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 Finley (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 Finley. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Finley 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 Finley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Finley:
- Fannin County (The home county of Finley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- Sowells Bluff
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sowells Bluff is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowells Bluff
- Ridings
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ridings is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridings
- Ivanhoe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mulberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mulberry is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Boyd
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Boyd is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Ravenna
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Telephone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Carson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Carson is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Bonham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ector
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dodd City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Allens Chapel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Allens Chapel is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Chapel
- Savoy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Collin County
- Sedalia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sedalia is located in Collin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Delta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- Pecan Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ben Franklin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- Bells
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whiterock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Whiterock is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiterock
- Denison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Red River City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Red River City is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River City
- Ida
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ida is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
- Kentucky Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kentucky Town is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Town
- Twin City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Twin City is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin City
- Tom Bean
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Frontier Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Frontier Village is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier Village
- Luella
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Luella is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luella
- Pilot Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pilot Grove is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Knollwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Knollwood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knollwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
- Sherman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hunt County
- Wolfe City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lamar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- Direct
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Direct is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Direct
- Petty
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- High
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- High is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High
- Belk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Belk is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belk
- Garretts Bluff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Garretts Bluff is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bluff
- Brookston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sumner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Roxton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bryan County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- Yuba
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Yuba is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Yarnaby
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Yarnaby is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarnaby
- Albany
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Kemp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wade
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wade is located in Bryan County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
- Hendrix
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Achille
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bokchito
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bennington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Calera
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Colbert
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Durant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cartwright
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Choctaw County (OK)
- Boswell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Marshall County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- McBride
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- McBride is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
- New Woodville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Woodville is located in Marshall County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Woodville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 132 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Finley, see our County-by-County Page for Finley.
Cemeteries Near Finley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Finley.
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 Finley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Finley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- Bettis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Sandy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Yarnaby Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Owens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Old Elwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Eminence Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brown Shed Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (262 more) ...
- Stancel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Center Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Finley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Finley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Finley, with the one closest to Finley listed first.
- Ivanhoe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Duplex
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Duplex is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplex
- Mulberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mulberry is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Ravenna
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lamasco
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lamasco is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamasco
- Elwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elwood is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
- Telephone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Bonham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ector
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lannius
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lannius is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lannius
- Savoy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bells
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Monkstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Monkstown is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkstown
- Windom
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Selfs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Selfs is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Finley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Finley.
Newspapers Published in Finley ...
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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Finley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Finley, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Finley.
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 helpful 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 Finley:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Fannin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Collin County
- Delta County
- Grayson County
- Hunt County
- Lamar County
- Bryan County
- Choctaw County
- Marshall 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Finley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Finley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |