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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 Blue Springs (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 Blue Springs. 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.

Name Variations for Blue Springs ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Blue Springs: Blue Spgs. (or less commonly used: Blue Spngs. or Blue Sprngs.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Blue Springs is located in San Augustine 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 San Augustine County: Angelina, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Sabine & Shelby.

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

  • San Augustine County     (The home county of Blue Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • White City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
    • Rebecca
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
    • Powell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
    • Maxey Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
    • Broaddus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broaddus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broaddus
      • Broaddus is located in San Augustine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Broaddus <2>
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
      • Zana is located in San Augustine County
    • San Augustine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Denning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Parker Point
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parker Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Point
      • Parker Point is located in Angelina County
    • Ora
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
      • Ora is located in Angelina County
    • Zavalla
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Dolan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dolan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
      • Dolan is located in Angelina County
    • Nancy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancy
      • Nancy is located in Angelina County
    • Martin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Angelina County
    • Shawnee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
      • Shawnee is located in Angelina County
    • Oak Flat
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flat
      • Oak Flat is located in Angelina County
    • Thomas Crossing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Crossing
      • Thomas Crossing is located in Angelina County
    • Manning ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
      • Manning is located in Angelina County
    • Shawnee Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Prairie
      • Shawnee Prairie is located in Angelina County
    • Alco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
      • Alco is located in Angelina County
    • Huntington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Huntington is located in Angelina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,079 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntington <2>
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Browndell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browndell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Harveytown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
    • Sam Rayburn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jasper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Beech Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beech Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
      • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Chireno
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Etoile
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Attoyac
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Wiergate
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiergate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiergate
      • Wiergate is located in Newton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiergate <2>
    • South Toledo Bend
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Toledo Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County
    • Toledo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toledo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
      • Toledo is located in Newton County
    • Burkeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Shanklerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Springs, with the one closest to Blue Springs listed first.
    • Bronson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bronson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronson
      • Bronson is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bronson <2>
    • Pineland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Brookeland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookeland
      • Brookeland is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookeland <2>
    • Rosevine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County
    • Hemphill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hemphill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
      • Hemphill is located in Sabine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hemphill <2>
    • Geneva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Milam
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milam
      • Milam is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milam <2>
    • Mason
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Sabine County
    • Fairmount
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
      • Fairmount is located in Sabine County
  • Shelby County
    • Choice
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
      • Choice is located in Shelby County

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

Newspapers Published in Blue Springs ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Springs, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Blue Springs:

Cemeteries Near Blue Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Springs.

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

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

  • Wood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Bobbitt Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bobbitt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bobbitt Cemetery
  • McClelland Family Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McClelland Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McClelland Family Cemetery
  • Lakey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakey Cemetery
  • Hines Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hines Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hines Cemetery
  • Blackland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blackland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blackland Cemetery
  • Beauchamp Family Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beauchamp Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beauchamp Family Cemetery
  • Parker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parker Cemetery
  • Martin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martin Cemetery
  • Whitton Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitton Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitton Family Cemetery
  • Old Centerview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Centerview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Centerview Cemetery
  • Centerview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Centerview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Centerview Cemetery
  • Continue List   (280 more) ...
    • McBride Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McBride Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McBride Cemetery
    • Crooker Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crooker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crooker Cemetery
    • Miller Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery

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.<6>

While we didn't find Blue Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blue Springs.

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

  • Brookeland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookeland
    • Brookeland is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookeland <2>
  • Macune
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macune have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune
    • Macune is located in San Augustine County
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
    • Zana is located in San Augustine County
  • Hemphill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hemphill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Hemphill is located in Sabine County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hemphill <2>
  • Geneva
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Milam
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milam
    • Milam is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milam <2>
  • San Augustine
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Denning
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Denning is located in San Augustine County
  • Fairmount
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Fairmount is located in Sabine County
  • Ora
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
    • Ora is located in Angelina County
  • Sexton
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sexton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
    • Sexton is located in Sabine County
  • Chireno
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Etoile
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Jasper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Patroon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Patroon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patroon
      • Patroon is located in Shelby County

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

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2766, Longitude: -94.0741       In this case, the coordinates for Blue Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Blue Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024