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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 Otto (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 Otto. 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.

Otto is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Monroe (IL), Franklin, Saint Francois, Saint Louis, Sainte Genevieve & Washington.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Otto)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • House Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Scotsdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Scotsdale is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotsdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Barnhart
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Imperial
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • High Ridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Peaceful Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Peaceful Village is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Byrnes Mill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kimmswick
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Parkdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Parkdale is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Maxville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Arnold
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Arnold is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
    • Cedar Hill Lakes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Cedar Hill Lakes is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
  • Franklin County
  • Saint Charles County
  • Saint Francois County
  • Saint Louis City
  • Saint Louis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Fenton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Peerless Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Peerless Park is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peerless Park
    • Ranken
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Mattese
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mattese is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
    • Crescent
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Eureka
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Valley Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Oakville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sunset Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunset Hills is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,448 people
    • Concord
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Concord is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Green Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Park is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
    • Allenton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Allenton is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
    • Glencoe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Sainte Genevieve County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Brickeys
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Kinsey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Needmore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomsdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Clement ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lawrenceton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Richwoods
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Tiff
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Tiff is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff
    • Theabeau Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Theabeau Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theabeau Town
    • Mud Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Mud Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Town
    • Cadet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Old Mines
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Aptus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • French Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • French Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
  • Madison County (IL)
  • Monroe County (IL)
  • Randolph County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Red Bud
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Prairie du Rocher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
      • Prairie du Rocher village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
  • Saint Clair County (IL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • East Carondelet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dupo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Falling Spring
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cahokia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Millstadt
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Imbs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sauget
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Sauget is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauget
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sauget <1>
    • Centreville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Centreville is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
    • Alorton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Alorton is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alorton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,880 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alorton <1>
    • Brooklyn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Saint Clair County (IL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 687 people
    • East Saint Louis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • National City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gartside
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Otto ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otto.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto 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.<4>

While we didn't find Otto in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otto.

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

  • Antonia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Antonia is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonia
  • Seckman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Seckman is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seckman
  • Rock Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Rock Creek is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
  • House Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Regina
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Regina is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regina
  • Belews Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Belews Creek is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belews Creek
  • High Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Local
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Local is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Local
  • Jarvis
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jarvis is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarvis
  • Sulphur Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
  • Kimmswick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Maxville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Byrnesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Byrnesville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrnesville
    • Cedar Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Pevely
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Pevely is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pevely
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,001 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pevely <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Otto ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otto.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otto, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otto.

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 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 Otto:

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