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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 Elwood (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 Elwood. 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 and 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.

Elwood 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 Elwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elwood:

  • Fannin County     (The home county of Elwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elwood, with the one closest to Elwood listed first.
    • Telephone
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ivanhoe
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Carson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Carson is located in Fannin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
    • Sowells Bluff
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Sowells Bluff is located in Fannin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowells Bluff
    • Ridings
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ridings is located in Fannin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridings
    • Boyd
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Boyd is located in Fannin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Allens Chapel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Allens Chapel is located in Fannin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Chapel
    • Mulberry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mulberry is located in Fannin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
    • Ravenna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Allen Point
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Allen Point is located in Fannin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Point
    • Bonham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Dodd City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Delta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elwood, with the one closest to Elwood listed first.
    • Pecan Gap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ben Franklin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Grayson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elwood, with the one closest to Elwood listed first.
    • Bells
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Bells is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,516 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bells <1>
    • Denison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Red River City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Red River City is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River City
    • Ida
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ida is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
    • Whiterock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Whiterock is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiterock
    • Kentucky Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kentucky Town is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Town
    • Twin City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Twin City is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin City
    • Tom Bean
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Frontier Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Frontier Village is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier Village
  • Hunt County
    • Wolfe City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elwood, with the one closest to Elwood listed first.
    • Direct
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Direct is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Direct
    • Belk
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Belk is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belk
    • Garretts Bluff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Garretts Bluff is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bluff
    • Petty
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sumner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • High
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • High is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High
    • Razor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Razor is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Razor
    • Brookston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Caviness
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Caviness is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caviness
    • Hopewell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Hopewell is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Toco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Toco is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
    • Roxton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Atoka County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elwood, with the one closest to Elwood listed first.
    • Bentley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bentley is located in Atoka County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
    • Lone Pine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lone Pine is located in Atoka County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
    • Caney
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Caney is located in Atoka County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Caney <1>
  • Bryan County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elwood, with the one closest to Elwood listed first.
    • Wade
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Wade is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
    • Albany
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Yuba
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Yuba is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
    • Yarnaby
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Yarnaby is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarnaby
    • Bennington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bokchito
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Kemp
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Kemp is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemp
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kemp <1>
    • Achille
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Hendrix
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Armstrong
      (22 miles [35.4 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
    • Calera
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Calera is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calera
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calera <1>
    • Durant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Durant is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durant <1>
  • Choctaw County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elwood, with the one closest to Elwood listed first.
    • Boswell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Boswell is located in Choctaw County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boswell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boswell <1>
    • Soper
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Soper is located in Choctaw County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soper
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Soper <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Elwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elwood.

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

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

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

  • Old Elwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Elwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Forest Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Wade Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Bigsby Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Arch Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Bettis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Orphanage Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Center Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (238 more) ...
    • Gum Springs Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilks Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Owens Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Elwood had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Telephone
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Duplex
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Duplex is located in Fannin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplex
  • Ivanhoe
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lamasco
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lamasco is located in Fannin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamasco
  • Monkstown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Monkstown is located in Fannin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkstown
  • Selfs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Selfs is located in Fannin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfs
  • Mulberry
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mulberry is located in Fannin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
  • Ravenna
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Direct
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Direct is located in Lamar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Direct
  • Lannius
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Lannius is located in Fannin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lannius
  • Bonham
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Windom
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Honey Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Ector
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Maxey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Maxey is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey

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

Newspapers Published in Elwood ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elwood, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elwood.

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 Elwood:

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 Elwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Elwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.