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 Church Hill (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 Church Hill. 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 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 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.
Church Hill is located in Rusk 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 Rusk County: Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Panola, Shelby & Smith.
Below are the counties that are near Church Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Church Hill:
- Rusk County (The home county of Church Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Pinehill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pinehill is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehill
- Henderson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Monroe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Brachfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brachfield is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brachfield
- Tatum
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jacobs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jacobs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs
- Minden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pirtle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pirtle is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pirtle
- Friars
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Friars is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars
- Joinerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- New London
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Price
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Henrys Chapel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Henrys Chapel is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Chapel
- Griffin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Griffin is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Troup
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Blackjack
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Blackjack is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackjack
- Reklaw
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gould
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Gould is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- New Summerfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gregg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Elderville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Elderville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
- Easton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lakeport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Fredonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fredonia is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Danville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Danville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Rolling Meadows
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
- Kilgore
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Longview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Greggton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Greggton is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greggton
- Liberty City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty City is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
- Teneryville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Teneryville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teneryville
- White Oak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Lansing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lansing is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
- Hallsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Noonday
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Noonday is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
- Marshall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elysian Fields
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nesbitt
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nesbitt is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
- Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
- Nacogdoches County
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Garrison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cushing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fitze
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
- Trawick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Trawick is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trawick
- Whispering Pines
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Sacul
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dextra
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dextra is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dextra
- Panola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Long Branch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Beckville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Delray
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Delray is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
- Clayton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Center Point ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Center Point is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Dotson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dotson is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotson
- Buncome
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Buncome is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buncome
- Carthage
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Murvaul
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Murvaul is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
- Gary City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Woods
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woods is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
- Midyett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Midyett is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Timpson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tenaha
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Wright City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wright City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright City
- Jamestown ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Jamestown has also been known as:
- Jimtown
- Arp
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sinclair City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sinclair City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair City
- Omen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Omen is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
- Browning
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Browning is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browning
- New Chapel Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- New Chapel Hill is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chapel Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 667 people
- Upshur County
- Union Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Union Grove is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Church Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Church Hill.
Cemeteries Near Church Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Church Hill.
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 Church Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Church Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Young Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Wasson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Turner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Strong Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Chapman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pryor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Craig Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wright Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hall Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bridges Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hughes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Oak Hill UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (270 more) ...
- Ross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oberthier Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oberthier Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oberthier Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Henderson.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5710 <2>
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.<3>
While we didn't find Church Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Church Hill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Church Hill, with the one closest to Church Hill listed first.
- Pinehill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pinehill is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehill
- Henderson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Fair Play
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fair Play is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Play
- Long Branch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Monroe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Elderville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Elderville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
- Minden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Delray
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Delray is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
- Beckville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Tatum
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Easton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Pirtle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pirtle is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pirtle
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Laneville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Enterprise
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Church Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Church Hill.
Newspapers Published in Church Hill ...
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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Church Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Church Hill, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Church Hill.
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 Church Hill:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Rusk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Gregg County
- Harrison County
- Nacogdoches County
- Panola County
- Shelby County
- Smith County
- Upshur 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> | 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> | 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 Church Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Church Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |