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 Alsa (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 Alsa. 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.
Alsa is located in Van Zandt County.
To see how the shape of Texas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Van Zandt County: Henderson, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Smith & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Alsa. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alsa:
- Van Zandt County (The home county of Alsa)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Wills Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Edgewood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Myrtle Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Fruitvale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Canton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Saline
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tundra
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
- Van
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Van is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van <1>
- Collin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Royse City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Josephine
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Nevada
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lavon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Copeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Farmersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dallas County
- Sunnyvale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hopkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Miller Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bonanza
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Cumby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Divide
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Divide is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide
- Brashear
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeway is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Tazewell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tazewell is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
- Rockdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rockdale is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Hunt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Hawk Cove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hawk Cove is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Cove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
- West Tawakoni
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- West Tawakoni is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,994 people
- Quinlan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Boles Home
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Boles Home is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boles Home
- Weiland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Weiland is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weiland
- Lone Oak
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Union Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Union Valley is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Dixon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Hendrix
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hendrix is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Caddo Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Greenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Clinton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clinton is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Campbell
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kaufman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Ables Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ables Springs is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ables Springs
- Elmo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Poetry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Poetry is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poetry
- College Mound
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- College Mound is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Mound
- Terrell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Abner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abner is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Oak Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Ola
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ola is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
- Lawrence
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lawrence is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Post Oak Bend City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Post Oak Bend City is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Bend City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Kaufman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lone Star
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lone Star is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
- Talty
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Talty is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,883 people
- Rains County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Hooker Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hooker Ridge is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker Ridge
- Flats
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Flats is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flats
- East Tawakoni
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- East Tawakoni is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 991 people
- Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Emory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rockwall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Blackland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Blackland is located in Rockwall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackland
- McLendon - Chisholm
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- McLendon - Chisholm is located in Rockwall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLendon - Chisholm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people
- Fate
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mobile City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mobile City is located in Rockwall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Rockwall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Smith County
- Jamestown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Alba
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gunter
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gunter is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunter
- Yantis
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Golden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alsa, see our County-by-County Page for Alsa.
Cemeteries Near Alsa ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alsa.
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 Alsa - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alsa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- Howell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Whites Prairie Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grovel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bright Star Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ables Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Point Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- McBride Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Carter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Weaver Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Woodall Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shook Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (194 more) ...
- Hooker Ridge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kuykendall Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Alsa in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alsa.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alsa, with the one closest to Alsa listed first.
- McCoy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- McCoy is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCoy
- Wills Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Elmo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Edgewood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Poetry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Poetry is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poetry
- Lone Oak
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wieland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wieland is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wieland
- Terrell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Myrtle Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Emory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Abner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abner is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Dixon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Lawrence
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lawrence is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Miller Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alsa. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alsa.
Newspapers Published in Alsa ...
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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alsa.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alsa, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alsa.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Alsa:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Van Zandt County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Collin County
- Dallas County
- Hopkins County
- Hunt County
- Kaufman County
- Rains County
- Rockwall County
- Smith County
- Wood County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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> | 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- Alsa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Alsa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |