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 Golden (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 Golden. 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 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.
Golden is located in Wood 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 Wood County: Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Smith, Upshur & Van Zandt.
Below are the counties that are near Golden. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Golden:
- Wood County (The home county of Golden)
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Alba
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mineola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Quitman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gunter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Gunter is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunter
- Forest Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Hill is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
- Hainesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hainesville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hainesville
- Yantis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cartwright
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cartwright is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Pine Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pine Mills is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Coke
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coke is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke
- Stout
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Stout is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
- Hawkins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Perryville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Perryville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perryville
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Winnsboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Scroggins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Purley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Purley is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purley
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Brownsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Chandler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hopkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Black Oak
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Black Oak is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Bonanza
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tazewell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Tazewell is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
- Pickton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Como
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Divide
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Divide is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide
- Miller Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rockdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rockdale is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Brashear
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sulphur Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Palestine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Palestine is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Greenwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Hunt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Lone Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Tawakoni
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Tawakoni is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,994 people
- Rains County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Emory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Flats
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Flats is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flats
- Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Tawakoni
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- East Tawakoni is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 991 people
- Hooker Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker Ridge is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker Ridge
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Garden Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Carroll
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Hideaway
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Lindale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Red Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Red Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Swan
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Winona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tyler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Rhonesboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rhonesboro is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhonesboro
- Grice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Grice is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grice
- Big Sandy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Rosewood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Rosewood is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
- Piney Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Piney Grove is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- Kelsey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kelsey is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
- Simpsonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Simpsonville is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsonville
- Thomas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Thomas is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
- Van Zandt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Grand Saline
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Van
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- 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>
- Fruitvale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Edgewood
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ben Wheeler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Canton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Myrtle Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Edom
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wills Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Tundra
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Golden, see our County-by-County Page for Golden.
Cemeteries Near Golden ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Golden.
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 Golden - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Golden covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Green & Ford Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Roselawn Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Erwin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cedars Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dickerson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Providence Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Woodside Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Padgett Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rockfield Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Peyton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Searcy Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rodgers Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (189 more) ...
- Jamestown Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bowman Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Cemetery
- The Bowman Cemetery has also been known as:
- Village Creek Cemetery
- Pace Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Golden had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Golden, with the one closest to Golden listed first.
- Silver Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Lake is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Mineola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Alba
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Quitman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Saline
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Pruitt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pruitt is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt
- Yantis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Garden Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Pine Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pine Mills is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Coke
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coke is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke
- Emory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Carroll
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Colfax
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Colfax is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Stout
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Stout is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Golden. See our List of 1890's Communities around Golden.
Newspapers Published in Golden ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Golden.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Golden, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Golden.
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 Golden:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Wood County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Henderson County
- Hopkins County
- Hunt County
- Rains County
- Smith County
- Upshur County
- Van Zandt 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Golden) 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 Golden, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |