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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 Highland (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 Highland. 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 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.

Highland is located in Erath 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 Erath County: Bosque, Comanche, Eastland, Hamilton, Hood, Palo Pinto & Somervell.

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

  • Erath County     (The home county of Highland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Bunyan
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Bunyan is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
    • Lingleville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dublin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Harbin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Harbin is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbin
    • Stephenville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Alexander
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Alexander is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
    • Hannibal
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hannibal is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannibal
    • Clairette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Clairette is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clairette
    • Morgan Mill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Thurber
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Duffau
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Duffau is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffau
    • Bluff Dale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Blanket
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • May
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Comyn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Comyn is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comyn
    • De Leon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rucker
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Rucker is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
    • Proctor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Duster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Duster is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duster
    • Ararat ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Ararat is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
    • Wilson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Wilson is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Comanche
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sipe Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Sipe Springs is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipe Springs
    • Gustine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Sidney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Newburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Newburg is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
  • Eastland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Desdemona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gorman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Kokomo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Kokomo is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
    • Carbon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Olden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ranger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Okra
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Okra is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okra
    • Mangum ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Mangum is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangum
    • Eastland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rising Star
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Carlton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hico
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hico is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,437 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hico <1>
    • Spurlin ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Spurlin is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurlin
  • Palo Pinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland, with the one closest to Highland listed first.
    • Mingus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Gordon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Strawn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Highland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Highland.

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 Highland - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Bethel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Cow Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bunyan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Old De Leon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • West End Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lowell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hanson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • East End Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Dublin Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Lower Green Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (129 more) ...
    • Upper Green Creek Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Corinth Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Proctor Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Highland had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Bunyan
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Bunyan is located in Erath County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
  • Victor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Victor is located in Erath County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
  • De Leon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Dublin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lingleville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Downing
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Downing is located in Comanche County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
  • Harbin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Harbin is located in Erath County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbin
  • Desdemona
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Proctor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Duster
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Duster is located in Comanche County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duster
  • Gorman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Stephenville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Alexander
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Alexander is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
    • Huckabay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Huckabay is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huckabay
    • Hannibal
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hannibal is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannibal

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Highland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Highland.

Newspapers Published in Highland ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Highland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Highland, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Highland.

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 Highland:

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 Highland, 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 from Point A (ie- Highland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.