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 Dorchester (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 Dorchester. 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 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.
Dorchester is located in Grayson 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 Grayson County: Bryan (OK), Love (OK), Marshall (OK), Collin, Cooke, Denton & Fannin.
Below are the counties that are near Dorchester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dorchester:
- Grayson County (The home county of Dorchester)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Howe
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Tribune
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tribune is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tribune
- Southmayd
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gunter
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Luella
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Luella is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luella
- Sherman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ethel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ethel is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
- Gage
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gage is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Knollwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Knollwood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knollwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
- Ida
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ida is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Sadler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Collinsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Collin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Van Alstyne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mantua ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mantua is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantua
- Weston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Anna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Celina
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Sedalia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sedalia is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Roland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Roland is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Westminster
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Rhea Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Rhea Mills is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhea Mills
- Melissa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Parris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Parris is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parris
- Prosper
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Comanche County
- Cross Roads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cross Roads is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
- Cooke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Lake Kiowa
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bloomfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bloomfield is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Burns City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Burns City is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
- Callisburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Callisburg is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Oak Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Oak Ridge is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 255 people
- Custer City ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Custer City is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer City
- Hemming
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hemming is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemming
- Dexter
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dexter is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
- Gainesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coesfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Coesfield is located in Cooke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coesfield
- Valley View
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lindsay
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Denton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Pilot Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Aubrey
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Krugerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Krugerville is located in Denton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krugerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,871 people
- Providence Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Providence Village is located in Denton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,564 people
- Cross Roads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln Park is located in Denton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 567 people
- Little Elm
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sanger
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hackberry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hackberry is located in Denton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,094 people
- Oak Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fannin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Whitewright
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Savoy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Orangeville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Orangeville is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
- Trenton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ector
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Randolph
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Edhube
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Edhube is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edhube
- Ravenna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mulberry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mulberry is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Leonard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bonham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Boyd
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Boyd is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Bryan County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Cartwright
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hendrix
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Colbert
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kemp
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Platter
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Achille
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Yarnaby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Yarnaby is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarnaby
- Love County (OK)
- Thackerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- McBride
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- McBride is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- Shay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Shay is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shay
- New Woodville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- New Woodville is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Woodville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 132 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dorchester, see our County-by-County Page for Dorchester.
Cemeteries Near Dorchester ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dorchester.
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 Dorchester - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dorchester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Chambers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Chambers Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the southwest of Sherman.
- The Chambers Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mormon Grove Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2370988 <3>
- Hall Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitaker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fox Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Akers Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Friendship Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Austin Street Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Woodmen Circle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Woodmen Circle
- The Forest Woodmen Circle has also been known as:
- Woodman Circle Cemetery
- Woodmen Circle Home Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2316357 <3>
- Elliott Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Elliott Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the southeast of Gunter.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3407 <3>
- Holloway Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (298 more) ...
- Luella Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Vaden Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaden Cemetery
- The Vaden Cemetery has also been known as:
- Alms House Cemetery
- County Farm Cemetery
- Grayson County Farm Cemetery
- Grayson County Poor Farm Cemetery
- Pecan Grove Cemetery
- Pleasant Home Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2526720 <3>
- Ethel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 Dorchester in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dorchester.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dorchester, with the one closest to Dorchester listed first.
- Mormon Grove ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mormon Grove is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Grove
- Elm View
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elm View is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm View
- Howe
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Farmington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Farmington is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
- Southmayd
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Luella
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Luella is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luella
- Sherman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ethel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ethel is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethel
- Elmont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Elmont is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmont
- Van Alstyne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Steedham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Steedham is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steedham
- White Mound
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- White Mound is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Mound
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Tom Bean
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ida
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ida is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Sadler
(12 miles [19.3 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 Dorchester. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dorchester.
Newspapers Published in Dorchester ...
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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dorchester.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dorchester, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dorchester.
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 helpful 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 Dorchester:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Grayson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Collin County
- Comanche County
- Cooke County
- Denton County
- Fannin County
- Bryan County
- Love County
- Marshall 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dorchester) 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 Dorchester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |