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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 Ratcliff Ford (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 Ratcliff Ford. 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 Ratcliff Ford ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Ratcliff Ford: Ratcliff Frd.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Ratcliff Ford is located in Texas County.

To see how the shape of Missouri's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Texas County: Dent, Douglas, Howell, Laclede, Phelps, Pulaski, Shannon & Wright.

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

  • Texas County     (The home county of Ratcliff Ford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ratcliff Ford, with the one closest to Ratcliff Ford listed first.
    • Hattie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hattie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattie
      • Hattie is located in Texas County
    • Summersville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
      • Summersville is located in Texas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summersville <2>
    • Eunice
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Hartshorn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartshorn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartshorn
      • Hartshorn is located in Texas County
    • Yukon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yukon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
      • Yukon is located in Texas County
    • Sargent
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sargent have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
      • Sargent is located in Texas County
    • Elk Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Creek
      • Elk Creek is located in Texas County
    • Solo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solo
      • Solo is located in Texas County
    • Raymondville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymondville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymondville
      • Raymondville is located in Texas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymondville <2>
    • Simmons
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmons
      • Simmons is located in Texas County
    • Houston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
      • Houston is located in Texas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,085 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houston <2>
    • Cabool
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Mineral Springs City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs City
      • Mineral Springs City is located in Texas County
  • Carter County
    • Fremont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fremont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Fremont is located in Carter County
  • Dent County
    • Jadwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jadwin
      • Jadwin is located in Dent County
  • Howell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ratcliff Ford, with the one closest to Ratcliff Ford listed first.
    • Mountain View
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Peace Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peace Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Valley
      • Peace Valley is located in Howell County
    • Willow Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
      • Willow Springs is located in Howell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,098 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willow Springs <2>
    • Burnham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
      • Burnham is located in Howell County
    • Sterling ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
      • Sterling is located in Howell County
    • Pomona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pomona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
      • Pomona is located in Howell County
    • West Plains
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plains
      • West Plains is located in Howell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,383 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Plains <2>
    • Chapin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
      • Chapin is located in Howell County
    • Brandsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandsville
      • Brandsville is located in Howell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
    • Siloam Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam Springs
      • Siloam Springs is located in Howell County
  • Oregon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ratcliff Ford, with the one closest to Ratcliff Ford listed first.
    • Thomasville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
      • Thomasville is located in Oregon County
    • Woodside
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
      • Woodside is located in Oregon County
    • Alton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Shannon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ratcliff Ford, with the one closest to Ratcliff Ford listed first.
    • Montier
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montier
      • Montier is located in Shannon County
    • Birch Tree
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birch Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch Tree
      • Birch Tree is located in Shannon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Birch Tree <2>
    • Alley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alley
      • Alley is located in Shannon County
    • Eminence
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eminence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eminence
      • Eminence is located in Shannon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 581 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eminence <2>
    • Winona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
      • Winona is located in Shannon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winona <2>
    • Round Spring
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Spring
      • Round Spring is located in Shannon County
    • Akers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akers
      • Akers is located in Shannon County

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

Newspapers Published in Ratcliff Ford ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ratcliff Ford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ratcliff Ford, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ratcliff Ford.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Ratcliff Ford:

Cemeteries Near Ratcliff Ford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ratcliff Ford.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Harlow Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harlow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harlow Cemetery
  • Oakside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakside Cemetery
  • Cold Spring Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cold Spring Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cold Spring Cemetery
  • Gill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenlawn Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain View Cemetery
  • Bell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bell Cemetery
  • Newsalem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Newsalem Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the southeast of Mountain View.
    • The Newsalem Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Salem Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Newsalem Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #30500 <4>
  • New Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Salem Cemetery
  • Grace Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Turkey Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turkey Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turkey Oak Cemetery
  • Duncan Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Duncan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Duncan Cemetery
  • Continue List   (127 more) ...
    • Summersville Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Summersville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Summersville Cemetery
    • Rowe Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rowe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rowe Cemetery
    • New Salem Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Salem Cemetery

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.<5>

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

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

  • Oakside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakside
    • Oakside is located in Shannon County
  • Mountain View
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Hattie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hattie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattie
    • Hattie is located in Texas County
  • Montier
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montier
    • Montier is located in Shannon County
  • Summersville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
    • Summersville is located in Texas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summersville <2>
  • Clear Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
    • Clear Springs is located in Texas County
  • Birch Tree
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birch Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch Tree
    • Birch Tree is located in Shannon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Birch Tree <2>
  • Hutton Valley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hutton Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton Valley
    • Hutton Valley is located in Howell County
  • Peace Valley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peace Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Valley
    • Peace Valley is located in Howell County
  • Not
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Not have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Not
    • Not is located in Shannon County
  • Eunice
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Alley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alley
    • Alley is located in Shannon County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Hartshorn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartshorn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartshorn
      • Hartshorn is located in Texas County
    • Tyrone
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyrone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
      • Tyrone is located in Texas County
    • White Church
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Church have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Church
      • White Church is located in Howell County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ratcliff Ford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ratcliff Ford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ratcliff Ford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0562, Longitude: -91.6843       In this case, the coordinates for Ratcliff Ford have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Ratcliff Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024