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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 Barnum (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 Barnum. 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.

Barnum is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Angelina, Hardin, Liberty, San Jacinto, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Barnum)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barnum, with the one closest to Barnum listed first.
    • Barnes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
      • Barnes is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Barnes
      • From Barnum to Barnes
    • Lily Island
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Camden
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Polk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <3>
    • Corrigan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Moscow
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
      • Moscow is located in Polk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <3>
    • Skinner Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skinner Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
      • Skinner Town is located in Polk County
    • Seven Oaks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
      • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
    • Leggett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leggett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leggett
      • Leggett is located in Polk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leggett <3>
    • New Willard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Willard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
      • New Willard is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Willard
      • From Barnum to New Willard
    • Bold Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Dallardsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Livingston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barnum, with the one closest to Barnum listed first.
    • Prairie Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
      • Prairie Grove is located in Angelina County
    • Manning ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
      • Manning is located in Angelina County
    • Beulah
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
      • Beulah is located in Angelina County
    • Shady Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
      • Shady Grove is located in Angelina County
    • Dolan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dolan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
      • Dolan is located in Angelina County
    • Martin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Martin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Angelina County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Martin
      • From Barnum to Martin
    • Diboll
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Nancy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Rutland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rutland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
      • Rutland is located in Angelina County
    • Bald Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Hill
      • Bald Hill is located in Angelina County
    • Burke
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Zavalla
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barnum, with the one closest to Barnum listed first.
    • Woodlake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Sumpter ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sumpter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
      • Sumpter is located in Trinity County
    • Helmic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Apple Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lacy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Groveton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Centralia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centralia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
      • Centralia is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centralia <3>
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Barnum, with the one closest to Barnum listed first.
    • Peach Tree Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
    • Chester
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Colmesneil
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Doucette
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,442 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodville <3>
    • Ivanhoe North
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe North came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe North
      • Ivanhoe North is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 538 people
    • Ivanhoe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Ivanhoe is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,438 people
    • Hillister
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Warren
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Barnum ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Barnum.

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

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

  • Darden Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Darden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Darden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Peach Tree Village Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peach Tree Village Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peach Tree Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lily Island Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lily Island Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lily Island Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pullen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pullen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pullen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whitehead Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitehead Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitehead Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Birch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Birch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Birch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Davis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nowlin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nowlin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nowlin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Beard Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sterling Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sterling Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sterling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (142 more) ...
    • Tarver Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tarver Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tarver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mahaffey Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mahaffey Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mahaffey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Stryker Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 in 1895, Barnum had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Chester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Hortense
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hortense have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hortense
    • Hortense is located in Polk County
  • Moscow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Moscow is located in Polk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <3>
  • Corrigan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Seven Oaks
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
    • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
  • Asia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asia
    • Asia is located in Polk County
  • Leggett
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leggett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leggett
    • Leggett is located in Polk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leggett <3>
  • Colmesneil
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Rockland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Tyler County
  • Carmona
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmona
    • Carmona is located in Polk County
  • Woodville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Woodville is located in Tyler County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,442 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodville <3>
  • Colita
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colita have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colita
    • Colita is located in Polk County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Barnum ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Barnum.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Barnum, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Barnum.

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 Barnum:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>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.
<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 Barnum, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Barnum) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Barnum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.9440, Longitude: -94.6711       In this case, the coordinates for Barnum have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025