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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 Westphalia (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 Westphalia. 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 and doctors 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.

Westphalia is located in Osage 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 Osage County: Callaway, Cole, Gasconade, Maries, Miller & Montgomery.

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

  • Osage County     (The home county of Westphalia)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Hartsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Oldham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ashland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Callaway County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Tebbetts
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Tebbetts is located in Callaway County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tebbetts
    • Hord ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Hord is located in Callaway County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hord
    • Cedar City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar City is located in Callaway County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar City
    • Holts Summit
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Mykee Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Lake Mykee Town is located in Callaway County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Mykee Town
      • Estimated population in 2018: 351 people
    • Mokane
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • New Bloomfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Steedman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Steedman is located in Callaway County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steedman
    • Folsom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Portland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Fulton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Cole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Taos
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Taos is located in Cole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taos
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
    • Osage City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Osage City is located in Cole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage City
    • Wardsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Wardsville is located in Cole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
    • Saint Thomas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Cole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
    • Jefferson City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Teal ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Scruggs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Henley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Henley is located in Cole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henley
    • Hickory Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Saint Martins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Saint Martins is located in Cole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Martins
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
    • Lohman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Decatur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Gasconade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Mount Sterling
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Mount Sterling is located in Gasconade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
    • Bland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bland is located in Gasconade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 523 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bland <1>
    • Morrison
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Owensville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Gasconade
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Gasconade is located in Gasconade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gasconade
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
    • Redbird
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Maries County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westphalia, with the one closest to Westphalia listed first.
    • Vienna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Belle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Paydown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Lindell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brinktown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Brinktown is located in Maries County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinktown
    • Lanes Prairie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Vichy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Vichy is located in Maries County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vichy
  • Miller County
  • Moniteau County
    • McGirk
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • McGirk is located in Moniteau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
  • Montgomery County

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

Cemeteries Near Westphalia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westphalia.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Westphalia had a population of 370 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Westphalia had a population of 375 people.

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

  • Loose Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Taos
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Taos is located in Cole County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taos
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
  • Osage City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Osage City is located in Cole County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage City
  • Rich Fountain
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rich Fountain is located in Osage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Fountain
  • Koeltztown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Linn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Linn is located in Osage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linn <1>
  • Bonnots Mill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Babbtown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Babbtown is located in Osage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbtown
  • Cote Sans Dessein ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cote Sans Dessein is located in Callaway County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cote Sans Dessein
    • Cote Sans Dessein has also been known as:
    • Parkersville
  • Wardsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Wardsville is located in Cole County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardsville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,570 people
  • Frankenstein
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Frankenstein is located in Osage County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankenstein
  • Osage Bluff
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Osage Bluff is located in Cole County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage Bluff
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Saint Thomas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Cole County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
    • Luystown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Luystown is located in Osage County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luystown
    • Effie ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Effie is located in Callaway County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effie

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Westphalia ...

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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westphalia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Westphalia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Westphalia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Westphalia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Westphalia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Westphalia:

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