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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 Branson (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 Branson. 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 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.

Branson is located in Taney 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 Taney County: Boone (AR), Carroll (AR), Marion (AR), Christian, Douglas, Ozark & Stone.

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

  • Taney County     (The home county of Branson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Branson, with the one closest to Branson listed first.
    • Table Rock
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Table Rock is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
    • Hollister
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Melva ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kirbyville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Bull Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bull Creek is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
    • Oasis ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Rockaway Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Powersite
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Powersite is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powersite
    • Merriam Woods
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Merriam Woods is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,859 people
    • Walnut Shade
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Walnut Shade is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Shade
    • Forsyth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Ridgedale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Day
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Branson, with the one closest to Branson listed first.
    • Shell Knob
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Arrow Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Arrow Point is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrow Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Hill City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Hill City is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Emerald Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Emerald Beach is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Golden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Jenkins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Scholten
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Leann
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chain-O-Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Chain-O-Lakes is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain-O-Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Eagle Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Christian County
  • Ozark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Branson, with the one closest to Branson listed first.
    • Ocie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Longrun
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Branson, with the one closest to Branson listed first.
    • Indian Point
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Silver Dollar City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Silver Dollar City is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Dollar City
    • Lakeview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lakeview is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Branson West
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Branson West is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branson West
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
    • Coney Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kimberling City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Reeds Spring
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Eye
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lampe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Marmaros
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Cape Fair
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Galena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • McCord Bend
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • McCord Bend is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCord Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
  • Boone County (AR)
  • Carroll County (AR)
  • Conway County (AR)
  • Marion County (AR)

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

Cemeteries Near Branson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Branson.

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

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

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

  • Lewallen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Gretna Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Logan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Goodall Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ellison Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Branson City Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Snowden Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Whorton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ozarks Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Gobbler Knob Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (268 more) ...
    • Vanzandt Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Powell Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mead Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Branson had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Branson had a population of 11,687 people.

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

  • Ruth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ruth is located in Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
  • Cedar Valley ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Valley is located in Taney County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
  • Kirbyville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Radical
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Radical is located in Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radical
  • Walnut Shade
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Walnut Shade is located in Taney County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Shade
  • Forsyth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Blue Eye
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Mincy
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mincy is located in Taney County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mincy
  • Marmaros
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Baxter
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Baxter is located in Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
  • Kissee Mills
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Day
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Omaha
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Omaha is located in Boone County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <1>
    • Eaudevie ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Eaudevie is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaudevie
    • Cape Fair
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Branson ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Branson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Branson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Branson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Branson.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> of Branson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Branson:

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>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 Branson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Branson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.