A portion of Bowers Mill extends into 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 Lawrence County: Barry, Christian, Dade, Greene, Jasper, Newton & Stone.
Below are the counties that are near Bowers Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bowers Mill:
- Lawrence County (The home county of Bowers Mill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- Red Oak
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Red Oak is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Stotts City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stotts City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotts City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Round Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Round Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Grove
- Miller
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Freistatt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Freistatt is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freistatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Hoberg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hoberg is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoberg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
- Mount Vernon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Heatonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Heatonville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatonville
- Pierce City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Stinson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Stinson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Verona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Verona is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Aurora
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Halltown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Barry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- Monett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pioneer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pioneer is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
- Purdy
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Tom Town ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Tom Town is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tom Town
- Wheaton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Butterfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Butterfield is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
- Star City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Star City is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Leann
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Leann is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leann
- Barton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- Golden City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Kenoma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Kenoma is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenoma
- Layneville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Layneville is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layneville
- Bushnell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bushnell is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Newport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Newport is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Lamar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakton is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakton
- Lamar Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lamar Heights is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Nashville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nashville is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
- Milford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Milford is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
- Christian County
- Billings
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dade County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- Lockwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lockwood is located in Dade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- South Greenfield
(19 miles [30.6 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pilgrim is located in Dade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
- Everton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Arcola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Arcola is located in Dade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
- Corry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Corry is located in Dade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corry
- Dadeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greene County
- Ash Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- La Russell
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- La Russell is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
- Avilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Avilla is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilla
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Sarcoxie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Reeds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Reeds is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Maple Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Maple Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Forest Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Forest Mills is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Mills
- Motley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Motley is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Parshley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parshley is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parshley
- Carthage
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fidelity
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fidelity is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fidelity
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Carytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carytown is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Jasper
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Brooklyn Heights
(18 miles [29 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
- McDonald County
- Rocky Comfort
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Rocky Comfort is located in McDonald County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Comfort
- Newton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- Talmage City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Talmage City is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage City
- Wentworth
(10 miles [16.1 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
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Park is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park
- Ritchey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- 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)
- Diamond is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 909 people
- Former names for Diamond:
- Diamond Grove
- Diamond Mill
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Diamond <2>
- Granby City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Granby City is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby City
- Newtonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Granby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Stark City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Fairview
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Silver Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Silver Creek is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
- Estimated population in 2012: 631 people
- Saginaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Saginaw is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Dennis Acres
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dennis Acres is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Stone County
- Bradfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bradfield is located in Stone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfield
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bowers Mill, see our County-by-County Page for Bowers Mill.
Cemeteries Near Bowers Mill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowers Mill.
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 Bowers Mill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bowers Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- Langston Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Harvey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cave Spring Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Taylor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gillock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wilson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Plew Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Williams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Moore Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hodges Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Colley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Red Oak Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (277 more) ...
- McCune Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Avilla Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bowers Mill had a population of 89 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bowers Mill, with the one closest to Bowers Mill listed first.
- Red Oak
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Red Oak is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Avilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Avilla is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilla
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Reeds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Reeds is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Sarcoxie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clarkson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clarkson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
- Phelps
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Phelps is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
- Maple Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Maple Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Talmage City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Talmage City is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage City
- Wentworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wentworth is located in Newton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Dudenville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dudenville is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudenville
- Knights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Knights is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
- Parshley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parshley is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parshley
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Round Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Round Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Grove
- Freistatt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Freistatt is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freistatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
- Miller
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bowers Mill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bowers Mill.
Newspapers Published in Bowers Mill ...
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 177 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowers Mill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowers Mill, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowers Mill.
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 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 Bowers Mill:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barry County
- Barton County
- Christian County
- Dade County
- Greene County
- Jasper County
- McDonald County
- Newton County
- Stone County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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- Bowers Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Bowers Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |