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 Elberta (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 Elberta. 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 and hospitals 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.
Elberta is located in Smith 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 Smith County: Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Upshur, Van Zandt & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Elberta. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elberta:
- Smith County (The home county of Elberta)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- New Chapel Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- New Chapel Hill is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chapel Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 667 people
- Tyler
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Whitehouse
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Gresham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gresham is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Flint
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Omen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Omen is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
- Lee Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lee Spring is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Spring
- Noonday
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Noonday is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
- Population from the 2020 Census: 722 people
- Arp
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Browning
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Browning is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browning
- Sinclair City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sinclair City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair City
- Swan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Jamestown ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Jamestown has also been known as:
- Jimtown
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Frankston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fosterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fosterville is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
- Todd City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Todd City is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd City
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Bullard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Troup
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mixon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mixon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
- Mount Selman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mount Selman is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Selman
- Larissa ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Larissa is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
- Gould
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Gould is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Henrys Chapel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Henrys Chapel is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Chapel
- Blackjack
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Blackjack is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackjack
- Cherokee Landing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cherokee Landing is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Landing
- Griffin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Griffin is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Cuney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Reese
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Reese is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese
- Jacksonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Gregg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Liberty City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty City is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
- Kilgore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Gladewater
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Danville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Danville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Rolling Meadows
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
- Clarksville City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clarksville City is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
- Warren City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Warren City is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Fredonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fredonia is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- White Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greggton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greggton is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greggton
- East Mountain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Mountain is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 878 people
- Teneryville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Teneryville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teneryville
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Chandler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Coffee City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coffee City is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Berryville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Berryville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
- Moore Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Moore Station is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
- Brownsboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Leagueville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Leagueville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leagueville
- Poynor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- LaRue
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Murchison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Overton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New London
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Selman City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sexton City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Sexton City is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton City
- Turnertown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Turnertown is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnertown
- Friars
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Friars is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars
- Laird Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Price
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Joinerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jacobs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Jacobs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs
- Pirtle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pirtle is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pirtle
- Big Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Big Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Henderson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Big Sandy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wilkins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkins is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Center Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Center Point is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Union Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Union Grove is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
- Pritchett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pritchett is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchett
- Van Zandt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Edom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Van
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Van is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van <1>
- Ben Wheeler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Hawkins
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mineola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hainesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hainesville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hainesville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elberta, see our County-by-County Page for Elberta.
Cemeteries Near Elberta ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elberta.
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 Elberta - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elberta covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Meador Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Green Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bascom Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Universe Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kendrick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cathedral in the Pines Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barron Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron Cemetery
- The Barron Cemetery has also been known as:
- Barron / Shackleford Cemetery
- New Bethel Cemetery (African-American)
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Belcher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Louis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Louis Cemetery
- The St. Louis Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old St. Louis Cemetery
- Liberty Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill Cemetery
- The Liberty Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Liberty Hill Memorial Gardens
- Continue List (260 more) ...
- Rose Lawn Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Lawn Memorial Park
- The Rose Lawn Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Rose Lawn Perpetual Care Cemetery
- Smith Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Whitehouse Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Elberta in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Elberta.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elberta, with the one closest to Elberta listed first.
- Tyler
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Flint
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Omen
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Omen is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
- Bullard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Browning
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Browning is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browning
- Troup
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Swan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Chandler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mixon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mixon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
- Starrville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Starrville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starrville
- Lindale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Winona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Mount Selman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mount Selman is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Selman
- Overton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Larissa ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Larissa is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elberta. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elberta.
Newspapers Published in Elberta ...
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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elberta.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elberta, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elberta.
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 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 Elberta:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Smith County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Cherokee County
- Gregg County
- Henderson County
- Rusk County
- Upshur County
- Van Zandt County
- Wood 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> | 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> | 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 Elberta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Elberta) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |