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 Friendship (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 Friendship. 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 and hospitals 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.
Friendship 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 Friendship. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Friendship:
- Smith County (The home county of Friendship)
- The following are listed by their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Garden Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Hideaway
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hideaway is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,208 people
- Carroll
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Jamestown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Lindale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Swan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Red Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Red Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Winona
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Tyler
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Starrville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Starrville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starrville
- Noonday
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Noonday is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
- Population from the 2020 Census: 722 people
- Gresham
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Gresham is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Cherokee County
- Bullard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Franklin County
- Winnsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Chandler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Brownsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leagueville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Leagueville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leagueville
- Murchison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Moore Station
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Moore Station is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
- Coffee City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Coffee City is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Hopkins County
- Black Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Black Oak is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Rains County
- The following are listed by their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Emory
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Flats
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Flats is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flats
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Big Sandy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rhonesboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rhonesboro is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhonesboro
- Grice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Grice is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grice
- Rosewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rosewood is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
- Center Point
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Center Point is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Pritchett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Pritchett is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchett
- Wilkins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wilkins is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Kelsey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kelsey is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
- Van Zandt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Van
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Edom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Grand Saline
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ben Wheeler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fruitvale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Tundra
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
- Edgewood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Myrtle Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Mineola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hainesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hainesville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hainesville
- Golden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hawkins
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Quitman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Pine Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Mills is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Forest Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Forest Hill is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
- Alba
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cartwright
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cartwright is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Gunter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gunter is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunter
- Stout
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Stout is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
- Coke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Coke is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Friendship, see our County-by-County Page for Friendship.
Cemeteries Near Friendship ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Friendship.
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 Friendship - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Friendship covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Flewellen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Flewellen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bunkley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hubbard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bowman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Cemetery
- The Bowman Cemetery has also been known as:
- Village Creek Cemetery
- Dover Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lindale City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- New Hope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cedars Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jamestown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Galena Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Green & Ford Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (207 more) ...
- Mt. Sylvan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bethesda Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Providence Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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 Friendship in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Friendship.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Friendship, with the one closest to Friendship listed first.
- Garden Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Carroll
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Mineola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jamestown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Mount Sylvan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Sylvan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sylvan
- Lindale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Lake is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Pruitt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Pruitt is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt
- Swan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Golden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Edom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Colfax
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Colfax is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ben Wheeler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grand Saline
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hawkins
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Friendship. See our List of 1890's Communities around Friendship.
Newspapers Published in Friendship ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Friendship.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Friendship, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Friendship.
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 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 Friendship:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Smith County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Franklin County
- Henderson County
- Hopkins County
- Rains 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 Friendship, 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- Friendship) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |