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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 Sheldon (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 Sheldon. 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.

Sheldon is located in Vernon 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 Vernon County: Bourbon (KS), Crawford (KS), Linn (KS), Barton, Bates, Cedar & Saint Clair.

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

  • Vernon County     (The home county of Sheldon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheldon, with the one closest to Sheldon listed first.
    • Bellamy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Milo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Milo is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Bronaugh
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Montevallo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Moundville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Nevada
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Deerfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Deerfield is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • Walker
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Walker is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
    • Temple ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Temple is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
    • Harwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Harwood is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
    • Horton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Horton is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
    • Richards
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Richards is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richards
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Barton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheldon, with the one closest to Sheldon listed first.
    • Irwin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Milford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lamar Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Lamar Heights is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Lamar
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bushnell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Newport
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Liberal
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Liberal is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
    • Oakton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Layneville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kenoma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Burgess
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Burgess is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
      • Estimated population in 2017: 54 people
    • Mindenmines
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Bates County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheldon, with the one closest to Sheldon listed first.
    • Prairie City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Prairie City is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
    • Rich Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Rockville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Rockville is located in Bates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
  • Cedar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheldon, with the one closest to Sheldon listed first.
    • Virgil City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Virgil City is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgil City
    • Jerico Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jerico Springs is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerico Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
    • Willowville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • El Dorado Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lebeck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Stockton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Umber View Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Umber View Heights is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umber View Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Caplinger Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Dade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheldon, with the one closest to Sheldon listed first.
    • Arcola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Arcola is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
    • Lockwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lockwood is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • Glen Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Glen Town is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Town
    • Greenfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sheldon, with the one closest to Sheldon listed first.
    • Jasper
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Carytown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Carytown is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
    • Medoc
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Opolis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Neck City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Neck City is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neck City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
    • Alba
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Alba is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
    • Maple Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Purcell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Bourbon County (KS)
  • Crawford County (KS)

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

Cemeteries Near Sheldon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sheldon.

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

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

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

  • Sheldon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Warwick Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Tolson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Avola Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bakers Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bickett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rosewood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Doylesport Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Dunnegan Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Milo Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (217 more) ...
    • Nigh Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Olive Branch Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Sandstone Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sheldon had a population of 396 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Sheldon had a population of 515 people.

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

  • Irwin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bellamy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Milo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Milo is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
  • Verdella
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Verdella is located in Barton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdella
  • Sandstone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Sandstone is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
  • Milford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Bronaugh
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Hannon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Hannon is located in Barton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannon
  • Iantha
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Iantha is located in Barton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iantha
  • Lamar
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Zodiac
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Zodiac is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zodiac
  • Montevallo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sheldon ...

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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sheldon.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sheldon. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sheldon and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sheldon.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Sheldon.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Sheldon:

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>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 Sheldon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Sheldon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.