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 Otis (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 Otis. 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 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 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.
Otis is located in New Madrid 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 New Madrid County: Fulton (KY), Dunklin, Mississippi, Pemiscot, Scott, Stoddard & Lake (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Otis. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otis:
- New Madrid County (The home county of Otis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Lilbourn
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- North Lilbourn
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- North Lilbourn is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lilbourn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Howardville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Howardville is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- New Madrid
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kewanee
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kewanee is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kewanee
- La Forge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- La Forge is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Forge
- Catron
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Catron is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Marston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ogden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ogden is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Conran
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Conran is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conran
- Matthews
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Canalou
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Canalou is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canalou
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Parma
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Parma is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 602 people
- Dunklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Malden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Clarkton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Clarkton is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,139 people
- Wrightsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wrightsville is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
- Gibson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gibson is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Holcomb
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Pine City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pine City is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
- Sumach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sumach is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumach
- White Oak
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- White Oak is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Mississippi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- East Prairie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Whiting
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Whiting is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
- Pinhook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pinhook is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook
- Estimated population in 2012: 30 people
- Anniston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Anniston is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anniston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Bertrand
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bertrand is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertrand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
- Wolf Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Wolf Island is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Island
- Thirtyfour Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Thirtyfour Corner is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirtyfour Corner
- Charleston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Charleston is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
- Wilson City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson City is located in Mississippi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Pemiscot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Hayward
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hayward is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
- Stewart
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Stewart is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
- North Wardell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Wardell is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wardell
- Wardell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wardell is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 354 people
- Homestown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Homestown is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Netherlands
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Netherlands is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Netherlands
- Peach Orchard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Peach Orchard is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Orchard
- Pascola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pascola is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pascola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Hayti Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hayti Heights is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayti Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Hayti
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Caruthersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bragg City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bragg City is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Mid City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mid City is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mid City
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Miner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Miner is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 939 people
- Crowder
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Crowder is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowder
- Diehlstadt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Diehlstadt is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Vanduser
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Vanduser is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanduser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
- Blodgett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Blodgett is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Haywood City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Haywood City is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Morley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Morley is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Stoddard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- LaValle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- LaValle is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaValle
- Baker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Baker is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3 people
- Grayridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grayridge is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayridge
- Penermon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Penermon is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penermon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
- Essex
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Essex is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex
- Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
- Circle City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Circle City is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circle City
- Bernie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dexter
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Guam ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Guam is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guam
- Bloomfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dudley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dudley is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Bell City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bell City is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Fulton County (KY)
- Hickman
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hickman County (KY)
- Columbus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Columbus is located in Hickman County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Lake County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- New Markham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Markham is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Markham
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,354 people
- Proctor City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Proctor City is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor City
- Tiptonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sunkist Beach
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sunkist Beach is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunkist Beach
- Estimated population in 2014: 547 people
- Owl City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Owl City is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl City
- Ridgely
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Powells Ferry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Powells Ferry is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powells Ferry
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,319 people
- Obion County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Samburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hornbeak
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Woodland Mills is located in Obion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
- Englewood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Englewood is located in Obion County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,532 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otis, see our County-by-County Page for Otis.
Cemeteries Near Otis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otis.
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 Otis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- Mounds Park Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds Park Cemetery
- The Mounds Park Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mounds Cemetery
- Baines Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dawson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Powell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Minner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sherwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dettroy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hatcher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sand Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (231 more) ...
- Howard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sherwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
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>
While we didn't find Otis in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otis.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
- New Madrid
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ristine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ristine is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ristine
- La Forge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- La Forge is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Forge
- Como
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Como is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
- Ogden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ogden is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Bessie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bessie is located in Lake County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bessie
- Point Pleasant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Point Pleasant is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Pleasant
- Portageville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hayward
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hayward is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
- Little River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Little River is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Morehouse
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Morehouse is located in New Madrid County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Stewart
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Stewart is located in Pemiscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Buffington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buffington is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffington
- East Prairie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tiptonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otis.
Newspapers Published in Otis ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otis, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otis.
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 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 Otis:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to New Madrid County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dunklin County
- Mississippi County
- Pemiscot County
- Scott County
- Stoddard County
- Fulton County
- Hickman County
- Lake County
- Obion 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> | 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 Otis, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Otis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |