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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 Oto (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 Oto. 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 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.

Oto is located in Stone 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 Stone County: Carroll (AR), Barry, Christian, Lawrence & Taney.

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

  • Stone County     (The home county of Oto)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oto, with the one closest to Oto listed first.
    • White City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • White City is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Galena
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Ponce de Leon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Ponce de Leon is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponce de Leon
    • Hurley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • McCord Bend
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • McCord Bend is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCord Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
    • Crane
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Union City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Union City is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
    • Bradfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cape Fair
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Reeds Spring
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Branson West
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Branson West is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branson West
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 451 people
    • Lakeview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakeview is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oto, with the one closest to Oto listed first.
    • Scholten
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jenkins
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leann
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Hill City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Hill City is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Shell Knob
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Tom Town ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Star City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Star City is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
    • Emerald Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Emerald Beach is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Arrow Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Arrow Point is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrow Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Cassville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Golden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Purdy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Christian County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oto, with the one closest to Oto listed first.
    • Battlefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Battlefield is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battlefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,665 people
    • Brookline Station
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Brookline
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Brookline is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline
    • Sequiota
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Springfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Langston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Langston is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
    • Mumford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bois D'Arc
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Turners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Turners is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turners
    • Willard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oto, with the one closest to Oto listed first.
    • Marionville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Aurora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Verona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Verona is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Halltown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Vernon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Freistatt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Freistatt is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freistatt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Hoberg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hoberg is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Heatonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pierce City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Taney County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oto, with the one closest to Oto listed first.
    • Day
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Walnut Shade
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Walnut Shade is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Shade
    • Bull Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bull Creek is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
    • Branson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Merriam Woods
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Merriam Woods is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,859 people
    • Rockaway Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Table Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Table Rock is located in Taney County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Rock
    • Hollister
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Forsyth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kirbyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Oasis ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Melva ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Webster County
  • Carroll County (AR)
  • Conway County (AR)

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

Cemeteries Near Oto ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oto.

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

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

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

  • Bass Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Parsons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Short Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Noland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Wright Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Eisenhour Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • White Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Hood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Crane Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Flood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (315 more) ...
    • Wright Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Wilson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cape Fair Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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, Oto had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Galena
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Ponce de Leon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Ponce de Leon is located in Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponce de Leon
  • School
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • School is located in Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for School
  • Cape Fair
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Bradfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Scholten
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Highlandville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Flat Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Flat Creek is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
  • Day
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Leann
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Jenkins
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverdale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Riverdale is located in Christian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverdale
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Logan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Logan is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
    • Eaudevie ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Eaudevie is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaudevie
    • Marionville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Oto ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oto.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oto, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oto.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Oto:

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