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 El Caney (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 El Caney. 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 doctors 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.

El Caney is located in Houston County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Houston County: Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Leon, Madison, Trinity & Walker.

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

• Houston County     (The home county of El Caney)
  • The following are listed by their distance from El Caney, with the one closest to El Caney listed first.
  • Grapeland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
    • Grapeland is located in Houston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,429 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grapeland <1>
  • Latexo
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latexo
    • Latexo is located in Houston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 314 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latexo <1>
  • Refuge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
    • Refuge is located in Houston County
  • Crockett
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crockett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett
    • Crockett is located in Houston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crockett <1>
  • Belott
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
    • Belott is located in Houston County
  • Hickory Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
    • Hickory Creek is located in Houston County
  • Halls Bluff Town ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halls Bluff Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Bluff Town
    • Halls Bluff Town is located in Houston County
  • Porter Springs
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
    • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
  • Cooper
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooper have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Cooper is located in Houston County
  • Harrison Town
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Town
    • Harrison Town is located in Houston County
  • Weches
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Weches. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
    • Weches is located in Houston County
  • Kennard
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennard
    • Kennard is located in Houston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kennard <1>
  • Austonio
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austonio
    • Austonio is located in Houston County
• Anderson County
  • The following are listed by their distance from El Caney, with the one closest to El Caney listed first.
  • Salmon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon
    • Salmon is located in Anderson County
  • Mound City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mound City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
    • Mound City is located in Anderson County
  • Elkhart
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhart
    • Elkhart is located in Anderson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,277 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkhart <1>
  • Slocum
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
    • Slocum is located in Anderson County
  • Alderbranch
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alderbranch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
    • Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
  • Cronin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cronin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
    • Cronin is located in Anderson County
  • Lakeview Assembly
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Assembly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Assembly
    • Lakeview Assembly is located in Anderson County
  • Crystal Lake
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crystal Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
    • Crystal Lake is located in Anderson County
  • Deanwright
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deanwright. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanwright
    • Deanwright is located in Anderson County
  • Kossuth
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kossuth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
    • Kossuth is located in Anderson County
  • Jarvis
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarvis
    • Jarvis is located in Anderson County
  • Tucker
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
    • Tucker is located in Anderson County
  • Herring
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Herring. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herring
    • Herring is located in Anderson County
• Cherokee County
  • The following are listed by their distance from El Caney, with the one closest to El Caney listed first.
  • Weeping Mary
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Mary
    • Weeping Mary is located in Cherokee County
  • Maydelle
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maydelle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maydelle
    • Maydelle is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maydelle <1>
  • Alto
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
    • Alto is located in Cherokee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,239 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <1>
  • Forest
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Forest is located in Cherokee County
• Freestone County
  • Oakwood
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
    • Oakwood is located in Freestone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 514 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakwood <1>
• Leon County
  • The following are listed by their distance from El Caney, with the one closest to El Caney listed first.
  • Russell
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Russell is located in Leon County
  • Centerview
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
    • Centerview is located in Leon County
  • Middleton
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Middleton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
    • Middleton is located in Leon County
  • Centerville
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Centerville is located in Leon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centerville <1>
• Trinity County
  • The following are listed by their distance from El Caney, with the one closest to El Caney listed first.
  • Pennington
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Pennington is located in Trinity County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pennington <1>
  • Center Point ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
    • Center Point is located in Trinity County
  • Friday
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday
    • Friday is located in Trinity County
  • Centralia
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centralia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
    • Centralia is located in Trinity County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centralia <1>

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

Cemeteries Near El Caney ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of El Caney.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

• New Salem Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Salem Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Milligan Cemetery
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milligan Cemetery
• Golden Gate Cemetery
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Golden Gate Cemetery
  • The Golden Gate Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Grapeland Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1983841 <4>
• Hayes Spring Cemetery
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Spring Cemetery
  • The Hayes Spring Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Haynes Spring Cemetery
  • Hays Spring Cemetery
• Latexo Cemetery
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Latexo Cemetery
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Latexo Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Latexo.
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4760 <4>
• Davidson Cemetery
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davidson Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davidson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Murdock Cemetery
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murdock Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murdock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Denson Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Denson Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Denson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Ferrell Women Graves
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ferrell Women Graves
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ferrell Women Graves have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• McCann Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCann Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCann Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Parker Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parker Cemetery
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Wesley Chapel Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wesley Chapel Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2145718 <4>
• Continue List   (244 more) ...
  • Wesley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wesley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wesley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Box Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Box Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Box Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wall Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

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

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

• Grapeland
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
  • Grapeland is located in Houston County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,429 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grapeland <1>
• San Pedro
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Pedro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pedro
  • San Pedro is located in Houston County
• Crockett
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crockett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett
  • Crockett is located in Houston County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crockett <1>
• Belott
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
  • Belott is located in Houston County
• Augusta
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Augusta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
  • Augusta is located in Houston County
• Porter Springs
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
  • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
• Elkhart
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhart
  • Elkhart is located in Anderson County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,277 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkhart <1>
• Cronin
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cronin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
  • Cronin is located in Anderson County
• Weches
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Weches. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
  • Weches is located in Houston County
• Alderbranch
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alderbranch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
  • Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
• Tadmor
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
  • Tadmor is located in Houston County
• Ash
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ash have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
  • Ash is located in Houston County
• Continue List   (13 more) ...
  • Russell
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Russell is located in Leon County
  • Lovelady
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lovelady have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelady
    • Lovelady is located in Houston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 623 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lovelady <1>
  • Ratcliff
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratcliff
    • Ratcliff is located in Houston County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ratcliff <1>

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

Newspapers Published in El Caney ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around El Caney.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of El Caney, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for El Caney.

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 El Caney:

• Websites specific to Texas
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the //www.tsl.texas.gov/

• Pages specific to Houston County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Anderson County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Cherokee County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Freestone County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Leon County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Trinity County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Texas
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Texas
  • Cemeteries of Houston County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Texas
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Texas
  • Cemeteries of Houston County

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for El Caney. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/