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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 Wela Park (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 Wela Park. 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 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.

Wela Park is located in Newton 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 Newton County: Cherokee (KS), Barry, Jasper, Lawrence, McDonald & Ottawa (OK).

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

  • Newton County     (The home county of Wela Park)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • Racine
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Racine is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
    • Seneca
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Loma Linda
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Loma Linda is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Linda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
    • Spring City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Spring City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
    • Neosho
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Cliff Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Cliff Village is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
    • Redings Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Redings Mill is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redings Mill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Shoal Creek Estates
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Shoal Creek Estates is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Grand Falls Plaza
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Grand Falls Plaza is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Falls Plaza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Leawood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Leawood is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leawood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Shoal Creek Drive
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Shoal Creek Drive is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Saginaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • Pioneer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pioneer is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
    • Wheaton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • Iron Gates
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Iron Gates is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gates
    • Rex City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Rex City is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rex City
    • Central City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Central City is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
    • Duquesne
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Duquesne is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duquesne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,689 people
    • East Joplin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • East Joplin is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joplin
    • Joplin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • West Joplin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • West Joplin is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Joplin
    • Lone Elm
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Lone Elm is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Elm
    • Duenweg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakland Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Oakland Park is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Park
    • Airport Drive
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Airport Drive is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
    • Klondike
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Klondike is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
  • Lawrence County
    • Pierce City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • McDonald County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • May
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • May is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
    • Goodman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Tiff City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Tiff City is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff City
    • Erie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Erie is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Anderson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lanagan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Wylie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Wylie is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylie
    • Ginger Blue
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Ginger Blue is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginger Blue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Pineville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Noel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Noel is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Noel <1>
    • South West City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Jane
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jane is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jane <1>
  • Benton County (AR)
    • Sulphur Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Cherokee County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • South Galena
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • South Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Galena
    • Commonwealth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Commonwealth is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
    • East Galena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • East Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galena
    • Galena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
    • Baxter Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Baxter Junction is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter Junction
    • Baxter Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lowell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lowell is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell has also been known as:
      • Lowell Station
    • Empire City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Empire City is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
    • Riverton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Treece
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Treece is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treece
      • Estimated population in 2012: 136 people
    • Cravensville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Cravensville is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravensville
    • Badger
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Badger is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger
  • Craig County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • Bluejacket
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Welch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Welch is located in Craig County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 584 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
  • Delaware County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • Cayuga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cayuga is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
    • Dodge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Dodge is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
    • Copeland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Copeland is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeland
    • Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Grove is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grove <1>
    • Bernice
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bernice is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 579 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bernice <1>
    • Dennis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dennis is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
    • Cleora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cleora is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleora
    • Zena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Zena is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zena
  • Ottawa County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wela Park, with the one closest to Wela Park listed first.
    • Peoria
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Peoria is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Wyandotte
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Kellyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kellyville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyville
    • Lincolnville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lincolnville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
    • Ottawa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Ottawa is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Quapaw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Quapaw is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quapaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 871 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quapaw <1>
    • Hockerville ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Hockerville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hockerville
    • Cardin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Picher ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Commerce
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Miami
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Miami is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,947 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miami <1>
    • Fairland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Wela Park ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wela Park.

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 Wela Park - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Buzzard Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Sparling Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Graves Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Seneca Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • New Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Burkhart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Burson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Regan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Belfast Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • King Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (213 more) ...
    • Moser Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cole Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hornet Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<2>

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

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

  • Racine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Racine is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
  • Seneca
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Belfast
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Belfast is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
  • Hornet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hornet is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornet
  • Spurgeon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Spurgeon is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
  • Hart
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Hart is located in McDonald County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
  • McElhany
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • McElhany is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElhany
  • Neosho
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Tipton Ford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Tipton Ford is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton Ford
  • Saginaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Saginaw is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
  • Splitlog
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Splitlog is located in McDonald County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Splitlog
  • Blendville ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Blendville is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blendville
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Tiff City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Tiff City is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff City
    • Galena
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
    • Coy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Coy is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coy

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

Newspapers Published in Wela Park ...

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 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wela Park.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wela Park, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wela Park.

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 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 Wela Park:

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