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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 Bel Air (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 Bel Air. 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/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Bel Air is located in Harrison 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 Harrison County: Caddo (LA), Gregg, Marion, Panola, Rusk & Upshur.

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

  • Harrison County     (The home county of Bel Air)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • Marshall
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Nesbitt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Nesbitt is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
    • Scottsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Woodlawn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Woodlawn is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Hallsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Pope City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Pope City is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope City
    • Noonday
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Noonday is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
    • Lansing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Lansing is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
    • Jonesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Baldwin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Baldwin is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
    • Karnack
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Harleton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Elysian Fields
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • Avinger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Kildare
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Gregg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • Easton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Longview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Elderville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Elderville is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
    • Judson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Greggton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Greggton is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greggton
    • Fredonia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Fredonia is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Teneryville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Teneryville is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teneryville
    • Rolling Meadows
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
    • Seven Pines
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Seven Pines is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Pines
    • Danville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Danville is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
    • East Mountain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East Mountain is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 878 people
    • White Oak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • Jefferson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Macedonia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Macedonia is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Kellyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Kellyville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyville
    • Jackson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jackson is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
    • Sarber
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Sarber is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarber
    • Lodi
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Panola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Center Point is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
    • Beckville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • De Berry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Panola
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Midyett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Midyett is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
    • Carthage
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Delray
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Delray is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
    • Clayton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Rusk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • Tatum
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Monroe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Monroe is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
  • Upshur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • James
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • James is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
    • Diana
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Graceton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Graceton is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
    • Ore City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Glenwood is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Coffeeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Coffeeville is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffeeville
  • Caddo Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bel Air, with the one closest to Bel Air listed first.
    • Bethany
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Longwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Longwood is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Mooringsport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Oil City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Ridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
    • Blanchard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Longwood Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Longwood Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood Village
    • Western Hills Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Western Hills Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills Village

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

Cemeteries Near Bel Air ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bel Air.

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 Bel Air - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bel Air covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Fairview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Wiley College Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • McJohnsons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McJohnsons Cemetery
    • The McJohnsons Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mack Johnson Cemetery
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Algoma Cemetery - South
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Algoma Cemetery - North
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Nichol Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichol Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Nichol Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the east of Marshall.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5597 <2>
  • Hudson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grover Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Mary's Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (197 more) ...

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

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

  • Marshall
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Scottsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Woodlawn is located in Harrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
  • Hallsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Lansing
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Lansing is located in Harrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
  • Easton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Elysian Fields
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Jonesville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Tatum
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Waskom
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Kellyville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Kellyville is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyville
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Beckville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • De Berry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Latex
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Latex is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latex

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

Newspapers Published in Bel Air ...

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 Bel Air.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bel Air, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bel Air.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bel Air:

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>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.
<3>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- Bel Air) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bel Air, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.