RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Milam County >> Ben Arnold >> 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 Ben Arnold (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 Ben Arnold. 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 and doctors 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.

Ben Arnold is located in Milam 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 Milam County: Bell, Burleson, Falls, Lee, Robertson & Williamson.

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

  • Milam County     (The home county of Ben Arnold)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Arnold, with the one closest to Ben Arnold listed first.
    • Burlington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Silver City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Silver City is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
    • Cameron
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Marlow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Marlow is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Jones Prairie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jones Prairie is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Prairie
    • Maysfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Buckholts
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Crossroads
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Crossroads is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
    • Baileyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Baileyville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileyville
    • Branchville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Branchville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
    • Minerva
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Minerva is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
    • Tracy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Tracy is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
    • Port Sullivan ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Port Sullivan is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sullivan
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Arnold, with the one closest to Ben Arnold listed first.
    • Meeks
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Meeks is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeks
    • Edgeworth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Edgeworth is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
    • Cyclone
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cyclone is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
    • Ocker
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ocker is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocker
    • Rogers
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Oenaville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Oenaville is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oenaville
    • Heidenheimer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Vilas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Vilas is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
    • Academy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Academy is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academy
    • Little River Academy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Little River Academy is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River Academy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Little River
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Sparks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Sparks is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks
    • Temple
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Burleson County
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Arnold, with the one closest to Ben Arnold listed first.
    • Rosebud
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Zipperlandville ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Zipperlandville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zipperlandville
      • Zipperlandville has also been known as:
      • Zipperlen
      • Zipperlenville
    • Barclay
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Barclay is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
    • Wilderville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wilderville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderville
    • Westphalia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Westphalia is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
    • Lott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Highbank
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Highbank is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank
    • Durango
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Durango is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durango
    • Reagan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Chilton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Blevins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Blevins is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blevins
    • Marlin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Mooreville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Mooreville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooreville
  • Lee County
    • Hicks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hicks is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Arnold, with the one closest to Ben Arnold listed first.
    • Eddy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bruceville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Arnold, with the one closest to Ben Arnold listed first.
    • Calvert
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Hammond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hammond is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
    • Bremond
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Elliot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
    • Hearne
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Owensville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
    • Mumford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ben Arnold, with the one closest to Ben Arnold listed first.
    • Laneport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Laneport is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laneport
    • Friendship ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Friendship is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
    • Hoxie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hoxie is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxie

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

Cemeteries Near Ben Arnold ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ben Arnold.

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 Ben Arnold - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ben Arnold, with the one closest to Ben Arnold 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Ben Arnold had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Burlington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Clarkson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarkson is located in Milam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
  • Cameron
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Rosebud
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Maysfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Jones Prairie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jones Prairie is located in Milam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Prairie
  • Buckholts
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Barclay
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Barclay is located in Falls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
  • Cyclone
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cyclone is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
  • Baileyville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Baileyville is located in Milam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileyville
  • Wilderville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilderville is located in Falls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderville
  • Travis
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Travis is located in Falls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ocker
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ocker is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocker
    • Westphalia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Westphalia is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
    • Minerva
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Minerva is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva

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

Newspapers Published in Ben Arnold ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ben Arnold.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ben Arnold, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ben Arnold.

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 Ben Arnold:

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>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 Ben Arnold, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Ben Arnold) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.