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 Meltonia (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 Meltonia. 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 doctors and 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.
Meltonia is located in Bolivar County.
To see how the shape of Mississippi's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bolivar County: Desha (AR), Coahoma, Sunflower & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Meltonia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Meltonia:
- Bolivar County (The home county of Meltonia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Meltonia, with the one closest to Meltonia listed first.
- Longshot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Longshot is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longshot
- Choctaw
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Grapeland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Grapeland is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
- Shaw
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Shaw is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,655 people
- Benoit
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dahomy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dahomy is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahomy
- Lake Vista
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lake Vista is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Vista
- Scott
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Scott is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Boyle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lamont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lamont is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Mound City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mound City is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Victor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Victor is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Christmas
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Christmas is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christmas
- Humphreys County
- Isola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Isola is located in Humphreys County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Leflore County
- McNutt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- McNutt is located in Leflore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Sunflower County
- The following are listed by their distance from Meltonia, with the one closest to Meltonia listed first.
- Heathman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Heathman is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathman
- Halstead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Halstead is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstead
- Roundaway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Roundaway is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roundaway
- White City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- White City is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Faisonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Faisonia is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faisonia
- Indianola
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sunflower
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sunflower is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunflower
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Doddsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Doddsville is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
- Ruleville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Baird
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Baird is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baird
- Quiver ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Quiver is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quiver
- Inverness
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Inverness is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Population from the 2020 Census: 852 people
- Moorhead
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Moorhead is located in Sunflower County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,059 people
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Meltonia, with the one closest to Meltonia listed first.
- Napanee
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Napanee is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napanee
- Helm
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Helm is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helm
- Dunleith
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Dunleith is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunleith
- Stoneville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Stoneville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
- Metcalfe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Metcalfe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalfe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 935 people
- Leland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Greenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wilmot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wilmot is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Arcola
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Arcola is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Avon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Avon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Forrest City ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Forrest City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forrest City
- Hollandale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- James
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- James is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
- Chicot County (AR)
- Lake Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Desha County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Meltonia, with the one closest to Meltonia listed first.
- Napoleon ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Napoleon is located in Desha County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
- Arkansas City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Arkansas City is located in Desha County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansas City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Rohwer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kelso
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kelso is located in Desha County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
- McArthur
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McArthur is located in Desha County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McArthur
- Watson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- McGehee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Meltonia, see our County-by-County Page for Meltonia.
Cemeteries Near Meltonia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Meltonia.
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 Meltonia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Meltonia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Meltonia, with the one closest to Meltonia listed first.
- Mexican Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Asia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Egypt Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Cazy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shaw Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Shaw Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Shaw.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #155979 <2>
- Strangers Rest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Dickerson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Helm Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Burrus Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Dean Ridge Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Forkland Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (171 more) ...
- Parthenia Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Heads Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Meltonia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Meltonia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Meltonia, with the one closest to Meltonia listed first.
- Choctaw
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Shaw
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Shaw is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,655 people
- Helm
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Helm is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helm
- Dahomy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dahomy is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahomy
- Benoit
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lobdell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lobdell is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobdell
- O'Reilly
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- O'Reilly is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Reilly
- Bolivar
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bolivar is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
- Lake Vista
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lake Vista is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Vista
- Scott
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Scott is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- Lamont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lamont is located in Bolivar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Boyle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Magenta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Magenta is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magenta
- Stoneville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Stoneville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
- Elizabeth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Elizabeth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Meltonia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Meltonia.
Newspapers Published in Meltonia ...
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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Meltonia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Meltonia, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Meltonia.
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 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 Meltonia:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Bolivar County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Humphreys County
- Leflore County
- Sunflower County
- Washington County
- Chicot County
- Desha County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Mississippi
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 Meltonia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Meltonia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |