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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 Woods Crossing (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 Woods Crossing. 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.

Name Variations for Woods Crossing ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Woods Crossing: Woods Xing.
  • While the name of this community is Woods Crossing, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Woods Crossing may originally have been Wood's Crossing.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Woods Crossing might be written as Wood Crossing.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Woods Crossing is located in Chouteau County.

To see how the shape of Montana's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Chouteau County: Blaine, Cascade, Fergus, Hill, Judith Basin, Liberty, Pondera & Teton.

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

  • Chouteau County     (The home county of Woods Crossing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woods Crossing, with the one closest to Woods Crossing listed first.
    • Carter
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carter
      • Carter is located in Chouteau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carter <3>
    • Floweree
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fort Benton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Benton
      • Fort Benton is located in Chouteau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Benton <3>
    • Highwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cascade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woods Crossing, with the one closest to Woods Crossing listed first.
    • Countryside Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countryside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
      • Countryside Village is located in Cascade County
    • Black Eagle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Eagle
      • Black Eagle is located in Cascade County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Black Eagle <3>
    • Manchester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Manchester is located in Cascade County
    • Great Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Sun Prairie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Prairie
      • Sun Prairie is located in Cascade County
    • Vaughn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pondera County
  • Teton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woods Crossing, with the one closest to Woods Crossing listed first.
    • Dutton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dutton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
      • Dutton is located in Teton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dutton <3>
    • Power
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Power have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Power
      • Power is located in Teton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Power <3>
    • Collins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
      • Collins is located in Teton County

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

Newspapers Published in Woods Crossing ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Woods Crossing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Woods Crossing, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Woods Crossing.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Woods Crossing:

Cemeteries Near Woods Crossing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Woods Crossing.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • German Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Baptist Church Cemetery
  • The Knees Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • The The Knees Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Knees Community Church Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the The Knees Cemetery
  • Sample Flat Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sample Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sample Flat Cemetery
  • Twin Hills Colony Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Carter Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Dutton Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Power Community Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Power Community Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Power Community Cemetery
  • Wolfe Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Riverview Colony Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Golden West Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Vaughn Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vaughn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vaughn Cemetery
  • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Gardens
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Beck Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beck Cemetery
    • Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Association
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Association have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Association

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.<6>

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

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

  • Floweree
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Portage
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
    • Portage is located in Cascade County
  • Watson ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Watson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
    • Watson is located in Cascade County
  • Tunis
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
    • Tunis is located in Chouteau County
  • North Great Falls ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Great Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Great Falls
    • North Great Falls is located in Cascade County
  • Vaughn
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Great Falls
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Collins
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
    • Collins is located in Teton County
  • Fort Benton
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Benton
    • Fort Benton is located in Chouteau County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Benton <3>
  • Highwood
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Woods Crossing. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Chouteau County: www.co.chouteau.mt.us/

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Woods Crossing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Woods Crossing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.8777, Longitude: -111.2680       In this case, the coordinates for Woods Crossing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Woods Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024