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 Java (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 Java. 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 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.
Java is located in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County: Anderson, Angelina, Henderson, Houston, Nacogdoches, Rusk & Smith.
Below are the counties that are near Java. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Java:
- Cherokee County (The home county of Java)
- The following are listed by their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Maydelle
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Dialville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dialville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dialville
- Rusk
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- New Birmingham ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
- Turney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Turney is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turney
- Jacksonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Gallatin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ponta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ponta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponta
- Weeping Mary
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Weeping Mary is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Mary
- Reese
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Reese is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese
- Alto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cuney
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Larissa ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Larissa is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Herring
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Herring is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herring
- Jarvis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jarvis is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarvis
- Alderbranch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
- Kossuth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Kossuth is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Neches
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crystal Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Crystal Lake is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Todd City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Todd City is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd City
- Slocum
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Slocum is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Deanwright
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Deanwright is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanwright
- Wells Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Wells Creek is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Creek
- Mound City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mound City is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
- Pert
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pert is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pert
- Salmon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Salmon is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Berryville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Berryville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
- Poynor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Coffee City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Coffee City is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- LaRue
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Weches
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Weches is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Refuge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Refuge is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refuge
- Grapeland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Belott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Belott is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belott
- Tadmor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Tadmor is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Harrison Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Harrison Town is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Town
- Hickory Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hickory Creek is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
- Latexo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ratcliff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Kennard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Nacogdoches County
- The following are listed by their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Dextra
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Dextra is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dextra
- Sacul
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Douglass
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Looneyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Looneyville is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looneyville
- Cushing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Nat
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Nat is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nat
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- New Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Big Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Big Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Teaselville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Teaselville is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaselville
- Dogwood City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dogwood City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood City
- Flint
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lee Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lee Spring is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Spring
- Whitehouse
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Java, see our County-by-County Page for Java.
Cemeteries Near Java ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Java.
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 Java - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Java covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Comfort Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Holly Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Shady Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Tillman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Berge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Berry Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fields Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (317 more) ...
- Sardis Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Russell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mosley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 Java in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Java.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Java, with the one closest to Java listed first.
- Rusk
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Alderbranch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alderbranch is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderbranch
- New Birmingham ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
- Neches
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jacksonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Wells Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Wells Creek is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Creek
- Augusta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Augusta is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
- Weches
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Weches is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
- Alto
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Larissa ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Larissa is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
- Cronin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cronin is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
- Elkhart
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Palestine
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Mount Selman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mount Selman is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Selman
- Lone Star
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lone Star is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Java. See our List of 1890's Communities around Java.
Newspapers Published in Java ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Java.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Java, 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 Java.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Java:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Cherokee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Henderson County
- Houston County
- Nacogdoches County
- Rusk County
- Smith County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Java) 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 Java, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |