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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 Breckenridge (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 Breckenridge. 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 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Breckenridge is located in Stephens County and is the County Seat.

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 Stephens County: Callahan, Eastland, Palo Pinto, Shackelford, Throckmorton & Young.

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

  • Stephens County     (The home county of Breckenridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Breckenridge, with the one closest to Breckenridge listed first.
    • Eolian
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eolian
      • Eolian is located in Stephens County
    • Necessity
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necessity
      • Necessity is located in Stephens County
    • Wayland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Wayland is located in Stephens County
    • Caddo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Eureka
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Stephens County
    • Gunsight ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunsight
      • Gunsight is located in Stephens County
    • La Casa ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Casa
      • La Casa is located in Stephens County
  • Eastland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Breckenridge, with the one closest to Breckenridge listed first.
    • Ranger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ranger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranger
      • Ranger is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,354 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ranger <2>
    • Cisco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <2>
    • Eastland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Olden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Mangum ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mangum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangum
      • Mangum is located in Eastland County
  • Palo Pinto County
    • Strawn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Shackelford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Breckenridge, with the one closest to Breckenridge listed first.
    • Moran
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moran have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moran
      • Moran is located in Shackelford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moran <2>
    • Fort Griffin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Griffin
      • Fort Griffin is located in Shackelford County
    • Albany
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Albany is located in Shackelford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,958 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <2>
  • Throckmorton County
    • Woodson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodson
      • Woodson is located in Throckmorton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodson <2>
  • Young County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Breckenridge, with the one closest to Breckenridge listed first.
    • Eliasville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliasville
      • Eliasville is located in Young County
    • Murray
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
      • Murray is located in Young County
    • South Bend
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bunger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunger
      • Bunger is located in Young County
    • Proffitt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proffitt
      • Proffitt is located in Young County
    • Graham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
      • Graham is located in Young County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,568 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graham <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Breckenridge ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Breckenridge.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Breckenridge. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Breckenridge and those printed in the larger area surrounding Breckenridge.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Breckenridge.

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 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 Breckenridge:

Cemeteries Near Breckenridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Breckenridge.

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

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

  • Breckenridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Picketville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Picketville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Picketville Cemetery
  • Post Oak Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Post Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Post Oak Cemetery
  • Hart Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hart Cemetery
  • Brushy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brushy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brushy Cemetery
  • Moon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moon Cemetery
  • Plum Branch Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plum Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plum Branch Cemetery
  • Buck Mtn. Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buck Mtn. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buck Mtn. Cemetery
  • St.s Rest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Rest Cemetery
  • Harpersville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harpersville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harpersville Cemetery
  • Yellow Fork Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yellow Fork Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yellow Fork Cemetery
  • Baker Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baker Cemetery
  • Continue List   (66 more) ...
    • Shady Grove Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shady Grove Cemetery
    • Snake Den Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snake Den Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snake Den Cemetery
    • Battle Creek Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Battle Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Battle Creek 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Breckenridge had a population of 462 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Breckenridge had a population of 5,400 people.

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

  • Eolian
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eolian
    • Eolian is located in Stephens County
  • Wayland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Wayland is located in Stephens County
  • Caddo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Gunsight ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunsight
    • Gunsight is located in Stephens County
  • La Casa ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Casa
    • La Casa is located in Stephens County
  • Eliasville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliasville
    • Eliasville is located in Young County
  • Murray
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
    • Murray is located in Young County
  • South Bend
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Fort Griffin
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Griffin
    • Fort Griffin is located in Shackelford County
  • Albany
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
    • Albany is located in Shackelford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,958 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <2>
  • Ranger
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ranger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranger
    • Ranger is located in Eastland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,354 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ranger <2>
  • Tiffin
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tiffin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffin
    • Tiffin is located in Eastland County
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Cisco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <2>
    • Eastland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Olden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Breckenridge. 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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Breckenridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Breckenridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.7566, Longitude: -98.9121       In this case, the coordinates for Breckenridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Breckenridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024