RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Wise County >> Aurora >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Aurora (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 Aurora. 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 northeast 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 north.

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 north 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.

Aurora is located in Wise 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 Wise County: Cooke, Denton, Jack, Montague, Parker & Tarrant.

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

  • Wise County     (The home county of Aurora)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Rhome
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhome
      • Rhome is located in Wise County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhome <2>
    • Boyd
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • New Fairview
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Fairview
      • New Fairview is located in Wise County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
      • Former name for New Fairview:
      • Fairview
    • Newark
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newark have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Newark is located in Wise County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newark <2>
    • Briar
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar
      • Briar is located in Wise County
    • Herman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herman
      • Herman is located in Wise County
    • Bluett
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Decatur
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Paradise
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Wise County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paradise <2>
    • Bridgeport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Boonsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Slidell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lake Bridgeport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Bridgeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bridgeport
      • Lake Bridgeport is located in Wise County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 405 people
  • Cooke County
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Grapevine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Lewisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Coppell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coppell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppell
      • Coppell is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,958 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coppell <2>
  • Denton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Justin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • DISH
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Elizabethtown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Northlake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northlake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northlake
      • Northlake is located in Denton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,354 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northlake <2>
    • Ponder
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ponder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponder
      • Ponder is located in Denton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,415 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ponder <2>
    • Stony
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Corral City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corral City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corral City
      • Corral City is located in Denton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Roanoke
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Marshall Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshall Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Creek
      • Marshall Creek is located in Denton County
    • Argyle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Trophy Club
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trophy Club have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trophy Club
      • Trophy Club is located in Denton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,636 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trophy Club <2>
    • Westlake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Krum
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Jack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Gibtown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Westbrook
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
      • Westbrook is located in Jack County
    • Wizard Wells
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Montague County
  • Parker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Reno
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reno have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
      • Reno is located in Parker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,473 people
    • Azle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Sanctuary
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanctuary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanctuary
      • Sanctuary is located in Parker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Springtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Goshen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Carter
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Agnes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Dicey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Poolville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Willow Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Park
      • Willow Park is located in Parker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,994 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willow Park <2>
    • Hudson Oaks
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Oaks
      • Hudson Oaks is located in Parker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,564 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson Oaks <2>
    • Peaster
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Aledo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Tarrant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Pecan Acres
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pecan Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Acres
      • Pecan Acres is located in Tarrant County
    • Pelican Bay
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelican Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelican Bay
      • Pelican Bay is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,100 people
    • Haslet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haslet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslet
      • Haslet is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,137 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslet <2>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haslet
      • From Aurora to Haslet
    • Eagle Mountain
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Lakeside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Saginaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Worth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Worth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Worth
      • Lake Worth is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Worth <2>
    • Blue Mound
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sansom Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sansom Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sansom Park
      • Sansom Park is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,704 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sansom Park <2>
    • Keller
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Keller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keller
      • Keller is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46,939 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keller <2>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Keller
      • From Aurora to Keller
    • Watauga
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Watauga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
      • Watauga is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,188 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watauga <2>
    • River Oaks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Oaks
      • River Oaks is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,539 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for River Oaks <2>
    • North Richland Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Richland Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Richland Hills
      • North Richland Hills is located in Tarrant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71,949 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Richland Hills <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Aurora ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Aurora.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Aurora had a population of 372 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Aurora had a population of 1,522 people.

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

  • Rhome
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhome
    • Rhome is located in Wise County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rhome <2>
  • Briar
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar
    • Briar is located in Wise County
  • Keeter
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keeter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeter
    • Keeter is located in Wise County
  • Herman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herman
    • Herman is located in Wise County
  • Avondale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avondale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
    • Avondale is located in Tarrant County
  • Drop
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drop
    • Drop is located in Denton County
  • Azle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Haslet
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haslet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslet
    • Haslet is located in Tarrant County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,137 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslet <2>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Haslet
    • From Aurora to Haslet
  • Cottondale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottondale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottondale
    • Cottondale is located in Wise County
  • Springtown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Decatur
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Justin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Paradise
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Wise County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paradise <2>
    • Stony
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Saginaw
      (16 miles [25.7 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 Aurora. See our List of 1890's Communities around Aurora.

Newspapers Published in Aurora ...

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 161 newspapers that have been published in the area around Aurora.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Aurora, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Aurora.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Aurora:

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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- Aurora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aurora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0608, Longitude: -97.5033    
<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 Aurora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.