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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 Brownington (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 Brownington. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Brownington is located in Henry 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 Henry County: Bates, Benton, Cass, Johnson, Pettis & Saint Clair.

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

  • Henry County     (The home county of Brownington)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Deepwater
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Alberta
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Alberta is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Clinton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • La Due
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • La Due is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Due
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 28 people
    • Tightwad
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Tightwad is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightwad
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Montrose
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Calhoun
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Calhoun is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Yolo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Yolo is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yolo
    • Hartwell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Hartwell is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwell
    • Maurine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Maurine is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurine
    • Norris
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Norris is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
    • Urich
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bowen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Bowen is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
  • Bates County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Mayesburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mayesburg is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayesburg
    • Rockville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockville is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Prairie City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairie City is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Racket
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Racket is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racket
    • Tackner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Tackner is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tackner
    • Palo Pinto
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Palo Pinto is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Pinto
    • Warsaw
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Lincoln
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Edmonson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Edmonson is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonson
    • Ionia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Ionia is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ionia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
    • Edwards
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Cass County
    • Creighton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Cedar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Lebeck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Lebeck is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebeck
    • El Dorado Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hickory County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Quincy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Quincy is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
    • Avery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Avery is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
    • Weaubleau
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheatland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hermitage
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cross Timbers
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cross Timbers is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Timbers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Leeton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Leeton is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
    • Chilhowee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Chilhowee is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
    • Henrietta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Henrietta is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
    • Cornelia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Cornelia is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelia
    • Quick City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Quick City is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick City
  • Pettis County
    • Green Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Ridge is located in Pettis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Lowry City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Osceola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Johnson City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Johnson City is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
    • Monegaw Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Monegaw Springs is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monegaw Springs
    • Appleton City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Vista
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Vista is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Roscoe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Roscoe is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roscoe <1>
    • Gerster
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Gerster is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
    • Cobb
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Cobb is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb
    • Collins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Vernon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownington, with the one closest to Brownington listed first.
    • Schell City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Harwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Harwood is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people

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

Cemeteries Near Brownington ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brownington.

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

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

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

  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Brownington Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Dunning Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Deepwater Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Valley Center Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Park Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Dunning Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Dunning Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Lowry City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Peaceful Home Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Tally Bend Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (245 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brownington had a population of 329 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Brownington had a population of 107 people.

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

  • Deepwater
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mount Zion
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Mount Zion is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Lowry City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Baker ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Baker is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
  • Clinton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Alberta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Alberta is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
  • Ohio
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ohio is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohio
  • Finey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Finey is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finey
  • La Due
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • La Due is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Due
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 28 people
  • Copeland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Copeland is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
  • Chalk Level
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Chalk Level is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
  • Leesville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Leesville is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Osceola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Iconium
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Iconium is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iconium
    • Johnson City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Johnson City is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brownington ...

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 112 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brownington.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Brownington. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Brownington and those printed in the larger area surrounding Brownington.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Brownington.

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 Brownington:

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