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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 Bright Star (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 Bright Star. 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 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.

Bright Star is located in Rains 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 Rains County: Hopkins, Hunt, Van Zandt & Wood.

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

  • Rains County     (The home county of Bright Star)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Emory
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Flats
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Flats is located in Rains County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flats
    • Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • East Tawakoni
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • East Tawakoni is located in Rains County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tawakoni
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 991 people
    • Hooker Ridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Hooker Ridge is located in Rains County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker Ridge
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Winnsboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Purley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Purley is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purley
    • Scroggins
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Hopkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Bonanza
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Divide
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Divide is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide
    • Tazewell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Tazewell is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
    • Miller Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Oak
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Black Oak is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
    • Palestine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Palestine is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
    • Rockdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Rockdale is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
    • Como
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Como is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Como
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 723 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Como <1>
    • Brashear
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Sulphur Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Pickton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cumby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Hunt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Lone Oak
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • West Tawakoni
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • West Tawakoni is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tawakoni
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,994 people
    • Hawk Cove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Hawk Cove is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Cove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • Weiland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Weiland is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weiland
    • Dixon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dixon is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
    • Boles Home
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Boles Home is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boles Home
    • Campbell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Quinlan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Kaufman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Ables Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Ables Springs is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ables Springs
    • Elmo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Jamestown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jamestown is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
    • Garden Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Garden Valley is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
    • Carroll
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Carroll is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Hideaway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hideaway is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,208 people
    • Lindale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Van Zandt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Grand Saline
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Fruitvale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Van
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Van is located in Van Zandt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,778 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van <1>
    • Myrtle Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
    • Wills Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Canton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Canton is located in Van Zandt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canton <1>
    • Ben Wheeler
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Tundra
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
  • Wood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bright Star, with the one closest to Bright Star listed first.
    • Gunter
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gunter is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunter
    • Alba
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Yantis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Golden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Quitman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Forest Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Forest Hill is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
    • Coke
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Coke is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke
    • Mineola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cartwright
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Cartwright is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
    • Hainesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Hainesville is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hainesville
    • Stout
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Stout is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
    • Pine Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Pine Mills is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills

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

Cemeteries Near Bright Star ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bright Star.

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 Bright Star - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • MaGee - McCord Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the east of Emory.
    • The Pilgrim Rest Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #271442 <2>
  • Turner Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Campbell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Clewis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Holland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Robertson / Henrys Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Forbis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Danley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Slatter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Burke - Yandell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Rocky Point Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (180 more) ...
    • Prairie Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bishop Family Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Sharp Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Alba
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Emory
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Yantis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Golden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Grand Saline
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Silver Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Silver Lake is located in Van Zandt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
  • Quitman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Point
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Reilly Springs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Reilly Springs is located in Hopkins County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reilly Springs
  • Edgewood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Mineola
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Coke
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Coke is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Miller Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Tazewell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Tazewell is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
    • Divide
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Divide is located in Hopkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide

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

Newspapers Published in Bright Star ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bright Star.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bright Star, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bright Star.

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 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 Bright Star:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bright Star) 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 Bright Star, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.