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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 Jenkins (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 Jenkins. 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.

Name Variations for Jenkins ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

While the name of this community is Jenkins, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Jenkins may originally have been Jenkin's.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Jenkins. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Jenkins.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Jenkins is located in Madison 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 Madison County: Brazos, Grimes, Houston, Leon, Robertson & Walker.

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

  • Madison County     (The home county of Jenkins)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
    • Madisonville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Midway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • George
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • George is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
    • North Zulch
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Brazos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
    • Edge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
    • Kurten
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wixon Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wixon Valley is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wixon Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
  • Grimes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
    • Bedias
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Iola
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Shiro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Roans Prairie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Richards
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
    • Austonio
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Austonio is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austonio
    • Antioch ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Antioch is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Cooper
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cooper is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Porter Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
    • Lovelady
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Halls Bluff Town ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Halls Bluff Town is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Bluff Town
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
    • Middleton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Middleton is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
    • Leona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Normangee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Centerview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Centerview is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
    • Flynn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Wealthy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Wealthy is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wealthy
    • Centerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Concord
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Russell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Russell is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Marquez
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Robertson County
    • Ridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
    • Mill Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Mill Town is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
    • Trinity
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Jenkins, with the one closest to Jenkins listed first.
    • Wesley Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Wesley Grove is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Grove
    • Kittrell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Kittrell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittrell
    • Goshen ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Goshen is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
    • Huntsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Riverside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Jenkins ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jenkins.

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

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

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

  • Park Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Rocky Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Burrows Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Farris Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Larrison Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Greenbriar Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Alphin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Midway Southside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tan Yard Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • High Prairie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Carter Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (146 more) ...
    • Bozeman Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Greer Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Oxford Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<5>

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

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

  • Connor
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Connor is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connor
  • Madisonville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Midway
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Middleton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Middleton is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
  • Bedias
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Leona
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Zulch ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Zulch is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
  • Guys Store
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Guys Store is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys Store
  • Ash
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Ash is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
  • Iola
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Centerville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Antioch ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Antioch is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Huntsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Porter Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
    • Concord
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Jenkins ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jenkins.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jenkins, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jenkins.

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 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 Jenkins:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Jenkins) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.
<5>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 Jenkins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.