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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 Purcell (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 Purcell. 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 southeast 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 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.

Purcell is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Cherokee (KS), Crawford (KS), Barton, Dade, Lawrence & Newton.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Purcell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
    • Neck City
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Neck City is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neck City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
    • Alba
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Alba is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
    • Oronogo
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Carytown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Carytown is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
    • Brooklyn Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Brooklyn Heights is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Medoc
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Medoc is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medoc
    • Carterville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Webb City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Prosperity
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Prosperity is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
    • Carthage
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Airport Drive
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Airport Drive is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
    • Carl Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dupont ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Dupont is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
  • Barton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
    • Nashville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Nashville is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
    • Oakton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Oakton is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakton
    • Mindenmines
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kenoma
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Kenoma is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenoma
    • Lamar Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Lamar Heights is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Lamar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Golden City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberal
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Liberal is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
    • Bushnell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Bushnell is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
    • Burgess
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Burgess is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
      • Estimated population in 2017: 54 people
    • Irwin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Irwin is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Layneville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Layneville is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layneville
    • Newport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Newport is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
  • Dade County
    • Lockwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Lockwood is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
    • Red Oak
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Red Oak is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
    • Stotts City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Stotts City is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotts City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
    • Round Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Round Grove is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Grove
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
    • Dennis Acres
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Dennis Acres is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Leawood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Leawood is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leawood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Shoal Creek Drive
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Shoal Creek Drive is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Silver Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Silver Creek is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
      • Estimated population in 2012: 631 people
    • Cliff Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Cliff Village is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
    • Grand Falls Plaza
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Grand Falls Plaza is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Falls Plaza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Saginaw
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Saginaw is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Shoal Creek Estates
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Shoal Creek Estates is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Redings Mill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Redings Mill is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redings Mill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Diamond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Diamond is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 909 people
      • Former names for Diamond:
      • Diamond Grove
      • Diamond Mill
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Diamond <1>
    • Spring City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Spring City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
    • Loma Linda
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Loma Linda is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Linda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
    • Granby City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Granby City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby City
  • Vernon County
    • Sheldon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Cherokee County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
    • Lawton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Lawton is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
    • Badger
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Badger is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger
    • East Galena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • East Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galena
    • Empire City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Empire City is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
    • Galena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
    • Crestline
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Crestline is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestline
    • South Galena
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • South Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Galena
    • Riverton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Lowell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lowell is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell has also been known as:
      • Lowell Station
    • Quaker
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Quaker is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker
    • Barrett ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Barrett is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
    • Coal Valley ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Coal Valley is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
    • Dutch Hollow ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Dutch Hollow is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Hollow
  • Crawford County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
    • Opolis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Opolis is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opolis
    • Kirkwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Kirkwood is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkwood
    • Cornell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Cornell is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Pittsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Pittsburg is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,968 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pittsburg <1>
    • Frontenac
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Klendike
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Klendike is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klendike
    • Yale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Yale is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
    • Curranville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Curranville is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curranville
    • Fox Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fox Town is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Town
    • Lone Oak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lone Oak is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
    • Capaldo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Capaldo is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capaldo
    • Cherokee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Breezy Hill ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Breezy Hill is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breezy Hill
  • Ottawa County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Purcell, with the one closest to Purcell listed first.
    • Hockerville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hockerville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hockerville
    • Peoria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Peoria is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Lincolnville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincolnville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
    • Picher ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Quapaw
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Quapaw is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quapaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 871 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quapaw <1>
    • Cardin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Purcell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Purcell.

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

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

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

  • Friends Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Weaver Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Pine Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Oronogo Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Laxton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Bluff Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Gresham Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Twin Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Carterville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Bradford Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (230 more) ...
    • Curtis Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Good Shepherd Lutheran Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Georgia City Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 Purcell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Purcell.

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

  • Alba
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Alba is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alba
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
  • Oronogo
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Galesburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Galesburg is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
  • Webb City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Carterville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Medoc
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Medoc is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medoc
  • Carl Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Dupont ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dupont is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
  • Prosperity
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Prosperity is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
  • Carthage
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Waco
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Waco is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
  • Thoms
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Thoms is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thoms
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Tuckahoe
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Tuckahoe is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
    • Jasper
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Smithfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Smithfield is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield

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

Newspapers Published in Purcell ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Purcell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Purcell, 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 Purcell.

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 helpful 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 Purcell:

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