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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 Cowley (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 Cowley. 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 hospitals 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.

Cowley is located in Collin 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 Collin County: Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt & Rockwall.

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

  • Collin County     (The home county of Cowley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowley, with the one closest to Cowley listed first.
    • Plano
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Plano is located in Collin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291,296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plano <1>
    • Carrollton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Hebron
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Hebron is located in Collin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
    • Allen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Allen is located in Collin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,379 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <1>
    • Murphy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Parker
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Frisco
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Sachse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Fairview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lucas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lucas is located in Collin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,819 people
    • Saint Paul
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Saint Paul is located in Collin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
    • Rockhill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Rockhill is located in Collin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhill
  • Comanche County
    • Cross Roads
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cross Roads is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowley, with the one closest to Cowley listed first.
    • Richardson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Buckingham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Buckingham is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Addison
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Trinity Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Trinity Mills is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity Mills
    • Farmers Branch
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Garland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • University Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Highland Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Rawlins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Rawlins is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawlins
    • Centerville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Centerville is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Coppell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lewisville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Denton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowley, with the one closest to Cowley listed first.
    • The Colony
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hackberry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hackberry is located in Denton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,094 people
    • Lakewood Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lakewood Village is located in Denton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,002 people
    • Little Elm
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hickory Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Dallas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Point
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Highland Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Lincoln Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Lincoln Park is located in Denton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 567 people
    • Providence Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Providence Village is located in Denton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,564 people
    • Shady Shores
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Shady Shores is located in Denton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Shores
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,958 people
    • Copper Canyon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Grayson County
    • Gunter
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Hunt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowley, with the one closest to Cowley listed first.
    • Caddo Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Union Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Union Valley is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
  • Kaufman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowley, with the one closest to Cowley listed first.
    • Heath
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Heath is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heath
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,718 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heath <1>
    • Forney
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Talty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Talty is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,883 people
  • Rockwall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowley, with the one closest to Cowley listed first.
    • Rockwall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mobile City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Mobile City is located in Rockwall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Fate
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Fate is located in Rockwall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,434 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fate <1>
    • Blackland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Blackland is located in Rockwall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackland
    • McLendon - Chisholm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • McLendon - Chisholm is located in Rockwall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLendon - Chisholm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people
  • Tarrant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowley, with the one closest to Cowley listed first.
    • Minters Chapel ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Minters Chapel is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minters Chapel
    • Euless
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bedford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Colleyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Bransford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bransford is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bransford
    • Hurst
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hurst is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurst <1>
    • Keller
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Arlington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • North Richland Hills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Smithfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Smithfield is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • University Park Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Richland Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Cowley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cowley.

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

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

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

  • Frankford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • White Rock Garden of Memories
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Blewett Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Routh Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Old Plano City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Plano City Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Plano City Cemetery is located in Plano.
    • The Old Plano City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pioneer Cemetery
    • Plano Cemetery
    • Plano Pioneer Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2183403 <2>
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Restland Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mutual Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Plano Mutual Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Baccus Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bowman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (218 more) ...
    • Cemetery Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Thomas Park Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Perry Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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 Cowley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cowley.

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

  • Renner
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Renner is located in Collin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renner
  • Plano
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Plano is located in Collin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 291,296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plano <1>
  • Richardson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Carrollton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hebron
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Hebron is located in Collin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
  • Trinity Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Trinity Mills is located in Dallas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity Mills
  • Lebanon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Lebanon is located in Collin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
  • Farmers Branch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Allen
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Allen is located in Collin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,379 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allen <1>
  • Murphy
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Parker
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Garland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Sachse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Coppell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Rawlins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Rawlins is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawlins

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

Newspapers Published in Cowley ...

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 239 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cowley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cowley, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cowley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Cowley:

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 Cowley, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cowley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.