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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 Franklin (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 Franklin. 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 doctors 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.

Franklin is located in Liberty 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 Liberty County: Chambers, Hardin, Harris, Montgomery, Polk & San Jacinto.

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

  • Liberty County     (The home county of Franklin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
    • Mariam
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mariam is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariam
    • Dayton Lakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Dayton Lakes is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Hardin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fuqua ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Fuqua is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuqua
    • Romayor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Rye
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Rayburn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Rayburn is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
    • Kenefick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Kenefick is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenefick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 722 people
    • Hull
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Thicket Creekmore Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Africa is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Daisetta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ames
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Ames is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,275 people
  • Chambers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
    • Old River - Winfree
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Old River - Winfree is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old River - Winfree
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,453 people
    • Mont Belvieu
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hankamer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Wallisville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
    • Batson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Thicket
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Votaw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Saratoga
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Bragg ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bragg is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg
    • Sour Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Grayburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Grayburg is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayburg
    • Village Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kountze
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Pinewood Estates
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Pinewood Estates is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Estates
  • Harris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
    • Huffman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Elm Grove Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Elm Grove Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove Village
    • Greentree Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Greentree Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greentree Village
    • Bear Branch Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bear Branch Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Branch Village
    • Hunter Ridge Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hunter Ridge Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Ridge Village
    • Sherwood Trails Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Atascocita
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Crosby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodland Hills Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson County
    • Nome
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Nome is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 592 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nome <1>
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
    • Patton Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Patton Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,207 people
    • Roman Forest
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Roman Forest is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roman Forest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,035 people
    • Splendora
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Woodbranch
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Woodbranch is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbranch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
    • New Caney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Porter
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
    • Ace
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Schwab City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Schwab City is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwab City
    • Oak Shade
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Shade is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Shade
    • Goodrich
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Dallardsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lamont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Lamont is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Swartout ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Swartout is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartout
    • Indian Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Indian Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
  • San Jacinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin, with the one closest to Franklin listed first.
    • Shepherd
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Magnolia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Magnolia is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Coldspring
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Franklin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Franklin.

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

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

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

  • Moss Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lums Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • McNulty Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Fields Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hank Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ryan Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Boothe Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Old Hardin Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Guedry Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • McGinnis Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Branch Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Felps Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (95 more) ...

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 Franklin in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Franklin.

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

  • Liberty
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Ames
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Ames is located in Liberty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,275 people
  • Saratoga
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Dayton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Keno
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Keno is located in Liberty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
  • Cleveland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Shepherd
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Moss Bluff
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Moss Bluff is located in Liberty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Bluff
  • Huffman
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Goodrich
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Felicia
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Felicia is located in Liberty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
  • Sour Lake
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Franklin ...

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 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Franklin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Franklin, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Franklin.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Franklin:

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 Franklin, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Franklin) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.