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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 Central (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 Central. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Central is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Perry, Saint Francois & Wayne.

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

  • Madison County     (The home county of Central)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Millcreek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Millcreek is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millcreek
    • Tin Mountain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Tin Mountain is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin Mountain
    • Cobalt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cobalt is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobalt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Fredericktown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Junction City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Junction City is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 314 people
    • Cornwall
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Cornwall is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
    • Saco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Saco is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saco
    • Marquand
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Marquand is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquand
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Mine La Motte
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Mine La Motte is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mine La Motte
  • Bollinger County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Patton Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Patton Junction is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Junction
    • Patton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Grassy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Grassy is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy
    • Buchanan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Buchanan is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buchanan
    • Glenallen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Glenallen is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenallen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
    • Marble Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Seopus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Seopus is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seopus
    • Gipsy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Gipsy is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gipsy
    • Lutesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Lutesville is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lutesville
    • Sedgewickville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Sedgewickville is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgewickville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
    • Zalma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Zalma is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zalma
      • Estimated population in 2016: 89 people
    • Leopold
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Leopold is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopold
    • Laflin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Laflin is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
  • Cape Girardeau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Gravel Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Gravel Hill is located in Cape Girardeau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
    • Friedheim
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Burfordville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Daisy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Daisy is located in Cape Girardeau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
    • Millersville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Iron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Arcadia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Ironton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chloride
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Chloride is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloride
    • Glover
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Glover is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
    • English Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • English Town is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Town
    • Pilot Knob
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Sabula
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Sabula is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabula
    • Des Arc
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Des Arc is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Des Arc
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Vulcan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Vulcan is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vulcan
    • Annapolis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Middle Brook
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Belleview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Belleview is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Silver Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver Lake is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Millheim
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Millheim is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
    • Biehle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Biehle is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biehle
  • Reynolds County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Munger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Munger is located in Reynolds County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munger
    • Lesterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Saint Francois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Knob Lick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Knob Lick is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob Lick
    • Hamilton Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Hamilton Town is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton Town
    • Doe Run
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Doe Run is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Run
    • Mineral City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Mineral City is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
    • Iron Mountain Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Iron Mountain Lake is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Mountain Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
    • Farmington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bismarck
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bismarck is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bismarck
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,469 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bismarck <1>
    • Leadington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Park Hills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Elvins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Elvins is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvins
    • Esther
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Esther is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esther
    • Flat River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Flat River is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat River
    • Rivermines
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Rivermines is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivermines
  • Sainte Genevieve County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Womack
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Womack is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
    • Avon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Avon is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
    • Chestnut Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Chestnut Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Ridge
    • Coffman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Coffman is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffman
    • Clearwater
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Clearwater is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
    • Jonca
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jonca is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonca
    • Sprott
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sprott is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprott
    • Minnith
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Minnith is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnith
    • Weingarten
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Weingarten is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weingarten
    • River aux Vases
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • River aux Vases is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River aux Vases
      • Former name for River aux Vases:
      • Staabtown
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Cascade
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Cascade is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
    • Lodi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Lodi is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
    • Brunot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Brunot is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunot
    • Clubb
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Clubb is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clubb
    • Bounds
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Bounds is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bounds
    • Hiram
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Hiram is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiram
    • Silva
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Silva is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silva
    • Lowndes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Lowndes is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowndes
    • Patterson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • McGee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • McGee is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGee
    • Piedmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Shook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Shook is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shook

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

Cemeteries Near Central ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Central.

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

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

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

  • Barber Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Revelle Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Francis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Revelle Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Marcus Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Marcus Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Millcreek.
    • The Marcus Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Fredericktown Cemetery
    • Marcus Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #29994 <2>
  • Captain Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Cox Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Gregory Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Griffin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Settle Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (366 more) ...
    • Arnett Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Casey Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Colvert Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)

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>

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

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

  • Zion
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Zion is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
  • Fredericktown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • French Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • French Mills is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Mills
  • Cornwall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Cornwall is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
  • Jewett
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jewett is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewett
  • Marquand
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Marquand is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquand
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
  • Mine La Motte
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Mine La Motte is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mine La Motte
  • Coldwater
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Coldwater is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
  • Gravelton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gravelton is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelton
  • Knob Lick
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Knob Lick is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob Lick
  • Syenite
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Syenite is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syenite
  • Brunot
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brunot is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunot
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Bessville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bessville is located in Bollinger County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bessville
    • Libertyville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Libertyville is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertyville
    • Ironton
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Central. See our List of 1890's Communities around Central.

Newspapers Published in Central ...

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 Central.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Central, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Central.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Central:

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 Central, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Central) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.