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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 Brookeland (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 Brookeland. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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/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 north 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.

Brookeland is located in Sabine 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 Sabine County: Sabine (LA), Jasper, Newton, San Augustine & Shelby.

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

  • Sabine County     (The home county of Brookeland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookeland, with the one closest to Brookeland listed first.
    • Pineland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Bronson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Mason
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mason is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
    • Fairmount
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Fairmount is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Hemphill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rosevine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
    • Milam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Geneva
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookeland, with the one closest to Brookeland listed first.
    • Parker Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Parker Point is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Point
    • Martin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Martin is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
    • Zavalla
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Boynton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Boynton is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Dolan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Dolan is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
    • Nancy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Nancy is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancy
    • Ora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Ora is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookeland, with the one closest to Brookeland listed first.
    • Browndell
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Sam Rayburn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Harveytown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
    • Jasper
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Beech Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
  • Nacogdoches County
    • Etoile
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookeland, with the one closest to Brookeland listed first.
    • Wiergate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Burkeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Shanklerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
    • South Toledo Bend
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
    • Toledo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
    • Newton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookeland, with the one closest to Brookeland listed first.
    • Powell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
    • White City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Rebecca
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Zana is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
    • Broaddus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Maxey Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
    • San Augustine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Denning
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookeland, with the one closest to Brookeland listed first.
    • Town Bluff
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Town Bluff is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Bluff
    • Colmesneil
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sabine Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookeland, with the one closest to Brookeland listed first.
    • Rock ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Rock is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Toro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Toro is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro

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

Cemeteries Near Brookeland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brookeland.

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

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

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

  • Brookeland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Johnson Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Remlig Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Lowe Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Berryman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Lone Star Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lakey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • McElroy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Blackland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (262 more) ...
    • Hines Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Goodwill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Letney Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brookeland had a population of 144 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Fairmount
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Fairmount is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Hemphill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Jasper
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Farrsville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Farrsville is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrsville
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Zana is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
  • Macune
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Macune is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune
  • Burkeville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Milam
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Beech Grove
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
  • Geneva
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Rockland
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockland is located in Tyler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
  • Columbus ‑ Historic
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Columbus is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Erin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Erin is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
    • Newton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Toledo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo

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

Newspapers Published in Brookeland ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brookeland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brookeland, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brookeland.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Brookeland:

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>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 Brookeland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brookeland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.