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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 Central (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 Central. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Central is located in Angelina 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 Angelina County: Cherokee, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Polk, San Augustine, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Angelina County     (The home county of Central)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Durant
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Durant is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durant
    • Clawson
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Clawson is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clawson
    • Pollok
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Woodlawn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Woodlawn is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Redland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Redland is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland
    • Cedar Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Keltys
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Keltys is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keltys
    • Davisville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Davisville is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davisville
    • Hudson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Hudson is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,288 people
    • Providence
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Providence is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Lufkin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lufkin is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufkin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,955 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lufkin <1>
    • Redtown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Redtown is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redtown
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Wells
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Alto
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Alto is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,239 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <1>
    • Weeping Mary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Weeping Mary is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Mary
    • New Birmingham ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Hagerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Hagerville is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerville
    • Ratcliff
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Fog Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Fog Town is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fog Town
    • Bluff City ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Bluff City is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Tadmor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Tadmor is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
    • Kennard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Harrison Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Harrison Town is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Town
    • Weches
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Weches is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
    • Belott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Belott is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
    • Hickory Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hickory Creek is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Alazan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
    • Nacogdoches
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Woden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Douglass
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Nat
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Nat is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nat
    • Redfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
    • Etoile
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Looneyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Looneyville is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looneyville
    • Appleby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Swift
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Trawick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Trawick is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trawick
    • Cushing
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Skinner Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Skinner Town is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
    • Corrigan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central, with the one closest to Central listed first.
    • Apple Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Centralia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Helmic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Helmic is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmic
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Center Point is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
    • Lacy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lacy is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
      • Lacy has also been known as:
      • Lacey
    • Pennington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sumpter ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sumpter is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
    • Woodlake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodlake is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake

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

Cemeteries Near Central ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Central.

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

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

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

  • Gann Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Poskey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pollok Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Newman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Bodan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Rowan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rowan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Largent Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Aldredge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Walker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Procella Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bonaldo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (196 more) ...
    • Parkes Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sandlot Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Wallace Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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 Central in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Central.

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

  • Clawson
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Clawson is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clawson
  • Pollok
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Keltys
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Keltys is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keltys
  • Lufkin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lufkin is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufkin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,955 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lufkin <1>
  • Wells
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Burke
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Burke is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
  • Homer
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Homer is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
  • Forest
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
  • Nacogdoches
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Hagerville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Hagerville is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerville
  • Centralia
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Apple Springs
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Douglass
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Woden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Redfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield

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

Newspapers Published in Central ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Central.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Central, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Central.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Central:

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 '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- Central) 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 Central, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.