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 Franklin (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 Franklin. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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 Franklin is located in Delta 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 Delta County: Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt & Lamar.
Below are the counties that are near Ben Franklin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ben Franklin:
- Delta County (The home county of Ben Franklin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ben Franklin, with the one closest to Ben Franklin listed first.
- Pecan Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Enloe
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cooper
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jot-Em-Down
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jot-Em-Down is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jot-Em-Down
- Jot-Em-Down has also been known as:
- Mohegan
- Muddig Prairie
- Lake Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Klondike
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Needmore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Needmore is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Charleston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Charleston is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Fannin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ben Franklin, with the one closest to Ben Franklin listed first.
- Dial
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dial is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dial
- Honey Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bug Tussle ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bug Tussle is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Tussle
- Ladonia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Silver City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Silver City is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Allen Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Allen Point is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Point
- Windom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Allens Chapel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allens Chapel is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Chapel
- Hail
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hail is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hail
- Dodd City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Gober
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Carson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carson is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Bailey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Hopkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ben Franklin, with the one closest to Ben Franklin listed first.
- Peerless
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Peerless is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peerless
- Posey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Posey is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posey
- Tira
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tira is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tira
- Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
- Birthright
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Birthright is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birthright
- Ridgeway
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ridgeway is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Nelta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Nelta is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelta
- Dike
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sulphur Bluff
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brashear
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cumby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Sulphur Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rockdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rockdale is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Palestine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Palestine is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Hunt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ben Franklin, with the one closest to Ben Franklin listed first.
- Yowell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Yowell is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yowell
- Jardin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jardin is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jardin
- Fairlie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairlie is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlie
- Commerce
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Aberfoyle
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Aberfoyle is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberfoyle
- Wolfe City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- South Sulphur
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- South Sulphur is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sulphur
- Neylandville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Neylandville is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neylandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Campbell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jacobia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jacobia is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobia
- White Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- White Rock is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Celeste
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kingston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kingston is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Lamar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ben Franklin, with the one closest to Ben Franklin listed first.
- Roxton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Howland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Howland is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howland
- High
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- High is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High
- Petty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gadston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Gadston is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gadston
- Brookston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ambia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ambia is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambia
- Atlas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Atlas is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Broadway
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Broadway is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadway
- Frog Hop ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Frog Hop is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Hop
- Glory
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Glory is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glory
- Toco
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Toco is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
- Biardstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Biardstown is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biardstown
- Red River County
- Halesboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Halesboro is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halesboro
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ben Franklin, see our County-by-County Page for Ben Franklin.
Cemeteries Near Ben Franklin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ben Franklin.
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 Franklin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ben Franklin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ben Franklin, with the one closest to Ben Franklin listed first.
- Waller Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Baptist Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Simmons Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Giles Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- McGalasson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Restland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Restland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Restland Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Roxton.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6337 <2>
- Whittenburg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- McGlasson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Denton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Ford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rocky Ford Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Roxton.
- The Rocky Ford Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rockyford Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6436 <2>
- Broyles Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (203 more) ...
- Bledsoe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bourland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Antioch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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 Ben Franklin had a population of 183 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ben Franklin, with the one closest to Ben Franklin listed first.
- Pecan Gap
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Noble
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Noble is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
- Roxton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dial
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dial is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dial
- Cooper
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Joy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mount Joy is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Petty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gough
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gough is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gough
- High
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- High is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High
- Ladonia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Prattville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Prattville is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattville
- Lake Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Atlas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Atlas is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Ambia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ambia is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambia
- Brookston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ben Franklin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ben Franklin.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ben Franklin ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ben Franklin.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ben Franklin. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ben Franklin and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ben Franklin.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Ben Franklin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Franklin:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Delta County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fannin County
- Hopkins County
- Hunt County
- Lamar County
- Red River County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 Franklin, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ben Franklin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |