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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 Flat River (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 Flat River. 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 Flat River ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Flat River: Flat Riv.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Flat River. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Flat River.

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.

Flat River is located in Saint Francois 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 Saint Francois County: Iron, Jefferson, Madison, Perry, Sainte Genevieve & Washington.

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

  • Saint Francois County     (The home county of Flat River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Esther
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Esther is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esther
    • Rivermines
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Rivermines is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivermines
    • Cantwell
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Cantwell is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cantwell
    • Desloge
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • 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>
    • Elvins
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Elvins is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvins
    • Park Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Leadington
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Leadwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Bonne Terre
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wortham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Wortham is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wortham
    • Doe Run
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Doe Run is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Run
    • Hamilton Town
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Hamilton Town is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton Town
    • Farmington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Iron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Middle Brook
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Belleview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Belleview is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
    • English Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • English Town is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Town
    • Pilot Knob
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Ironton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Arcadia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Glover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Glover is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
    • Chloride
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Chloride is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloride
    • Good Water
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Good Water is located in Iron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Water
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Valles Mines
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Knorpp
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Knorpp is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knorpp
    • Flucom
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Flucom is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flucom
    • Olympian Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Olympian Village is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olympian Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 752 people
    • De Soto
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Hematite
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Hematite is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
    • Fletcher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Fletcher is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
    • Festus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Festus is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <1>
    • Crystal City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Hillsboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ware
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Ware is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
    • Mapaville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Mapaville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapaville
    • Herculaneum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Mine La Motte
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mine La Motte is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mine La Motte
    • Junction City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Junction City is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 314 people
    • Tin Mountain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Tin Mountain is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin Mountain
    • Fredericktown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Cobalt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Cobalt is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobalt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Millcreek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Millcreek is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millcreek
    • Cornwall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cornwall is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
  • Perry County
    • Silver Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Silver Lake is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
  • Reynolds County
    • Munger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Munger is located in Reynolds County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munger
  • Sainte Genevieve County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Chestnut Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Chestnut Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Ridge
    • Sprott
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Sprott is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprott
    • Jonca
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jonca is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonca
    • Lawrenceton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lawrenceton is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceton
    • Rocky Ridge Ranch
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Ridge Ranch is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge Ranch
    • Rocky Ridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Rocky Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
    • Weingarten
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Weingarten is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weingarten
    • New Offenburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • New Offenburg is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Offenburg
    • Kinsey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Kinsey is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
    • Avon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Avon is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
    • Coffman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Coffman is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffman
    • Bloomsdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Clearwater
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Clearwater is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Irondale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • French Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • French Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
    • Summit
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Summit is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Cadet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mineral Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Mineral Point is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Tiff
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Tiff is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff
    • Caledonia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Potosi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Potosi is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potosi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Potosi <1>
    • Mud Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mud Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Town
    • Old Mines
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Old Mines is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mines
    • Theabeau Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Theabeau Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theabeau Town
    • Belgrade
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Sunlight
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Sunlight is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunlight
  • Monroe County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Mitchie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Mitchie is located in Monroe County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchie
    • Fults
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fults is located in Monroe County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fults
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fults <1>
    • Chalfin Bridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
    • Renault
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Maeystown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Randolph County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Flat River, with the one closest to Flat River listed first.
    • Prairie du Rocher
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Modoc is located in Randolph County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
    • Dozaville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Dozaville is located in Randolph County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dozaville

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

Cemeteries Near Flat River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Flat River.

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 Flat River - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Nativity Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Knights of Pythias Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Highley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Highley McHenry Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highley McHenry Cemetery
    • The Highley McHenry Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Highley Cemetery
  • Workmens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Russian Orthodox Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Lane Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Smallpox Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Cunningham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • McHenry Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (329 more) ...

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 in 1895, Flat River had a post office and no railroad service. In 1990, Flat River had a population of 4,823 people.

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

  • Loughboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Loughboro is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loughboro
  • East Bonne Terre
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • East Bonne Terre is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bonne Terre
  • Bonne Terre
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • De Lassus
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • De Lassus is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Lassus
  • Doe Run
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Doe Run is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Run
  • Farmington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hazel Run
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hazel Run is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
  • Bismarck
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • 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>
  • Irondale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Valley Forge ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Valley Forge is located in Saint Francois County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Forge
  • Mill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Mill is located in Sainte Genevieve County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill
  • French Village
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Silver Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Silver Springs is located in Saint Francois County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
    • Hopewell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Hopewell is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Jonca
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jonca is located in Sainte Genevieve County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonca

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Flat River ...

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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Flat River.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Flat River. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Flat River and those printed in the larger area surrounding Flat River.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<4> of Flat River.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Flat River:

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