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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 Clifton (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 Clifton. 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.

Clifton is located in Bosque 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 Bosque County: Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, Johnson, McLennan & Somervell.

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

  • Bosque County     (The home county of Clifton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Norse
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Norse is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norse
    • Womack
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Womack is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
    • Cayote
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Cayote is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
    • Meridian
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Valley Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Greenock is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
    • Laguna Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Cranfills Gap
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Morgan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lakeside Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Lakeside Village is located in Bosque County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
    • Kopperl
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Walnut Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Coryell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Turnersville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Turnersville is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
    • Coryell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Coryell is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coryell
    • Jonesboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • South Mountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • South Mountain is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
    • Gatesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Oglesby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • McGregor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Levita
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Levita is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levita
    • Lime City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Lime City is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
    • Ireland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Ireland is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ireland
    • Fort Gates
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Fort Gates is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gates
    • Mound
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Lanham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Lanham is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanham
    • Agee ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Agee is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agee
    • Whiteway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Whiteway is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteway
      • Whiteway has also been known as:
      • White Way
    • Hico
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hico is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,437 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hico <1>
  • Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Whitney
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Tyson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Tyson is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
    • Aquilla
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Huron ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Huron is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
    • Peoria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Peoria is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
    • Blum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Abbott
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Chatt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Chatt is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
    • Hillsboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • China Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Crawford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Patrick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Patrick is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
    • Rock Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Rock Creek is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
    • Gholson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Gholson is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
    • Speegleville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Speegleville is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speegleville
    • Bosqueville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
    • Ross
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Ross is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <1>
    • West
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • West is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,969 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West <1>
    • Woodway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Elm Mott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Lacy - Lakeview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Clifton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clifton.

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

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

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

  • Clifton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Oswald Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Terrell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Kanz Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Thiele Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Norway Mill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lanes Chapel Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Scrutchfield Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Valley Mills Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Post Oak Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Barton Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Olde Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (127 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Clifton had a population of 204 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Clifton had a population of 3,410 people.

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

  • Norse
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Norse is located in Bosque County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norse
  • Womack
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Womack is located in Bosque County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
  • Cayote
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Cayote is located in Bosque County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
  • Mosheim
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Mosheim is located in Bosque County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosheim
  • Valley Mills
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Meridian
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Greenock
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Greenock is located in Bosque County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
  • Turnersville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Turnersville is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
  • Cranfills Gap
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Coryell
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Coryell is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coryell
  • Morgan
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Osage
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Osage is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Crawford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • China Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitney
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Clifton ...

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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clifton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Clifton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Clifton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Clifton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Clifton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Clifton:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Clifton) 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 Clifton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.