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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 Cato (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 Cato. 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 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.

Cato is located in Barry 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 Barry County: Benton (AR), Carroll (AR), Lawrence, McDonald, Newton & Stone.

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

  • Barry County     (The home county of Cato)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Hill City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Hill City is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Jenkins
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jenkins is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
    • Leann
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Leann is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leann
    • Star City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Star City is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
    • Shell Knob
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Scholten
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Scholten is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scholten
    • Emerald Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Emerald Beach is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Thompsons Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Thompsons Corner is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsons Corner
    • Cassville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Tom Town ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Tom Town is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tom Town
    • Arrow Point
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Arrow Point is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrow Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Eagle Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Butterfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Butterfield is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Spokane
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Chestnutridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Billings
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Clever
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Clever is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clever
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clever <1>
    • Saddlebrooke
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Saddlebrooke is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddlebrooke
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Saddlebrooke has also been known as:
      • Saddlebrooke village
    • Green Mound Ridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Mound Ridge is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Mound Ridge
    • Highlandville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Republic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Nixa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Nixa is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,330 people
      • Former name for Nixa:
      • Faught
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nixa <1>
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Aurora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Verona
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Verona is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Marionville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Freistatt
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Freistatt is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freistatt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Pierce City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoberg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Hoberg is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Mount Vernon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Stotts City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Stotts City is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotts City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
  • McDonald County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Rocky Comfort
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Rocky Comfort is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Comfort
    • Powell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Powell is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Fairview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Wentworth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Wentworth is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Stella
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Newtonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Stark City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Talmage City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Talmage City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage City
  • Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Cape Fair
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • McCord Bend
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • McCord Bend is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCord Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
    • Galena
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Crane
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Marmaros
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Marmaros is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marmaros
    • Kimberling City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Oto
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oto is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oto
    • Branson West
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Branson West is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branson West
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
    • Reeds Spring
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Lakeview
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Lakeview is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Bradfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Bradfield is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfield
    • Hurley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Coney Island
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Coney Island is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coney Island
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
  • Taney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Table Rock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Table Rock is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
    • Branson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Day
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Day is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day
    • Oasis ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Oasis is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oasis
    • Bull Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bull Creek is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
    • Hollister
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Hollister is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollister
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,607 people
    • Walnut Shade
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Walnut Shade is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Shade
    • Melva ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Melva is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melva
    • Merriam Woods
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Merriam Woods is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,859 people
    • Rockaway Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Kirbyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Ridgedale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Benton County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Clantonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Clantonville is located in Benton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clantonville
    • Gateway
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Garfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lost Bridge Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lost Bridge Village is located in Benton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Bridge Village
    • Brightwater
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Brightwater is located in Benton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwater
    • Avoca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Avoca is located in Benton County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
    • Pea Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Carroll County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cato, with the one closest to Cato listed first.
    • Holiday Island
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Beaver
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Beaver is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaver <1>
    • Polo ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Polo is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polo
    • Gaskins ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Gaskins is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins
    • Blue Eye
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Blue Eye is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
    • Eureka Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Urbanette
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Urbanette is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbanette
    • Oak Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Berryville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Mundell ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mundell is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mundell
    • Winona Springs ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Winona Springs is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona Springs
    • Green Forest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Denver
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Denver is located in Carroll County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
  • Conway County (AR)
    • Grandview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Grandview is located in Conway County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview

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

Cemeteries Near Cato ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cato.

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

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

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

  • Snyder Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Kane Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Doughty Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Coones Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Pierce Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Clio Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Potter Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Carney Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Stubblefield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ennis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Eorerly Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Leann Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (287 more) ...
    • Oak Ridge Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Wilson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Summers Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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>

While we didn't find Cato in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cato.

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

  • Hailey
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Hailey is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hailey
  • Flat Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Flat Creek is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
  • Jenkins
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jenkins is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
  • Leann
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Leann is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leann
  • Shell Knob
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Travers
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Travers is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travers
  • Mano
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Mano is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mano
  • Cape Fair
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Scholten
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Scholten is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scholten
  • McDowell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • McDowell is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
  • Cassville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Viola
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Viola is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Eagle Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Galena
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Butterfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Butterfield is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people

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

Newspapers Published in Cato ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cato.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cato, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cato.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Cato:

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 Cato, 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' (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- Cato) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.