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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 Eaton (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 Eaton. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Eaton is located in Robertson 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 Robertson County: Brazos, Burleson, Falls, Leon, Limestone, Madison & Milam.

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

  • Robertson County     (The home county of Eaton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eaton, with the one closest to Eaton listed first.
    • Wheelock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • New Baden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • Owensville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
    • Elliot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
    • Hearne
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Benchley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Benchley is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
    • Bald Prairie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
    • Calvert
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Mumford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bremond
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Brazos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eaton, with the one closest to Eaton listed first.
    • Edge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
    • Tabor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Tabor is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • Kurten
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Wixon Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Wixon Valley is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wixon Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Rye ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Rye is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • Boonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Boonville is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonville
    • Bryan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bryan is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
    • College Station
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Stone City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Stone City is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
    • Wellborn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Burleson County
    • Cooks Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cooks Point is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Point
  • Grimes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eaton, with the one closest to Eaton listed first.
    • Iola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bedias
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eaton, with the one closest to Eaton listed first.
    • Wealthy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Wealthy is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wealthy
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Normangee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Flynn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Marquez
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Leona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Newby
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Newby is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
    • Centerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jewett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Limestone County
    • Kosse
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Kosse is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <1>
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eaton, with the one closest to Eaton listed first.
    • George
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • George is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
    • North Zulch
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
    • Madisonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Milam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eaton, with the one closest to Eaton listed first.
    • Port Sullivan ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Port Sullivan is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sullivan
    • Branchville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Branchville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
    • Gause
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Crossroads
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Crossroads is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
    • Baileyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Baileyville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileyville
    • Jones Prairie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jones Prairie is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Prairie
    • Maysfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Eaton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Eaton.

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

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

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

  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Camp Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Cordey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Cazy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Concord Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Edge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • James Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Wheelock Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cavitt Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Arnett Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • House Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (191 more) ...
    • Burns Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • New Baden Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hale Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<2>

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

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

  • Wheelock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • New Baden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Franklin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Tabor
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Tabor is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
  • Kurten
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Elliot
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Elliot is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
  • Sutton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sutton is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
  • Zulch ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Zulch is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
  • Hearne
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hearne is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
  • Benchley
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Benchley is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
  • Nesbitt
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Nesbitt is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
  • Bald Prairie
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Petteway
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Petteway is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petteway
    • Marquez
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Calvert
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Eaton ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Eaton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Eaton, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Eaton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Eaton:

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 Eaton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Eaton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.