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 Duncan (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 Duncan. 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 and 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.
Duncan is primarily located in Webster County. A portion of Duncan extends into Wright 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 Webster County: Christian, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Laclede & Wright.
Below are the counties that are near Duncan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Duncan:
- Webster County (The home county of Duncan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Niangua
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Niangua is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niangua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people
- Seymour
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Diggins
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Diggins is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diggins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
- Rader
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rader is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rader
- Marshfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Sarvis Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sarvis Point is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarvis Point
- Crown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Crown is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
- Fordland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Northview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Northview is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
- Olga
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Olga is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
- Conklin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Conklin is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conklin
- Elkland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Elkland is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkland
- Christian County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Elkhead
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhead is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhead
- Bruner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bruner is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Velsor ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Velsor is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velsor
- Pembina
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pembina is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pembina
- Oldfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oldfield is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Linden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Linden is located in Christian County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Sparta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Charity ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Charity is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Long Lane
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Long Lane is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lane
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Olathia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Olathia is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olathia
- Johns Mills ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Johns Mills is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns Mills
- Arden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Arden is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arden
- Ava
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Red Bank
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Red Bank is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Smallett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Smallett is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smallett
- Squires
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Squires is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squires
- Rome
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rome is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome
- Vanzant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Vanzant is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanzant
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Strafford
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fair Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Turners
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Turners is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turners
- Mumford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Mumford is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mumford
- Laclede County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Pease
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Pease is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pease
- Conway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Twin Bridges
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Twin Bridges is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Bridges
- Evergreen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Evergreen is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
- Evergreen has also been known as:
- Evergreen village
- Phillipsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Competition
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Competition is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Competition
- Brush Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brush Creek is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
- Oakland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Oakland is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Lynchburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lynchburg is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
- Lebanon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Falcon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Winnipeg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Winnipeg is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnipeg
- Polk County
- Tin Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tin Town is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin Town
- Texas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Bendavis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bendavis is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bendavis
- Huggins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Huggins is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huggins
- Dunn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dunn is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
- Former name for Dunn:
- Impo
- Plato
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wright County
- The following are listed by their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Odin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Odin is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
- Grovespring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hartville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mansfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Saint George
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Saint George is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Macomb
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Macomb is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomb
- Jerktail ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jerktail is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerktail
- Norwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Green Mountain
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Green Mountain is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Mountain
- Graff
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Graff is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graff
- Astoria
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Astoria is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astoria
- Mountain Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Duncan, see our County-by-County Page for Duncan.
Cemeteries Near Duncan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Duncan.
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 Duncan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Duncan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Sixteenth Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Smith Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Boyer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Petet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Peters Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Moore Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- George Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bright Prairie Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Matlock Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Black Oak Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Trimble Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (286 more) ...
- Winingham Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Alcorn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Dale Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Duncan had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Duncan, with the one closest to Duncan listed first.
- Odin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Odin is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
- Antrim
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Antrim is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antrim
- Bracken
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bracken is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bracken
- Umpire
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Umpire is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umpire
- Boyer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Boyer is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyer
- Grovespring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Seymour
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hartville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Diggins
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Diggins is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diggins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 326 people
- Fuson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fuson is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuson
- Cedar Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cedar Gap is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Gap
- Rader
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rader is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rader
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Marshfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mansfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sarvis Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sarvis Point is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarvis Point
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Duncan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Duncan.
Newspapers Published in Duncan ...
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 84 newspapers that have been published in the area around Duncan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Duncan, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Duncan.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Duncan:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Webster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Christian County
- Dallas County
- Douglas County
- Greene County
- Laclede County
- Polk County
- Texas County
- Wright County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Duncan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Duncan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |