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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 Jamestown (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 Jamestown. 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 Parishes/Counties ...

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

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 parishes/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 south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Jamestown is located in Newton 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 Newton County: Beauregard (LA), Calcasieu (LA), Sabine (LA), Vernon (LA), Jasper, Orange & Sabine.

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

  • Newton County     (The home county of Jamestown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jamestown, with the one closest to Jamestown listed first.
    • Newton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shanklerville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
    • Wiergate
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Burkeville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bleakwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Bleakwood is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleakwood
    • Bon Wier
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Hughes is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
    • South Toledo Bend
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
    • Call
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Toledo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
  • Angelina County
    • Parker Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Parker Point is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Point
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jamestown, with the one closest to Jamestown listed first.
    • Jasper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Sam Rayburn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Browndell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Kirbyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Beech Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
    • Harveytown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
    • Call Junction
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Call Junction is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Call Junction
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jamestown, with the one closest to Jamestown listed first.
    • Brookeland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairmount
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Fairmount is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Mason
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Mason is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
    • Pineland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hemphill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • San Augustine County
    • Powell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jamestown, with the one closest to Jamestown listed first.
    • Town Bluff
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Town Bluff is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Bluff
    • Spurger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Beauregard Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jamestown, with the one closest to Jamestown listed first.
    • Merryville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Newlin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
    • Singer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Sabine Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jamestown, with the one closest to Jamestown listed first.
    • Rock ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Rock is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Toro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Toro is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
  • Vernon Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jamestown, with the one closest to Jamestown listed first.
    • Evans
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Savage Fork
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Savage Fork is located in Vernon Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Fork

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

Cemeteries Near Jamestown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jamestown.

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

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

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

  • Big Spring Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Shanklerville Community Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hardy Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Cole Springs Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Eddie Gatson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Kyle Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Wilkinson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Simmons Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Frisby Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Wells Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Bay Springs Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Good Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (150 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.<4>

While we didn't find Jamestown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jamestown.

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

  • Farrsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Farrsville is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrsville
  • Newton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Burkeville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Jasper
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Erin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Erin is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
  • Bleakwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bleakwood is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleakwood
  • Magnolia Springs
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia Springs is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Springs
  • Beech Grove
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
  • Brookeland
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Belgrade
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Belgrade is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
  • Fairmount
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Fairmount is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Town Bluff
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Town Bluff is located in Tyler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Bluff
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Toledo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
    • Spurger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hemphill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Jamestown ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jamestown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jamestown, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jamestown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Jamestown:

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>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- Jamestown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Jamestown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.