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 Hams Prairie (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 Hams Prairie. 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 Hams Prairie ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Hams Prairie: Hams Pr.
- While the name of this community is Hams Prairie, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Hams Prairie may originally have been Ham's Prairie.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Hams Prairie might be written as Ham Prairie.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Hams Prairie is located in Callaway 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 Callaway County: Audrain, Boone, Cole, Gasconade, Montgomery & Osage.
Below are the counties that are near Hams Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hams Prairie:
- Callaway County (The home county of Hams Prairie)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Fulton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mokane
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Steedman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Steedman is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steedman
- Hord ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hord is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hord
- New Bloomfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Tebbetts
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tebbetts is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tebbetts
- Portland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Mykee Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Mykee Town is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Mykee Town
- Estimated population in 2018: 351 people
- Kingdom City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Folsom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Folsom is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Holts Summit
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Williamsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Auxvasse
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Audrain County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Benton City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Benton City is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
- Mexico
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Vandiver
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Vandiver is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandiver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Martinsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Thompson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Thompson is located in Audrain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Ashland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Oldham
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Oldham is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham
- Hartsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pierpont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Pierpont is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierpont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
- Columbia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moores Switch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moores Switch is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Switch
- Stephens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stephens is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stephens
- Hallsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- McBaine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McBaine is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBaine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12 people
- Hinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hinton is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
- Cole County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Osage City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Osage City is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage City
- Jefferson City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson City is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,972 people
- Jefferson City has also been known as:
- Jeff City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jefferson City <2>
- Taos
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Taos is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taos
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
- Wardsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wardsville is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
- Scruggs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Scruggs is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scruggs
- Saint Martins
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Martins is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Martins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
- Lohman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Centertown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gasconade County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Morrison
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Gasconade
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Gasconade is located in Gasconade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gasconade
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Hermann
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mount Sterling
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Sterling is located in Gasconade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Little Berger
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Little Berger is located in Gasconade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Berger
- Moniteau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Lupus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lupus is located in Moniteau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lupus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Jamestown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Bluffton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bluffton is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
- Americus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Americus is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- Starkenburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Starkenburg is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkenburg
- Rhineland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Danville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Big Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Big Spring is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- McKittrick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- New Florence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Montgomery City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wellsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- High Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Osage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Isbell ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Isbell is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isbell
- Chamois
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bonnots Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- French Village ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- French Village is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Village
- Loose Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Linn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Westphalia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Folk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Folk is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folk
- Koenig
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Koenig is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koenig
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hams Prairie, see our County-by-County Page for Hams Prairie.
Cemeteries Near Hams Prairie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hams Prairie.
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 Hams Prairie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hams Prairie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- United Brethren Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Muir Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Callaway Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Knight Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Southside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kibby Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bush Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (287 more) ...
- Steedman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dunlap Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Guerrart Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hams Prairie had a population of 45 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hams Prairie, with the one closest to Hams Prairie listed first.
- Fulton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Reform
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Reform is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
- Toledo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Toledo is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
- Hord ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hord is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hord
- Carrington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Carrington is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrington
- New Bloomfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Effie ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Effie is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effie
- Guthrie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Guthrie is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Isbell ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Isbell is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isbell
- Chamois
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Callaway
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Callaway is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaway
- Portland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Readsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Readsville is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readsville
- Calwood ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Calwood is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calwood
- Cote Sans Dessein ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cote Sans Dessein is located in Callaway County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cote Sans Dessein
- Cote Sans Dessein has also been known as:
- Parkersville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hams Prairie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hams Prairie.
Newspapers Published in Hams Prairie ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hams Prairie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hams Prairie, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hams Prairie.
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 Hams Prairie:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Callaway County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Audrain County
- Boone County
- Cole County
- Gasconade County
- Moniteau County
- Montgomery County
- Osage County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Hams Prairie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Hams Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |