Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Bryans. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Bryans to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bryans, please Contact Us.
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 Bryans (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 Bryans. 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 Bryans ...
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.
While the name of this community is Bryans, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<2>. So Bryans may originally have been Bryan's.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bryans might be written as Bryan.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bryans. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bryans.
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 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Bryans is historic, it would have been located within present day Callaway 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 Callaway County: Audrain, Boone, Cole, Gasconade, Montgomery & Osage.
Below are the counties that are near Bryans. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bryans:
- Callaway County (The home county of Bryans)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Auxvasse
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Kingdom City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hatton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hatton is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Fulton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Stephens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Stephens is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stephens
- Williamsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lindbergh
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lindbergh is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindbergh
- Steedman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Steedman is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steedman
- Portland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- New Bloomfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mokane
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Folsom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Folsom is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Audrain County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Vandiver
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Vandiver is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandiver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Mexico
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Benton City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Benton City is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
- Thompson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Martinsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Rush Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rush Hill is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Laddonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Farber
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Farber is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farber
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Larrabee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Larrabee is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
- Saling ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saling is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saling
- Tulip
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tulip is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Vandalia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Centralia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hallsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Stephens
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Stephens is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stephens
- Moores Switch
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Moores Switch is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Switch
- Sturgeon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Columbia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hinton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hinton is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
- Riggs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Riggs is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggs
- Ashland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pierpont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pierpont is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierpont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
- Oldham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oldham is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham
- Harrisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Gasconade County
- Morrison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Santa Fe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Santa Fe is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Fe
- Paris
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Florida
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Middle Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Middle Grove is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Grove
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Wellsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Montgomery City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Danville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Americus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Americus is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- New Florence
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Middletown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Bluffton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bluffton is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
- Big Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Big Spring is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Starkenburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Starkenburg is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkenburg
- Bellflower
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bellflower is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellflower
- Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
- Gamma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Gamma is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamma
- High Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Osage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Chamois
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Isbell ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Isbell is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isbell
- Ralls County
- Perry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Randolph County
- Clark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clark is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clark
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bryans, see our County-by-County Page for Bryans.
Cemeteries Near Bryans ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bryans.
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 Bryans - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bryans covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Grand Prairie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Auxvasse Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- New Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Concord Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lockridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bullard Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Unity Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Lawn Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lawn Memorial Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the East Lawn Memorial Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Mexico.
- The East Lawn Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- East Lawn Cemetery
- East Lawn Memorial Cemetery
- Eastlawn Cemetery
- Eastlawn Memorial Park
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #28517 <4>
- Elmwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Benton City Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (196 more) ...
- St. Brendans Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Augusta Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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.
Bryans itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bryans, with the one closest to Bryans listed first.
- Auxvasse
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Concord
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Concord is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- McCredie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McCredie is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCredie
- Hatton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hatton is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Bachelor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bachelor is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelor
- Benton City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Benton City is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
- Mexico
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Calwood ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Calwood is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calwood
- Callaway
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Callaway is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaway
- Thompson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Shamrock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Shamrock is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
- Earl
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Earl is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Fulton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Rush Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rush Hill is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Williamsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bryans. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bryans.
Newspapers Published in Bryans ...
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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bryans.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bryans, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bryans.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Bryans:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Callaway County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Audrain County
- Boone County
- Gasconade County
- Monroe County
- Montgomery County
- Osage County
- Ralls County
- Randolph County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Bryans, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Bryans) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |