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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 Blue Ridge (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 Blue Ridge. 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 Blue Ridge ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Blue Ridge: Blue Rdg. (or less commonly used: Blue Rdge. or Blue Ridg.)

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.

Blue Ridge is located in Collin County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Collin County: Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt & Rockwall.

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

  • Collin County     (The home county of Blue Ridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
    • Frognot
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frognot
      • Frognot is located in Collin County
    • Valdasta
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdasta
      • Valdasta is located in Collin County
    • Westminster
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westminster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
      • Westminster is located in Collin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westminster <2>
    • Farmersville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
      • Farmersville is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,711 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <2>
    • Anna
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anna
      • Anna is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,945 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anna <2>
    • Melissa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Princeton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <2>
    • Mantua ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mantua came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantua
      • Mantua is located in Collin County
    • New Hope
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
      • New Hope is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 641 people
    • Lowry Crossing
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry Crossing
      • Lowry Crossing is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,743 people
    • Parris
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parris
      • Parris is located in Collin County
    • Van Alstyne
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Roland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
      • Roland is located in Collin County
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
    • Rowlett
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowlett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowlett
      • Rowlett is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rowlett <2>
    • Garland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Richardson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fannin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
    • Trenton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Leonard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
      • Leonard is located in Fannin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,068 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leonard <2>
    • Orangeville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orangeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
      • Orangeville is located in Fannin County
    • Whitewright
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Randolph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bailey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edhube
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edhube
      • Edhube is located in Fannin County
    • Ector
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Savoy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Gober
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bonham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Hail
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hail
      • Hail is located in Fannin County
    • Dodd City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grayson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
    • Pilot Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
      • Pilot Grove is located in Grayson County
    • Kentucky Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Town
      • Kentucky Town is located in Grayson County
    • Tom Bean
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Whiterock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiterock
      • Whiterock is located in Grayson County
    • Howe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Howe is located in Grayson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,390 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howe <2>
    • Ida
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
      • Ida is located in Grayson County
    • Luella
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luella
      • Luella is located in Grayson County
    • Bells
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells
      • Bells is located in Grayson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,516 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bells <2>
    • Gunter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Tribune
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tribune have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tribune
      • Tribune is located in Grayson County
    • Dorchester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dorchester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorchester
      • Dorchester is located in Grayson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 96 people
    • Sherman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Knollwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knollwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knollwood
      • Knollwood is located in Grayson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
  • Hunt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
    • Merit
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Celeste
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Celeste have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celeste
      • Celeste is located in Hunt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 931 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Celeste <2>
    • Kingston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
      • Kingston is located in Hunt County
    • White Rock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Hunt County
    • Wolfe City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Caddo Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caddo Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caddo Mills
      • Caddo Mills is located in Hunt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caddo Mills <2>
    • Jacobia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobia
      • Jacobia is located in Hunt County
    • Greenville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Aberfoyle
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberfoyle
      • Aberfoyle is located in Hunt County
    • Hendrix
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
      • Hendrix is located in Hunt County
    • South Sulphur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Sulphur have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sulphur
      • South Sulphur is located in Hunt County
    • Neylandville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Neylandville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neylandville
      • Neylandville is located in Hunt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Fairlie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairlie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlie
      • Fairlie is located in Hunt County
  • Rockwall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
    • Fate
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fate
      • Fate is located in Rockwall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,434 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fate <2>
    • Mobile City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile City
      • Mobile City is located in Rockwall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Rockwall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwall
      • Rockwall is located in Rockwall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,415 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockwall <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Blue Ridge ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Ridge.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Ridge, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Ridge.

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 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 Blue Ridge:

Cemeteries Near Blue Ridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Ridge.

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 Blue Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Blue Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Old Grounds Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Richard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • The Richard Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Richards Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Richard Cemetery
  • Verona Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Fuller Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fuller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fuller Cemetery
  • Indian Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Desert Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Stoney Point Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Altoga Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • West Shady Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (309 more) ...
    • Elm Grove Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Westminster Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westminster Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westminster Cemetery
    • Brinlee Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Blue Ridge had a population of 158 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Blue Ridge had a population of 919 people.

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

  • Fayburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayburg
    • Fayburg is located in Collin County
  • Verona
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
    • Verona is located in Collin County
  • Pike
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pike have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike
    • Pike is located in Collin County
  • Nobility
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nobility have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobility
    • Nobility is located in Fannin County
  • Altoga
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoga
    • Altoga is located in Collin County
  • Delba
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delba
    • Delba is located in Fannin County
  • Lane
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
    • Lane is located in Hunt County
  • Merit
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Sedalia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
    • Sedalia is located in Collin County
  • Farmersville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
    • Farmersville is located in Collin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,711 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <2>
  • Trenton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Anna
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anna
    • Anna is located in Collin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,945 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anna <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Pilot Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
      • Pilot Grove is located in Grayson County
    • Melissa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Princeton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <2>

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

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

The official website for Collin County: www.co.collin.tx.us/

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<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- Blue Ridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2987, Longitude: -96.4009    
<5>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 Blue Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024