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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 Bethany (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 Bethany. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Bethany is located in Panola 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 Panola County: Caddo (LA), De Soto (LA), Harrison, Rusk & Shelby.

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

  • Panola County     (The home county of Bethany)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
    • Panola
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • De Berry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Midyett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Midyett is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
    • Carthage
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Center Point is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
    • Beckville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Woods
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Woods is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
    • Delray
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Delray is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
    • Murvaul
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Murvaul is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
    • Gary City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
    • Waskom
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Elysian Fields
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jonesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Scottsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Karnack
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Marshall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Uncertain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Baldwin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Baldwin is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
    • Pope City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pope City is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope City
    • Woodlawn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodlawn is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Nesbitt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Nesbitt is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
  • Rusk County
    • Tatum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
    • Haslam
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Joaquin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Bossier Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
    • Bossier City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Parkland Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Parkland Village is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland Village
    • Elm Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Benton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Benton is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,092 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benton <1>
    • Bodcau
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bodcau is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodcau
    • Espanita Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Espanita Village is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espanita Village
    • Red Chute
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Red Chute is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Chute
    • Eastwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Eastwood is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
  • Caddo Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
    • Bethany
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Greenwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
    • Edgewood Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Edgewood Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood Village
    • Reisor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Reisor is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reisor
    • Keithville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • South Towne Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • South Towne Heights is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Heights
    • Western Hills Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Western Hills Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills Village
    • Silver Pine Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Silver Pine Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Pine Village
    • Summer Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Summer Grove is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Grove
    • Longwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Longwood is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Longwood Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Longwood Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood Village
  • De Soto Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
    • Stonewall
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Keachi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Gloster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Longstreet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Frierson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Grand Cane
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Logansport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Stanley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Mansfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • South Mansfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people

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

Cemeteries Near Bethany ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethany.

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 Bethany - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • New Boggy Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • State Line Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Ivory Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Draper Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hightower Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Jernigan Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Lester Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest Park Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Park Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Greenwood (LA).
    • The Forest Park Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Walden Ferry Road Cemetery
    • Whitworth Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2141248 <2>
  • Pine Grove Church of God in Christ Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Davidson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • New Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (170 more) ...
    • Hughes Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Pollard Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Johnson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Bethany
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Greenwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Spring Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
  • Waskom
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • De Berry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Elysian Fields
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Jonesville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Flournoy
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Centennial
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Centennial is located in Panola County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
  • Midyett
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Midyett is located in Panola County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
  • Reisor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Reisor is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reisor
  • Keithville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Longwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Longwood is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Stonewall
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • La Rosen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • La Rosen is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Rosen

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

Newspapers Published in Bethany ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethany.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethany, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethany.

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 Bethany:

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 'straight-line' (or 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- Bethany) 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 Bethany, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.