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 Watkins (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 Watkins. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Watkins is located in Miller 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 Miller County: Camden, Cole, Maries, Moniteau, Morgan, Osage & Pulaski.
Below are the counties that are near Watkins. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Watkins:
- Miller County (The home county of Watkins)
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Ulman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Iberia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Brumley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tuscumbia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Elizabeth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kaiser
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Marys Home
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Marys Home is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marys Home
- Bagnell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Lakeview
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeview is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Lakeland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeland is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland
- Aurora Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aurora Springs is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Springs
- Camden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Osage Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lake Ozark
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Montreal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shawnee Bend
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Shawnee Bend is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Bend
- Damsel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Damsel is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damsel
- Four Seasons
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Four Seasons is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Seasons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,309 people
- Four Seasons has also been known as:
- Village of Four Seasons
- Linn Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Old Linn Creek ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Old Linn Creek is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Linn Creek
- Camdenton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Stoutland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Decaturville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Decaturville is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decaturville
- Sunrise Beach
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Cole County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Eugene
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Henley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Henley is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henley
- Teal ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Teal is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teal
- Hickory Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Hickory Hill is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Saint Thomas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Thomas is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Decatur
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Decatur is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Russellville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wardsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wardsville is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
- Lohman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Scruggs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Scruggs is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scruggs
- Taos
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Taos is located in Cole County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taos
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
- Laclede County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Sleeper
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sleeper is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleeper
- Eldridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Abo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Abo is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abo
- Maries County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Brinktown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Brinktown is located in Maries County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinktown
- Vienna
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Moniteau County
- High Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- High Point is located in Moniteau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Rocky Mount
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Barnett
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Laurie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Gravois Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Excelsior
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Excelsior is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Osage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Meta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Argyle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Argyle is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Koeltztown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Koeltztown is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koeltztown
- Folk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Folk is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folk
- Freeburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Freeburg is located in Osage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 420 people
- Westphalia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Phelps County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Jerome
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jerome is located in Phelps County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Arlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington is located in Phelps County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Doolittle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Doolittle is located in Phelps County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolittle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 595 people
- Newburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Newburg is located in Phelps County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 432 people
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Hawkeye
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hawkeye is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Crocker
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Swedeborg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Swedeborg is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedeborg
- Dixon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Richland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Waynesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Laquey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Laquey is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laquey
- Saint Robert
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Devils Elbow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Watkins, see our County-by-County Page for Watkins.
Cemeteries Near Watkins ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watkins.
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 Watkins - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Watkins covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Wilson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ramsey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wright Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Scott Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Colvin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Popplewell Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Miles Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Kuykendall Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Thornsberry Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Duncan Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jim - Matt Lawson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (245 more) ...
- Henderson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Colvin Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dodson Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Watkins in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Watkins.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Watkins, with the one closest to Watkins listed first.
- Iberia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Brumley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hawkeye
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hawkeye is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Tuscumbia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Toronto
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Toronto is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toronto
- Saint Elizabeth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marys Home
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Marys Home is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marys Home
- Glaize ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Glaize is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glaize
- Crocker
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Tavern
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Tavern is located in Maries County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tavern
- Bagnell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Swedeborg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Swedeborg is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedeborg
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Hancock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Van Cleve
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Van Cleve is located in Maries County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Cleve
- Montreal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Watkins. See our List of 1890's Communities around Watkins.
Newspapers Published in Watkins ...
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 Watkins.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watkins, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Watkins.
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 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 Watkins:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Miller County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Camden County
- Cole County
- Laclede County
- Maries County
- Moniteau County
- Morgan County
- Osage County
- Phelps County
- Pulaski County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
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 Watkins, 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 from Point A (ie- Watkins) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |