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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 Lawson (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 Lawson. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Lawson is primarily located in Ray County. A portion of Lawson extends into Clay 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 Ray County: Caldwell, Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Jackson & Lafayette.

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

  • Ray County     (The home county of Lawson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
    • Excelsior Estates
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Excelsior Estates is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Elmira
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elmira is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Crystal Lakes
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Crystal Lakes is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Homestead
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Homestead is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Wood Heights
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Wood Heights is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
    • Woods Heights
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Knoxville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Rayville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Albany
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Albany is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
    • Georgeville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Orrick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Richmond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Buchanan County
    • Easton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Caldwell County
  • Carroll County
  • Clay County
  • Clinton County
  • Daviess County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
    • Mabel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Winston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
    • Osborn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Stewartsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
    • Atherton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Sibley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • River Bend
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • River Bend is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
    • Buckner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Levasy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Levasy is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levasy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Lake City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Lake City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Cement City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Cement City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cement City
    • Adams
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Independence
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Maywood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Grain Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Lafayette County
  • Livingston County
    • Ludlow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Platte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson listed first.
    • Edgerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Ridgely
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Ridgely is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Linkville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Ferrelview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Ferrelview is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrelview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
    • Lake Waukomis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Waukomis is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Waukomis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
    • Northmoor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Northmoor is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northmoor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
    • Houston Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Houston Lake is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
    • Platte Woods
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Platte Woods is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
    • Camden Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Riverside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Weatherby Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Weatherby Lake is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weatherby Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,086 people
    • Dearborn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Lawson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lawson.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lawson, with the one closest to Lawson 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 Lawson had a population of 520 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lawson had a population of 2,402 people.

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

  • Vibbard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Vibbard is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vibbard
  • Elmira
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmira is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
  • Converse
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sandals
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Sandals is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandals
  • Excelsior Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Holt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Kearney
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Prathersville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Prathersville is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prathersville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
  • Rayville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Knoxville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Lathrop
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Polo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Dockery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Dockery is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dockery
    • Mirabile
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Mirabile is located in Caldwell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mirabile
    • Lilly
      (12 miles [19.3 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 Lawson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lawson.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lawson ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lawson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lawson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lawson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lawson.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Lawson.

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 websites either 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 Lawson:

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 Lawson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Lawson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.