RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Dent County >> Salem >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Salem (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 Salem. 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 Salem ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Salem was referred to as Salem Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Salem. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Salem.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 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.

Salem is located in Dent 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 Dent County: Crawford, Iron, Phelps, Reynolds, Shannon & Texas.

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

  • Dent County     (The home county of Salem)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Howes
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Howes is located in Dent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howes
    • Doss
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jack
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Darien
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jadwin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Sligo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Spring
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Spring is located in Dent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Spring
    • Lenox
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Lenox is located in Dent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
    • Lecoma
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Coulstone
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Boss
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Boss is located in Dent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boss
    • Gila
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Cook Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cook Station is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook Station
    • Wesco
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Wesco is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesco
    • Dillard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Cherryville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Davisville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Czar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Steelville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Midland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Midland is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
    • Sankey ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sankey is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sankey
    • Elaver
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cuba
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Iron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Viburnum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Bixby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Good Water
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Phelps County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Edgar Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Beulah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Beulah is located in Phelps County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
    • Rolla
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint James
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Rosati
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Duke
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Duke is located in Phelps County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
    • Newburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Newburg is located in Phelps County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 432 people
    • Doolittle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Doolittle is located in Phelps County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolittle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 595 people
    • Arlington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Reynolds County
  • Shannon County
  • Texas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salem, with the one closest to Salem listed first.
    • Sherrill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Licking
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Raymondville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hartshorn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Hartshorn is located in Texas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartshorn
    • Hazelton ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Eunice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mineral Springs City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mineral Springs City is located in Texas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs City
    • Yukon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Yukon is located in Texas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
  • Washington County
    • Berryman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Berryman is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryman

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

Cemeteries Near Salem ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salem.

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

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

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

  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Northlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Walker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Stagner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Wagner Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hight Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Gibbs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pace Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Gregory Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Barnes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Love Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Warden Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (266 more) ...
    • Lay Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Togleson Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Tune Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Salem had a population of 1,315 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Salem had a population of 4,874 people.

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

  • Howes
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Howes is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howes
  • Doss
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Custer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Custer is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
  • Hedrick ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Hedrick is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedrick
  • Darien
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Condray
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Condray is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Condray
  • Boscobel ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Boscobel is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
  • Jadwin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Gladden
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gladden is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladden
  • Stone Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Stone Hill is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Hill
  • Joy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Joy is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
  • Anutt
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Anutt is located in Dent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anutt
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Sligo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cook Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cook Station is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook Station
    • Lake Spring
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Spring is located in Dent County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Spring

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Salem ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Salem. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Salem and those printed in the larger area surrounding Salem.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2> of Salem.

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 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 Salem:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Salem) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Salem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.