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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 Datura (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 Datura. 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.

Datura is located in Limestone 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 Limestone County: Falls, Freestone, Hill, Leon, McLennan, Navarro & Robertson.

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

  • Limestone County     (The home county of Datura)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Datura, with the one closest to Datura listed first.
    • Coolidge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Tehuacana
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Mexia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Mexia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexia <1>
    • Frosa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
    • Delia ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Delia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
    • Kirk
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kirk is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
    • Prairie Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Groesbeck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Fallon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fallon is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
    • Watt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Watt is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
    • Ben Hur
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ben Hur is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
    • Lost Prairie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lost Prairie is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Prairie
    • Personville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Personville is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Datura, with the one closest to Datura listed first.
    • Otto
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Perry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Stranger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Stranger is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
    • McClanahan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • McClanahan is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClanahan
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Datura, with the one closest to Datura listed first.
    • Wortham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cotton Gin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Kirvin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Teague
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Teague is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Teague <1>
    • Streetman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
    • Freestone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Freestone is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
    • Fairfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Winkler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Winkler is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
    • Donie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Dew
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Dew is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
  • Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Datura, with the one closest to Datura listed first.
    • Hubbard
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Calm
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Penelope
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Malone
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Irene
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Bynum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mertens
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Abbott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Brandon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Datura, with the one closest to Datura listed first.
    • Mart
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Mart is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,983 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mart <1>
    • Battle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Battle is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle
    • Hallsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hallsburg is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Elk
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Elk is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
    • Axtell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Leroy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Riesel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Tours
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Tours is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tours
    • Harrison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Harrison is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Elm Mott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • West
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Bellmead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Lacy - Lakeview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Navarro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Datura, with the one closest to Datura listed first.
    • Pursley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Pursley is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pursley
    • Dawson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Purdon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Spring Hill is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Navarro Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Navarro Mills is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarro Mills
    • Silver City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Silver City is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
    • Richland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Richland is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
    • Dresden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Dresden is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
    • Angus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Angus is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
    • Oak Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Oak Valley is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
    • Mustang
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mustang is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
    • Retreat
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Retreat is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 384 people
    • Navarro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Navarro is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people

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

Cemeteries Near Datura ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Datura.

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

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

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

  • Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Armour Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • New Armour Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Coolidge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Honest Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Dancer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Forest Glade Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Boardtree Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardtree Cemetery
    • The Boardtree Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Union High Cemetery
  • Mexia City Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia City Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mexia City Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Mexia.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1979262 <2>
  • New Home Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Delia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (179 more) ...
    • Lindley Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Long Bottom Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Dover Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<3>

While we didn't find Datura in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Datura.

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

  • Tehuacana
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Rodney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Rodney is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
  • Frosa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Frosa is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
  • Mexia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Mexia is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,287 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexia <1>
  • Wortham
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Horn Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Horn Hill is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Hill
  • Prairie Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Kirk
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kirk is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
  • Dawson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Pursley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Pursley is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pursley
  • Hubbard
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Groesbeck
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Purdon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Spring Hill is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Prairie Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Prairie Grove is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove

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

Newspapers Published in Datura ...

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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around Datura.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Datura, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Datura.

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 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 Datura:

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 Datura, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Datura) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.