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 Centerville (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 Centerville. 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 Centerville ...
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 occur.
Another variation: Centreville.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Centerville. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Centerville.
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.
Centerville is located in Trinity 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 Trinity County: Angelina, Cherokee, Houston, Polk, San Jacinto & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Centerville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Centerville:
- Trinity County (The home county of Centerville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Helmic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Helmic is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmic
- Centralia
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Apple Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lacy
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lacy is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
- Lacy has also been known as:
- Lacey
- Center Point ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Center Point is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Sumpter ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sumpter is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Groveton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Woodlake is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake
- Pennington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Friday
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Friday is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday
- Chita
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chita is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
- Glendale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Glendale is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Carlisle
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Carlisle is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Angelina County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Blix
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blix is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blix
- Granville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Granville is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Rutland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rutland is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Diboll
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Peavy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Peavy is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peavy
- Burke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Burke is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Shady Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Redtown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Redtown is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redtown
- Providence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Hudson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hudson is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,288 people
- Prairie Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Prairie Grove is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
- Woodlawn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Woodlawn is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Durant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Durant is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durant
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Wells
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Forest
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Forest is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Weeping Mary
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Weeping Mary is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Mary
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Hagerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hagerville is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerville
- Fog Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fog Town is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fog Town
- Kennard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ratcliff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Holly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Holly is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
- Harrison Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison Town is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Town
- Tadmor
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Tadmor is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Hickory Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hickory Creek is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
- Belott
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Belott is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
- Lovelady
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Bluff City is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Crockett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Antioch ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Antioch is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Corrigan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Skinner Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Skinner Town is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
- Moscow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bold Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bold Springs is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Springs
- Onalaska
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Camden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Oaks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Barnum
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Barnum is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
- Leggett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lily Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lily Island is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Island
- New Willard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- New Willard is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
- Barnes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Barnes is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
- Tyler County
- Peach Tree Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
- Walker County
- Kittrell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kittrell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittrell
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Centerville, see our County-by-County Page for Centerville.
Cemeteries Near Centerville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Centerville.
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 Centerville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Centerville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Bennett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Moore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Moore Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the north of Groveton.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5317 <3>
- McLain Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lacy Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Tullos Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Burke Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Possum Walk Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ivie Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivie Cemetery
- The Ivie Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ivy Cemetery
- Rice Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (171 more) ...
- Sumpter Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Creasy Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Josserand Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
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 Centerville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Centerville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Apple Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Centralia
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Groveton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Josserand
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Josserand is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josserand
- Hagerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hagerville is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerville
- Pennington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Carmona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Carmona is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmona
- Ratcliff
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Saron
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saron is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saron
- Asia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Asia is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asia
- Burke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Burke is located in Angelina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Holly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Holly is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Corrigan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tadmor
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Tadmor is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Colita
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Colita is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colita
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Centerville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Centerville.
Newspapers Published in Centerville ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Centerville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Centerville, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Centerville.
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 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 Centerville:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Trinity County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Angelina County
- Cherokee County
- Houston County
- Polk County
- Tyler County
- Walker County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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> | 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- Centerville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Centerville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |