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 Good Springs (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 Good Springs. 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.
Name Variations for Good Springs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Good Springs: Good Spgs. (or less commonly used: Good Spngs. or Good Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Good Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Good Springs.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Good Springs is located in Rusk 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 Rusk County: Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Panola, Shelby & Smith.
Below are the counties that are near Good Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Good Springs:
- Rusk County (The home county of Good Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- Big Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Big Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Price
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Joinerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- New Salem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Laneville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Selman City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Turnertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Turnertown is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnertown
- Henderson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Flats
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Flats is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flats
- Minden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Friars
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Friars is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars
- Sulphur Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Jacobs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Jacobs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- Henrys Chapel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Henrys Chapel is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Chapel
- Griffin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Griffin is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Blackjack
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Blackjack is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackjack
- Troup
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- New Summerfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Reklaw
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ponta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ponta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponta
- Gould
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Gould is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Gallatin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mixon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mixon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
- Turney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Turney is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turney
- Mount Selman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mount Selman is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Selman
- Jacksonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Gregg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- Kilgore
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Danville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Danville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Fredonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fredonia is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Elderville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elderville is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
- Rolling Meadows
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
- Liberty City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Liberty City is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
- Lakeport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Easton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nacogdoches County
- The following are listed by their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- Sacul
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cushing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Dextra
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Dextra is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dextra
- Looneyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Looneyville is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looneyville
- Trawick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Trawick is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trawick
- Nat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nat is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nat
- Douglass
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Fitze
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
- Appleby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
- Garrison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Redfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Whispering Pines
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Panola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- Long Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Dotson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Dotson is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotson
- Clayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Delray
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Delray is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
- Buncome
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Buncome is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buncome
- Beckville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- Wright City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wright City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright City
- Sinclair City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sinclair City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair City
- Arp
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Omen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Omen is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
- Jamestown ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Jamestown has also been known as:
- Jimtown
- Whitehouse
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Chapel Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Chapel Hill is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chapel Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 667 people
- Browning
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Browning is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browning
- Flint
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gresham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gresham is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Lee Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lee Spring is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Spring
- Teaselville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Teaselville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaselville
- Starrville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Starrville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starrville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Good Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Good Springs.
Cemeteries Near Good Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Good Springs.
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 Good Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Good Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- Duncan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Neeley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Spence Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Moyers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lockridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Boatright Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garrett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Waggoner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Wiggins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cool Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (307 more) ...
- Davis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Black Jack Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 Good Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Good Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Good Springs, with the one closest to Good Springs listed first.
- New Salem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Laneville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Griffin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Griffin is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Lone Star
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lone Star is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
- Glenfawn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glenfawn is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenfawn
- Minden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Troup
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Overton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Omen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Omen is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
- Mount Enterprise
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pirtle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pirtle is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pirtle
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Mixon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Mixon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
- Pinehill
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Pinehill is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehill
- Lawsonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lawsonville is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Good Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Good Springs.
Newspapers Published in Good Springs ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Good Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Good Springs, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Good Springs.
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 Good Springs:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Rusk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Gregg County
- Nacogdoches County
- Panola County
- Smith 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 Good Springs, 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- Good Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |