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 Dotson (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 Dotson. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Dotson is located in Fannin 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 Fannin County: Bryan (OK), Collin, Delta, Grayson, Hunt & Lamar.
Below are the counties that are near Dotson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dotson:
- Fannin County (The home county of Dotson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Telephone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Carson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carson is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Ivanhoe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Allens Chapel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Allens Chapel is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Chapel
- Ridings
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Ridings is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridings
- Allen Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Allen Point is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Point
- Sowells Bluff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sowells Bluff is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowells Bluff
- Boyd
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Boyd is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Dodd City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Windom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ravenna
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Honey Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bonham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Delta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Ben Franklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pecan Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Jot-Em-Down
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jot-Em-Down is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jot-Em-Down
- Jot-Em-Down has also been known as:
- Mohegan
- Muddig Prairie
- Needmore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Needmore is located in Delta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Enloe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Bells
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Kentucky Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Kentucky Town is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Town
- Whiterock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Whiterock is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiterock
- Ida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ida is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Denison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Red River City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Red River City is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River City
- Tom Bean
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pilot Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pilot Grove is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Twin City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Twin City is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin City
- Hunt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Wolfe City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Aberfoyle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Aberfoyle is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberfoyle
- Fairlie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fairlie is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlie
- Jardin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jardin is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jardin
- Yowell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Yowell is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yowell
- Lamar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Direct
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Direct is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Direct
- Petty
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- High
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- High is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High
- Belk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Belk is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belk
- Brookston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sumner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Garretts Bluff
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Garretts Bluff is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bluff
- Toco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Toco is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
- Roxton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hopewell is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Ambia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ambia is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambia
- Caviness
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Caviness is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caviness
- Razor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Razor is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Razor
- Bryan County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Wade
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wade is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
- Yuba
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Yuba is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Albany
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yarnaby
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Yarnaby is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarnaby
- Bennington
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Kemp
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bokchito
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Achille
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hendrix
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Calera
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Durant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Armstrong
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Armstrong is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
- Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
- Colbert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Choctaw County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Boswell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Soper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dotson, see our County-by-County Page for Dotson.
Cemeteries Near Dotson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dotson.
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 Dotson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dotson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Orphanage Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bigsby Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- White Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Gum Springs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wilks Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Center Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Old Elwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Owens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (232 more) ...
- Stancel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Umble Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Dotson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dotson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dotson, with the one closest to Dotson listed first.
- Lamasco
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lamasco is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamasco
- Telephone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Elwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elwood is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
- Ivanhoe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Duplex
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Duplex is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplex
- Selfs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Selfs is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfs
- Monkstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Monkstown is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkstown
- Lannius
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lannius is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lannius
- Ravenna
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Windom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Direct
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Direct is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Direct
- Bonham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Honey Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Mulberry is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Petty
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dotson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dotson.
Newspapers Published in Dotson ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dotson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dotson, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dotson.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Dotson:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Fannin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Delta County
- Grayson County
- Hunt County
- Lamar County
- Bryan County
- Choctaw 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> | 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 Dotson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dotson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |