RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Harrison County >> Gum Springs >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Gum 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 Gum 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 Gum 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 Gum Springs: Gum Spgs. (or less commonly used: Gum Spngs. or Gum Sprngs.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Gum Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Gum 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/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest 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 north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Gum Springs is located in Harrison 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 Harrison County: Caddo (LA), Gregg, Marion, Panola, Rusk & Upshur.

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

  • Harrison County     (The home county of Gum Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
    • Lansing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lansing is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
    • Hallsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Noonday
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Noonday is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
    • Morton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Morton is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton
    • Harleton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Nesbitt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Nesbitt is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
    • Marshall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Woodlawn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodlawn is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Scottsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Pope City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pope City is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope City
    • Elysian Fields
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Baldwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Baldwin is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
  • Gregg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
    • Longview
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeport
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Elderville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Elderville is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
    • Easton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Fredonia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fredonia is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Greggton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Greggton is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greggton
    • Rolling Meadows
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
    • Judson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Teneryville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Teneryville is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teneryville
    • Danville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Danville is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
    • White Oak
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kilgore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
    • Jackson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jackson is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
    • Macedonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Macedonia is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Kellyville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Kellyville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyville
    • Sarber
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sarber is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarber
    • Jefferson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Panola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Center Point is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
    • Beckville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Delray
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Delray is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
    • Long Branch
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Clayton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Carthage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Rusk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
    • Monroe
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Monroe is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Tatum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Pirtle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Pirtle is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pirtle
    • Laird Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jacobs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jacobs is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs
    • Sexton City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Sexton City is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton City
    • New London
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Friars
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Friars is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars
    • Overton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Henderson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Joinerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Pinehill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Pinehill is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehill
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
    • Jamestown ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jamestown is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown has also been known as:
      • Jimtown
    • Browning
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Browning is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browning
    • Wright City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wright City is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright City
    • Starrville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Starrville is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starrville
    • Arp
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Arp is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arp <1>
    • Sinclair City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sinclair City is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair City
    • Winona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Omen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Omen is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
    • New Chapel Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • New Chapel Hill is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chapel Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 667 people
  • Upshur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gum Springs, with the one closest to Gum Springs listed first.
    • Glenwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Glenwood is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • James
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • James is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
    • Union Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Union Grove is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
    • Diana
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Graceton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Graceton is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
    • Indian Rock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Rock is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Rock
    • Wilkins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Wilkins is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
    • Center Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Center Point is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
    • Ore City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Gilmer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pritchett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Pritchett is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchett
    • Coffeeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Coffeeville is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffeeville

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

Cemeteries Near Gum Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gum 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 Gum Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Perry - Clay Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Memory Park Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Post Oak Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Forrest-Rogers-Dollahite Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Scott Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Grace Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Grable Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Alpine Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Ray Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (228 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 Gum Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gum Springs.

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

  • Lansing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lansing is located in Harrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
  • Longview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Elderville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elderville is located in Gregg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
  • Hallsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Easton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Monroe
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Monroe is located in Rusk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
  • Judson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Kilgore
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Tatum
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Pirtle
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pirtle is located in Rusk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pirtle
  • Glenwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenwood is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
  • Gladewater
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Diana
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • West Mountain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • West Mountain is located in Upshur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Mountain
    • Marshall
      (18 miles [29 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 Gum Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gum Springs.

Newspapers Published in Gum 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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gum Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gum Springs, 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 Gum Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Gum Springs:

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 Gum Springs, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gum Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.