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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 Preston (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 Preston. 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.

Preston is located in Hickory 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 Hickory County: Benton, Camden, Dallas, Polk & Saint Clair.

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

  • Hickory County     (The home county of Preston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Cross Timbers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Cross Timbers is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Timbers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Nemo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Nemo is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemo
    • Hermitage
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Pittsburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Galmey
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Galmey is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galmey
    • Wheatland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Avery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Avery is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
    • Elkton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Elkton is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Quincy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Quincy is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
    • Weaubleau
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Edwards
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Warsaw
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Tackner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Tackner is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tackner
    • Zora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Zora is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
    • Edmonson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Edmonson is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonson
    • Racket
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Racket is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racket
  • Camden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Macks Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Climax Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Barnumton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Barnumton is located in Camden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnumton
    • Roach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • White City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • White City is located in Camden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Camdenton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Old Linn Creek ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Old Linn Creek is located in Camden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Linn Creek
    • Decaturville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Decaturville is located in Camden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decaturville
    • Linn Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Sunrise Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Damsel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Damsel is located in Camden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damsel
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Urbana
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Tunas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Tunas is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunas
    • Louisburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Louisburg is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Westfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Westfield is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
    • Leadmine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Leadmine is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadmine
    • Celt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Celt is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celt
    • Buffalo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Windyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Windyville is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windyville
    • Long Lane
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Long Lane is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lane
  • Laclede County
  • Morgan County
    • Laurie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Sentinel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sentinel is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel
      • Former name for Sentinel:
      • Sentinel Prairie
    • Polk
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Polk is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
    • Goodson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Goodson is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodson
    • Rondo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Rondo is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rondo
    • Flemington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Flemington is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Halfway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Halfway is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
    • Humansville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolivar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dunnegan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Dunnegan is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnegan
    • Fair Play
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston, with the one closest to Preston listed first.
    • Gerster
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Gerster is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
    • Collins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Vista
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Vista is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Osceola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Cobb
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cobb is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb

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

Cemeteries Near Preston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Preston.

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

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

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

  • Fisher Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Olive Point Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Clark Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Nemo Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bowers Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Little Niangua Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hermitage Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Dorman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Stewart Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mabary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (259 more) ...
    • Guier Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cross Timbers Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Dooley Bend Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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 in 1895, Preston had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Preston had a population of 220 people.

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

  • Cross Timbers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Cross Timbers is located in Hickory County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Timbers
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
  • Almon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Almon is located in Hickory County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almon
  • Hermitage
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Galmey
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Galmey is located in Hickory County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galmey
  • Pittsburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Ingalls ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Ingalls is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingalls
  • Wheatland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sentinel
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sentinel is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel
    • Former name for Sentinel:
    • Sentinel Prairie
  • Avery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Avery is located in Hickory County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
  • Elkton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Elkton is located in Hickory County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
  • Louisburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Louisburg is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
  • Macks Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Edwards
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Climax Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Quincy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Quincy is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy

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

Newspapers Published in Preston ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Preston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Preston, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Preston.

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 Preston:

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 Preston, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Preston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.