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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 De Soto (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 De Soto. 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 doctors 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.

De Soto is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Monroe (IL), Franklin, Saint Francois, Saint Louis, Sainte Genevieve & Washington.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of De Soto)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Soto, with the one closest to De Soto listed first.
    • Hemker
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Luebbering
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Luebbering is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luebbering
    • Lonedell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Lonedell is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonedell
    • Hensley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Huff
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Catawissa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Robertsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Moselle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pacific
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pacific is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,097 people
      • Former name for Pacific:
      • Franklin
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pacific <1>
    • Parkway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Parkway is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
    • Saint Clair
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Anaconda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Caseyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Caseyville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caseyville
  • Saint Francois County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Soto, with the one closest to De Soto listed first.
    • Blackwell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Silver Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Settletown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Bonne Terre
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • French Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cantwell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Desloge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Desloge is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desloge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,900 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Desloge <1>
    • Leadwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Leadwood is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,158 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leadwood <1>
    • Elvins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Elvins is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvins
    • Esther
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Esther is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esther
    • Flat River
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Flat River is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat River
    • Rivermines
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Rivermines is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivermines
    • Wortham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Saint Louis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Soto, with the one closest to De Soto listed first.
    • Allenton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Allenton is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
    • Eureka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Crescent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Fenton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Mattese
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mattese is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
    • Oakville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ranken
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Glencoe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Peerless Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Peerless Park is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peerless Park
    • Sappington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Sunset Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sunset Hills is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,448 people
    • Mehlville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mehlville is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehlville
  • Sainte Genevieve County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Soto, with the one closest to De Soto listed first.
    • Tiff
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Tiff is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff
    • Cadet
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Theabeau Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Theabeau Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theabeau Town
    • Mud Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mud Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Town
    • Old Mines
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • French Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • French Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
    • Richwoods
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Mineral Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mineral Point is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Aptus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Potosi
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Fourche a Renault ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Irondale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Monroe County (IL)
  • Randolph County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from De Soto, with the one closest to De Soto listed first.
    • Prairie du Rocher
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
      • Prairie du Rocher village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
    • Modoc
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Red Bud
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Ruma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near De Soto ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of De Soto.

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 De Soto - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 De Soto had a population of 3,960 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, De Soto had a population of 6,340 people.

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

  • Victoria
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Victoria is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Vineland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Vineland is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineland
  • Knorpp
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hematite
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hematite is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
  • Oakvale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakvale is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
  • Flucom
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillsboro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Blackwell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Valles Mines
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Plattin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Plattin is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattin
  • Ware
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Frumet
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Frumet is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frumet
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Fertile
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Fertile is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertile
    • Silver Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Halifax
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Halifax is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of De Soto ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around De Soto.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of De Soto. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of De Soto and those printed in the larger area surrounding De Soto.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> of De Soto.

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 De Soto:

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 De Soto, 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 from Point A (ie- De Soto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.