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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 Dawson (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 Dawson. 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.

Dawson is located in Navarro 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 Navarro County: Anderson, Ellis, Freestone, Henderson, Hill & Limestone.

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

  • Navarro County     (The home county of Dawson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Spring Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Spring Hill is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Navarro Mills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Navarro Mills is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarro Mills
    • Purdon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Silver City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver City is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
    • Dresden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Dresden is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
    • Pursley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Pursley is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pursley
    • Blooming Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Frost
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Barry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Oak Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Valley is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
    • Richland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Richland is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
    • Cryer Creek ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Cryer Creek is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cryer Creek
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Milford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Avalon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Italy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bardwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Forreston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Nash
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Nash is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
    • Howard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Howard is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard
    • Alma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Alma is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Ennis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Wortham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Streetman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Kirvin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Cotton Gin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Winkler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Winkler is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
    • Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
  • Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Hubbard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Malone
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Irene
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Penelope
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Mount Calm
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mertens
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Brandon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bynum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Abbott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Chatt
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Chatt is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
    • Carl's Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Hillsboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Limestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Coolidge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Delia ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Delia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
    • Tehuacana
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairie Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Frosa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
    • Watt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Watt is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
    • Mexia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Kirk
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Kirk is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
    • Ben Hur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Ben Hur is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
    • Groesbeck
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fallon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fallon is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
    • Leroy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tours
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tours is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tours
    • Axtell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Elk is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
    • West
      (23 miles [37 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>
    • Hallsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hallsburg is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Mart
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Battle is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle
    • Ross
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Elm Mott
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Northcrest
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Northcrest is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcrest
    • Bellmead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Dawson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dawson.

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

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

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

  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Lawrence Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • McLain Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Dover Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Valley View Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pin Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Younger Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Pelham Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Raleigh Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Raleigh Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southwest of Dresden.
    • The Raleigh Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Raleigh Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #252883 <2>
  • Continue List   (164 more) ...
    • Powell Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Boardtree Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardtree Cemetery
      • The Boardtree Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Union High Cemetery
    • Dresden Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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 Dawson had a population of 365 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dawson had a population of 798 people.

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

  • Spring Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
  • Hubbard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Purdon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rodney
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rodney is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodney
  • Emmett
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Emmett is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
  • Dresden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Dresden is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
  • Pursley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Pursley is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pursley
  • Irene
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Drane
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Drane is located in Navarro County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drane
  • Blooming Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Mount Calm
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Frost
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Tehuacana
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Barry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Mertens
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dawson ...

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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dawson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Dawson:

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