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 Poplar Bluff (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 Poplar Bluff. 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.
Name Variations for Poplar Bluff ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Poplar Bluff: Poplar Blf. (or less commonly used: Poplar Bluf.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Poplar Bluff is located in Butler County and is the County Seat.
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 Butler County: Clay (AR), Carter, Dunklin, Ripley, Stoddard & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near Poplar Bluff. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Poplar Bluff:
- Butler County (The home county of Poplar Bluff)
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Kelly Town
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Kelly Town is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly Town
- Harviell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rombauer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rombauer is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rombauer
- Fisk
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Broseley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oglesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oglesville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oglesville
- Qulin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Qulin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Qulin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Neelyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fagus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fagus is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagus
- Bollinger County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Gipsy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gipsy is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gipsy
- Sturdivant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sturdivant is located in Bollinger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturdivant
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Ellsinore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grandin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Grandin is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 231 people
- Dunklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Campbell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Malden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gibson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gibson is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- Wrightsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wrightsville is located in Dunklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
- Ripley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Fairdealing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdealing is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdealing
- Gamburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gamburg is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamburg
- Naylor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Naylor is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naylor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
- Oxly
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oxly is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxly
- Doniphan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Current View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Current View is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current View
- Stoddard County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Dudley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Dudley is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Puxico
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bernie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dexter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Leora
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Leora is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leora
- Bloomfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Essex
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Essex is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex
- Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Wappapello
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Williamsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Shook is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shook
- Dees Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dees Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dees Town
- McGee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- McGee is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGee
- Greenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mill Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Spring is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Spring
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Lowndes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lowndes is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowndes
- Silva
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Silva is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silva
- Hiram
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hiram is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiram
- Patterson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Clay County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Moark
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Moark is located in Clay County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moark
- McDougal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- McDougal is located in Clay County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDougal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Pollard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Francis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Corning
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Current View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Current View is located in Clay County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Current View
- Success
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Success is located in Clay County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Piggott
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Greenway is located in Clay County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Datto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Datto is located in Clay County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Datto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Poplar Bluff, see our County-by-County Page for Poplar Bluff.
Cemeteries Near Poplar Bluff ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Poplar Bluff.
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 Poplar Bluff - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Poplar Bluff covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Poplar Bluff City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Black Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Marble Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Shadle Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sheppard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Memorial Gardens Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hudgens Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Montgomery Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Liberty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (272 more) ...
- Morocco Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Carpenter Bend Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Friendship Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Poplar Bluff had a population of 2,187 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Poplar Bluff had a population of 16,807 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Poplar Bluff, with the one closest to Poplar Bluff listed first.
- Hilliard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hilliard is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliard
- Roxie ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Roxie is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxie
- Harviell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Belcher ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Belcher is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcher
- Ash Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ash Hill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Hill
- Hendrickson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hendrickson is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrickson
- Keeners
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Keeners is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeners
- Halloran
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Halloran is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halloran
- Fairdealing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdealing is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdealing
- Qulin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Qulin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Qulin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Wappapello
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Gamburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gamburg is located in Ripley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamburg
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Neelyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Carola ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Carola is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carola
- Asherville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Asherville is located in Stoddard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asherville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Poplar Bluff. See our List of 1890's Communities around Poplar Bluff.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Poplar Bluff ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Poplar Bluff.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Poplar Bluff. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Poplar Bluff and those printed in the larger area surrounding Poplar Bluff.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Poplar Bluff.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Poplar Bluff:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Butler County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bollinger County
- Carter County
- Dunklin County
- Ripley County
- Stoddard County
- Wayne County
- Clay 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 Poplar Bluff, 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 from Point A (ie- Poplar Bluff) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |