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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Clifton is located in Van Zandt 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 Van Zandt County: Henderson, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Smith & Wood.
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:
- Van Zandt County (The home county of Clifton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Wills Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Edgewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Myrtle Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Fruitvale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Canton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Saline
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tundra
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
- Van
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Van is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van <1>
- Ben Wheeler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Collin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Royse City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Josephine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nevada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hopkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Miller Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bonanza
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Palestine is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Divide
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Divide is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide
- Cumby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Brashear
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tazewell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tazewell is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
- Ridgeway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeway is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Rockdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rockdale is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Hunt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- West Tawakoni
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Tawakoni is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,994 people
- Hawk Cove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hawk Cove is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Cove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
- Quinlan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Boles Home
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Boles Home is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boles Home
- Lone Oak
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Weiland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Weiland is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weiland
- Union Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Union Valley is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
- Dixon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Hendrix
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hendrix is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Caddo Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Greenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Kaufman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Ables Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ables Springs is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ables Springs
- Elmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- College Mound
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- College Mound is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Mound
- Poetry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Poetry is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poetry
- Abner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abner is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Terrell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ola
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ola is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
- Oak Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Post Oak Bend City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Post Oak Bend City is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Bend City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Lawrence
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lawrence is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Prairieville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Prairieville is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Becker
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Becker is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becker
- Rains County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Flats
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Flats is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flats
- East Tawakoni
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- East Tawakoni is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 991 people
- Hooker Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hooker Ridge is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker Ridge
- Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Emory
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rockwall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Blackland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Blackland is located in Rockwall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackland
- McLendon - Chisholm
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- McLendon - Chisholm is located in Rockwall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLendon - Chisholm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people
- Fate
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mobile City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mobile City is located in Rockwall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Rockwall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Smith County
- Jamestown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Alba
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Gunter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Gunter is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunter
- Golden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Yantis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mineola
(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.
- Rocky Point Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bright Star Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Union Grovel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodall Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Howell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- White Rose Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rose Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the White Rose Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Wills Point.
- The White Rose Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wills Point Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7606 <3>
- Ellis Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Morince Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Trumble Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (190 more) ...
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shook Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Whites Prairie Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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 Clifton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Clifton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
- Wills Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- McCoy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- McCoy is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCoy
- Edgewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Myrtle Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Emory
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lone Oak
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Poetry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Poetry is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poetry
- Abner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Abner is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abner
- Wieland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wieland is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wieland
- Terrell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Canton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Saline
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wise
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Wise is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wise
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 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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clifton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clifton, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clifton.
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 Clifton:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Van Zandt County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Collin County
- Hopkins County
- Hunt County
- Kaufman County
- Rains County
- Rockwall County
- Smith County
- Wood 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 'straight-line' (or 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'. |
| <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 Clifton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |