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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 Hurstown (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 Hurstown. 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/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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Hurstown is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: De Soto (LA), Sabine (LA), Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine & San Augustine.

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

  • Shelby County     (The home county of Hurstown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurstown, with the one closest to Hurstown listed first.
    • Shelbyville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Choice
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Choice is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
    • Campti
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Campti is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Africa is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Huxley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Huxley is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
    • Short
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Short is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
    • Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Haslam
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Joaquin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Arcadia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Arcadia is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Tenaha
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Timpson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurstown, with the one closest to Hurstown listed first.
    • Attoyac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
    • Martinsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Chireno
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Swift
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Garrison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Whispering Pines
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
    • Fitze
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
  • Panola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurstown, with the one closest to Hurstown listed first.
    • Woods
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Woods is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
    • Gary City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurstown, with the one closest to Hurstown listed first.
    • Geneva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosevine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
    • Milam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bronson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Hemphill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurstown, with the one closest to Hurstown listed first.
    • San Augustine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Denning
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Maxey Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
    • Rebecca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
    • Broaddus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • De Soto Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurstown, with the one closest to Hurstown listed first.
    • Logansport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Stanley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Longstreet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Oxford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Pelican
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • South Mansfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Grand Cane
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mansfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sabine Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hurstown, with the one closest to Hurstown listed first.
    • Converse
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Noble
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Noble is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Noble <1>
    • Zwolle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Zwolle is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwolle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,927 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zwolle <1>
    • Bayou Scie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Belmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Negreet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Hurstown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hurstown.

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

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

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

  • Rather Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • McWilliams Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Adams Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Daugherty Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Sample Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cannon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • East Liberty Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Latham Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Hollow Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Holly Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Biggers Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Center Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (232 more) ...
    • Creech Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Neuville Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Neuvine Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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 Hurstown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hurstown.

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

  • Patroon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Patroon is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patroon
  • Shelbyville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Short
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Short is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
  • Sexton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sexton is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
  • Center
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • San Augustine
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Ironosa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ironosa is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironosa
  • East Hamilton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • East Hamilton is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
  • Geneva
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Denning
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Denning is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
  • Joaquin
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Lula
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lula is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Logansport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Huber
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Huber is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
    • Macune
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Macune is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune

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

Newspapers Published in Hurstown ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hurstown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hurstown, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hurstown.

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 Hurstown:

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