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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 Johnstown (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 Johnstown. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Johnstown is located in Bates 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 Bates County: Linn (KS), Miami (KS), Cass, Henry, Saint Clair & Vernon.

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

  • Bates County     (The home county of Johnstown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Mayesburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Mayesburg is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayesburg
    • Butler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Passaic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Passaic is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Passaic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 32 people
    • Adrian
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Prairie City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Prairie City is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
    • Rockville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Rockville is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Nyhart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Nyhart is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyhart
    • Rich Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Burdett
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Burdett is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdett
    • New Home
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • New Home is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Home
    • Foster
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Foster is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
    • Amoret
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Amoret is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amoret
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Creighton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Austin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Austin is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
    • Garden City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Archie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Gunn City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Gunn City is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • East Lynne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Main City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Main City is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Main City
    • Harrisonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Cedar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • El Dorado Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Lebeck
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lebeck is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebeck
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Montrose
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • La Due
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • La Due is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Due
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 28 people
    • Hartwell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartwell is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwell
    • Urich
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Maurine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Maurine is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurine
    • Clinton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Deepwater
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Norris
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Norris is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
    • Blairstown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Blairstown is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
    • Brownington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Brownington is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Alberta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Alberta is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Calhoun
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Calhoun is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Quick City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Quick City is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick City
    • La Tour
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • La Tour is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Tour
    • Latour
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Latour is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latour
    • Chilhowee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Chilhowee is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
    • Holden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Leeton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Leeton is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
    • Kingsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Cornelia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cornelia is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelia
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Appleton City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Johnson City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Johnson City is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
    • Lowry City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Monegaw Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Monegaw Springs is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monegaw Springs
    • Osceola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Roscoe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Roscoe is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roscoe <1>
  • Vernon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
    • Schell City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Harwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Harwood is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
    • Horton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Horton is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
    • Walker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Walker is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
    • Metz
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Metz is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people

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

Cemeteries Near Johnstown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johnstown.

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

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

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

  • Poage Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Snodgrass Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Ludger Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Radford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • White Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Montrose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Ludgers Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Fewel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (193 more) ...
    • Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Fennewald Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gragg Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Johnstown had a population of 122 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Spruce
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Spruce is located in Bates County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce
  • Ballard ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Ballard is located in Bates County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
  • Montrose
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Mayesburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Mayesburg is located in Bates County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayesburg
  • Hudson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hudson is located in Bates County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
  • Lucas
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Lucas is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
  • Appleton City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant Gap
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Gap is located in Bates County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gap
  • Altona
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Altona is located in Bates County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
  • La Due
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • La Due is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Due
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 28 people
  • Hartwell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hartwell is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwell
  • Copeland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Copeland is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Creighton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Dayton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Dayton is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Butler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Johnstown ...

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 143 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johnstown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johnstown, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johnstown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Johnstown:

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>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 Johnstown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Johnstown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.