Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
Although we found mention of Herring during our research, we have little information about it.<1> Given the context of how Herring was mentioned, we believe that it was a community rather than a locale or some type of landmark. We have done a cursory search and if it was a community, we haven't been able to find any evidence that it still exists..
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 Herring (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 Herring. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Herring is located in Anderson County.
To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Anderson County: Cherokee, Freestone, Henderson, Houston & Leon.
Below are the counties that are near Herring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Herring:
- Anderson County (The home county of Herring)
- The following are listed by their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Jarvis
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarvis
- Jarvis is located in Anderson County
- Alderbranch
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alderbranch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
- Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
- Kossuth
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kossuth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Kossuth is located in Anderson County
- Crystal Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Crystal Lake is located in Anderson County
- Deanwright
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deanwright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanwright
- Deanwright is located in Anderson County
- Neches
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Slocum
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Slocum is located in Anderson County
- Wells Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wells Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Creek
- Wells Creek is located in Anderson County
- Todd City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Todd City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd City
- Todd City is located in Anderson County
- Mound Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mound Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Prairie
- Mound Prairie is located in Anderson County
- Mound City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mound City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Mound City is located in Anderson County
- Elkhart
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Palestine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Maydelle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maydelle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maydelle
- Maydelle is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maydelle <3>
- Dialville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dialville
- Dialville is located in Cherokee County
- Rusk
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Turney
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turney
- Turney is located in Cherokee County
- New Birmingham ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Birmingham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
- New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
- Jacksonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gallatin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gallatin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallatin
- Gallatin is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 435 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gallatin <3>
- Reese
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese
- Reese is located in Cherokee County
- Weeping Mary
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Mary
- Weeping Mary is located in Cherokee County
- Cuney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuney
- Cuney is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuney <3>
- Alto
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Larissa ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larissa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
- Larissa is located in Cherokee County
- Ponta
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponta
- Ponta is located in Cherokee County
- Freestone County
- Oakwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Oakwood is located in Freestone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 514 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakwood <3>
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Berryville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berryville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Berryville is located in Henderson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
- Poynor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poynor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poynor
- Poynor is located in Henderson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poynor <3>
- Coffee City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee City
- Coffee City is located in Henderson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- LaRue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Refuge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
- Refuge is located in Houston County
- Weches
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weches have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
- Weches is located in Houston County
- Grapeland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Bluff City is located in Houston County
- Belott
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
- Belott is located in Houston County
- Latexo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hickory Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
- Hickory Creek is located in Houston County
- Harrison Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Town
- Harrison Town is located in Houston County
- Tadmor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Tadmor is located in Houston County
- Ratcliff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ratcliff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratcliff
- Ratcliff is located in Houston County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ratcliff <3>
- Crockett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crockett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett
- Crockett is located in Houston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crockett <3>
- Kennard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennard
- Kennard is located in Houston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kennard <3>
- Nacogdoches County
- The following are listed by their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Dextra
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dextra. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dextra
- Dextra is located in Nacogdoches County
- Sacul
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sacul have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacul
- Sacul is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sacul <3>
- Rusk County
- New Salem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Teaselville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaselville
- Teaselville is located in Smith County
- Dogwood City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dogwood City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood City
- Dogwood City is located in Smith County
- Flint
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Herring, see our County-by-County Page for Herring.
Newspapers Published in Herring ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Herring.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Herring, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Herring.
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 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 Herring:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Anderson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Freestone County
- Henderson County
- Houston County
- Nacogdoches County
- Rusk County
- Smith County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
Cemeteries Near Herring ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Herring.
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.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Herring covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Fields Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- West Shady Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Shady Grove Cemetery
- Providence Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Tillman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tillman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tillman Cemetery
- Williams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
- Ferguson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Union Hope Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caldwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caldwell Cemetery
- White Oak Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Oak Cemetery
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
- Mt. Comfort Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Comfort Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Comfort Cemetery
- Continue List (291 more) ...
- Flint Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
- Crawford Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<7>
While we didn't find Herring in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Herring.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Herring, with the one closest to Herring listed first.
- Alderbranch
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alderbranch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
- Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
- Neches
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wells Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wells Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Creek
- Wells Creek is located in Anderson County
- Cronin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cronin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
- Cronin is located in Anderson County
- Elkhart
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Palestine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Rusk
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Augusta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Augusta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
- Augusta is located in Houston County
- New Birmingham ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Birmingham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
- New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
- Jacksonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Weches
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weches have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
- Weches is located in Houston County
- Grapeland
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Brushy Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brushy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Creek
- Brushy Creek is located in Anderson County
- San Pedro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Pedro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pedro
- San Pedro is located in Houston County
- Alto
(20 miles [32.2 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 Herring. See our List of 1890's Communities around Herring.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Anderson County: www.co.anderson.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer. For example, we might find a sentence like "He went south past Herring and then turned west". While Herring could be some kind of landmark, we think that it's more likely to be a community. We've added Herring as a placeholder with the hope that we'll be able to add more information in the future.
Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.
Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.
Also keep in mind that Herring could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
Just in case there has been confusion between counties, we found that there are two Texas communities named Herring: This one is located in Anderson County and the other is located in Tom Green County. For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Herring. |
<2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
<3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
<4> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
<5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Herring) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Herring. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.7591, Longitude: -95.4011 In this case, the coordinates for Herring have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
<6> | 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. |
<7> | 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 Herring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |