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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 Byers (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 Byers. 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.

Byers is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Cotton (OK), Jefferson (OK), Archer, Jack, Montague & Wichita.

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

  • Clay County     (The home county of Byers)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byers, with the one closest to Byers listed first.
    • Petrolia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petrolia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
      • Petrolia is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petrolia <2>
    • Thornberry
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thornberry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornberry
      • Thornberry is located in Clay County
    • Dean
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
      • Dean is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
    • Jolly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolly
      • Jolly is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Henrietta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Bluegrove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Archer County
    • Lakeside City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeside City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside City
      • Lakeside City is located in Archer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,008 people
  • Montague County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byers, with the one closest to Byers listed first.
    • Ringgold
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Belcherville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belcherville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcherville
      • Belcherville is located in Montague County
    • Hynds City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hynds City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynds City
      • Hynds City is located in Montague County
    • Rowland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
      • Rowland is located in Montague County
  • Wichita County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byers, with the one closest to Byers listed first.
    • Cashion Community
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cashion Community have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashion Community
      • Cashion Community is located in Wichita County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 360 people
    • Wichita Falls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Burkburnett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burkburnett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkburnett
      • Burkburnett is located in Wichita County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,405 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burkburnett <2>
    • Pleasant Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
      • Pleasant Valley is located in Wichita County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
    • Clara
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara
      • Clara is located in Wichita County
    • Iowa Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Park
      • Iowa Park is located in Wichita County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,431 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iowa Park <2>
  • Comanche County (OK)
    • Geronimo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geronimo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geronimo
      • Geronimo is located in Comanche County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,225 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geronimo <2>
  • Cotton County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byers, with the one closest to Byers listed first.
    • Taylor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Taylor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Taylor is located in Cotton County (OK)
    • Temple
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
      • Temple is located in Cotton County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 915 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Temple <2>
    • Randlett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randlett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randlett
      • Randlett is located in Cotton County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Randlett <2>
    • Walters
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Walters is located in Cotton County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,357 people
      • Former name for Walters:
      • Walter
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walters <2>
    • Cookietown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cookietown
      • Cookietown is located in Cotton County (OK)
    • Devol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Devol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devol
      • Devol is located in Cotton County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Devol <2>
    • Hulen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulen
      • Hulen is located in Cotton County (OK)
  • Jefferson County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byers, with the one closest to Byers listed first.
    • Hastings
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastings
      • Hastings is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hastings <2>
    • Sugden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugden
      • Sugden is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Waurika
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waurika
      • Waurika is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,865 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waurika <2>
    • Ryan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ryan <2>
    • Addington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Terral
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terral have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terral
      • Terral is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Terral <2>
    • Fleetwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fleetwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleetwood
      • Fleetwood is located in Jefferson County (OK)
    • Oscar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Grady
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
      • Grady is located in Jefferson County (OK)
  • Stephens County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Byers, with the one closest to Byers listed first.
    • Comanche
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comanche have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche
      • Comanche is located in Stephens County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Comanche <2>
    • Gas City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gas City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gas City
      • Gas City is located in Stephens County (OK)
    • Meridian
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meridian have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Stephens County (OK)
    • Empire City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
      • Empire City is located in Stephens County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 889 people
  • Tillman County (OK)
    • Grandfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Byers ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Byers.

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

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Benvenue Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Benvenue Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Benvenue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hurnville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hurnville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hurnville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waurika Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waurika Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waurika Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Temple Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Sugden Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sugden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sugden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hastings Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Hastings Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hastings Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hastings Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ryan Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ryan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ryan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kempner Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kempner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kempner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery of Randlett
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery of Randlett
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery of Randlett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (49 more) ...
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cambridge Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cambridge Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cambridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Brown Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

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

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

  • Hurnville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurnville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurnville
    • Hurnville is located in Clay County
  • Charlie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charlie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlie
    • Charlie is located in Clay County
  • Thornberry
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thornberry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornberry
    • Thornberry is located in Clay County
  • Jolly
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolly
    • Jolly is located in Clay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
  • Henrietta
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Wichita Falls
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Bluegrove
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Belcherville ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belcherville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcherville
    • Belcherville is located in Montague County
  • Iowa Park
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Park
    • Iowa Park is located in Wichita County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,431 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iowa Park <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Byers ...

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 Byers.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Byers. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Byers and those printed in the larger area surrounding Byers.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Byers.

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 Byers:

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

The official website for Clay County: www.co.clay.tx.us/

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>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 Byers, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Byers) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Byers. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0697, Longitude: -98.1912       In this case, the coordinates for Byers have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025