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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 Ballard 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 Ballard 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 Ballard 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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Ballard Crossing: Ballard Xing.

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.

Ballard Crossing is located in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County: Bosque, Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Lampasas & Mills.

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

  • Hamilton County     (The home county of Ballard Crossing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ballard Crossing, with the one closest to Ballard Crossing listed first.
    • Ohio ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ohio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohio
      • Ohio is located in Hamilton County
    • Slab Crossing ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Crossing
      • Slab Crossing is located in Hamilton County
    • Whiteway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteway
      • Whiteway is located in Hamilton County
      • Whiteway has also been known as:
      • White Way
    • Hamilton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • McGirk ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGirk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
      • McGirk is located in Hamilton County
    • Lanham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lanham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanham
      • Lanham is located in Hamilton County
    • Pottsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pottsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
      • Pottsville is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pottsville <2>
    • Agee ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Agee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agee
      • Agee is located in Hamilton County
    • Spurlin ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spurlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurlin
      • Spurlin is located in Hamilton County
    • Carlton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Hico
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
      • Hico is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,437 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hico <2>
  • Bell County
    • Copperas Cove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copperas Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copperas Cove
      • Copperas Cove is located in Bell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Copperas Cove <2>
  • Bosque County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ballard Crossing, with the one closest to Ballard Crossing listed first.
    • Cranfills Gap
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Norse
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Norse. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norse
      • Norse is located in Bosque County
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ballard Crossing, with the one closest to Ballard Crossing listed first.
    • Energy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Comanche County
    • Gustine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gustine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gustine
      • Gustine is located in Comanche County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gustine <2>
    • Newburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
      • Newburg is located in Comanche County
  • Coryell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ballard Crossing, with the one closest to Ballard Crossing listed first.
    • Evant
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evant
      • Evant is located in Coryell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evant <2>
    • Ireland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ireland
      • Ireland is located in Coryell County
    • Purmela
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purmela have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purmela
      • Purmela is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Purmela <2>
    • Bee House
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee House
      • Bee House is located in Coryell County
    • Levita
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levita
      • Levita is located in Coryell County
    • Jonesboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • King
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for King. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
      • King is located in Coryell County
    • Gatesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Turnersville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
      • Turnersville is located in Coryell County
    • Fort Gates
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Gates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gates
      • Fort Gates is located in Coryell County
    • South Mountain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mountain
      • South Mountain is located in Coryell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
    • Saint Elijah Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Elijah Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elijah Village
      • Saint Elijah Village is located in Coryell County
  • Lampasas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ballard Crossing, with the one closest to Ballard Crossing listed first.
    • Izoro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lometa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Mills County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ballard Crossing, with the one closest to Ballard Crossing listed first.
    • Star
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Star have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
      • Star is located in Mills County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Star <2>
    • Center City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center City
      • Center City is located in Mills County
    • Priddy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Goldthwaite
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Bozar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bozar
      • Bozar is located in Mills County

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

Cemeteries Near Ballard Crossing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ballard 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 Ballard Crossing covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • New Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Murphy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murphy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murphy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Little Cowhouse Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Cowhouse Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Cowhouse Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Langford Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Langford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Langford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Willy Grubb Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willy Grubb Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willy Grubb Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Edwards Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edwards Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edwards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blue Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Blue Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blue Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blue Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Point Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Point Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kingsbury Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kingsbury Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kingsbury Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (102 more) ...
    • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Perkins Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perkins Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Ballard Crossing in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ballard Crossing.

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

  • Ohio ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ohio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohio
    • Ohio is located in Hamilton County
  • Evant
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evant
    • Evant is located in Coryell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 412 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evant <2>
  • Purmela
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purmela have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purmela
    • Purmela is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Purmela <2>
  • Bee House
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee House
    • Bee House is located in Coryell County
  • Pearl
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearl have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
    • Pearl is located in Coryell County
  • Shive
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shive have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shive
    • Shive is located in Hamilton County
  • Hamilton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Levita
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levita
    • Levita is located in Coryell County
  • Jonesboro
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • McGirk ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McGirk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
    • McGirk is located in Hamilton County
  • King
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for King. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
    • King is located in Coryell County
  • Lanham
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lanham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanham
    • Lanham is located in Hamilton County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Pottsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pottsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
      • Pottsville is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pottsville <2>
    • Adamsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
      • Adamsville is located in Lampasas County
    • Gentrys Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gentrys Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentrys Mill
      • Gentrys Mill is located in Hamilton County

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

Newspapers Published in Ballard 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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ballard Crossing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ballard Crossing, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ballard Crossing.

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 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 Ballard Crossing:

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

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>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>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 Ballard Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ballard Crossing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ballard Crossing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.5399, Longitude: -98.0886       In this case, the coordinates for Ballard Crossing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025