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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 Rex (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 Rex. 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.

Rex is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Hickory & Saint Clair.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Rex)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rex, with the one closest to Rex listed first.
    • Halfway
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Halfway is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
    • Goodnight
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Goodnight is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodnight
      • Estimated population in 2019: 18 people
      • Goodnight has also been known as:
      • Goodnight village
    • Pleasant Hope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Tin Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Tin Town is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin Town
    • Brighton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolivar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Morrisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Goodson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Goodson is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodson
    • Wishart
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Wishart is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishart
    • Polk
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Polk is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
    • Graydon Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Graydon Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graydon Springs
    • Aldrich
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Aldrich is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Cedar County
    • Umber View Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Umber View Heights is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umber View Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
  • Dade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rex, with the one closest to Rex listed first.
    • Bona
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Bona is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bona
    • Dadeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Corry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Corry is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corry
    • Everton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Glen Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Glen Town is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Town
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rex, with the one closest to Rex listed first.
    • Buffalo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Charity ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Charity is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
    • Louisburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Louisburg is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Long Lane
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Long Lane is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lane
    • Urbana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Windyville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Windyville is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windyville
    • Tunas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Tunas is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunas
    • Leadmine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Leadmine is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadmine
    • Westfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Westfield is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
    • Celt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Celt is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celt
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rex, with the one closest to Rex listed first.
    • Fair Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Walnut Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Strafford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Phenix ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Phenix is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
      • Phenix has also been known as:
      • Phenix Quarry
    • Willard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Springfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Ash Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Bois D'Arc
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Langston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Langston is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
    • Mumford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Mumford is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mumford
    • Turners
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Turners is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turners
    • Sequiota
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Sequiota is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sequiota
  • Hickory County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rex, with the one closest to Rex listed first.
    • Pittsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Nemo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Nemo is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemo
    • Elkton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Elkton is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Galmey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Galmey is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galmey
    • Hermitage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Preston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Wheatland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Weaubleau
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Laclede County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rex, with the one closest to Rex listed first.
    • Conway
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Phillipsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Brush Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Brush Creek is located in Laclede County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rex, with the one closest to Rex listed first.
    • Elkland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkland is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkland
    • Conklin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Conklin is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conklin
    • Northview
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Northview is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
    • Marshfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Crown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Crown is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
    • Niangua
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Niangua is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niangua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people
    • Rader
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Rader is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rader
    • Rogersville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Rex ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rex.

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

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

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

  • Viles Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Ankrom Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • New Life Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Case Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Gorden Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Reed Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Church Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Slagle Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slagle Cemetery
    • The Slagle Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Slagle Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Slagle Creek MB Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1984712 <2>
  • Tiller Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Glover Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Brighton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (249 more) ...
    • Fraker Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Prairie Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ragsdale Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Schofield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Schofield is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schofield
  • Sunset
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sunset is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
  • Pleasant Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Goodnight
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Goodnight is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodnight
    • Estimated population in 2019: 18 people
    • Goodnight has also been known as:
    • Goodnight village
  • Burns
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Burns is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
  • Halfway
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Halfway is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
  • Redtop
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Redtop is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redtop
  • Slagle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Slagle is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slagle
  • Brighton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • March
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • March is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for March
  • Reynolds
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Reynolds is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolds
  • Olive
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Olive is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Morrisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bolivar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Goodson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Goodson is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodson

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

Newspapers Published in Rex ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rex.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rex, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rex.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Rex:

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 Rex, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rex) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.