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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 Kaufman (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 Kaufman. 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 Kaufman ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Kaufman was referred to as Kaufman Courthouse.

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

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Kaufman is located in Kaufman County and is the County Seat.

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 Kaufman County: Dallas, Ellis, Henderson, Hunt, Rockwall & Van Zandt.

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

  • Kaufman County     (The home county of Kaufman)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • Oak Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Ridge is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
    • Lone Star
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lone Star is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
    • Oak Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Oak Grove is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
    • Post Oak Bend City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Post Oak Bend City is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Bend City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
    • Scurry
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ola
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Abner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Talty
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Talty is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,883 people
    • Grays Prairie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Grays Prairie is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
    • Becker
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Crandall
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • College Mound
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • College Mound is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Mound
    • Cottonwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cottonwood is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
  • Collin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • Royse City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Sachse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • Combine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Seagoville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Lawson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kleberg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Balch Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mesquite
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunnyvale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ferris
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Wilmer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • New Hope
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • New Hope is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • Hutchins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Rowlett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • Walnut Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Walnut Springs is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Springs
    • Bristol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Telico
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Crisp
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Palmer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Alma
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Alma is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Ennis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Garrett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Garrett is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 891 people
    • Boyce
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pecan Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Pecan Hill is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 714 people
    • Ike
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Red Oak
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Henderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • Seven Points
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Gun Barrel City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Tool
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Tool is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tool
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tool <1>
    • Payne Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Payne Springs is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 756 people
    • Enchanted Oaks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Enchanted Oaks is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Oaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Eustace
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Caney City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Caney City is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
    • Log Cabin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Log Cabin is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Log Cabin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 785 people
    • Star Harbor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Star Harbor is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Harbor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
  • Hunt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • Union Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Union Valley is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
    • Hawk Cove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hawk Cove is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Cove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • Quinlan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Boles Home
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • West Tawakoni
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • West Tawakoni is located in Hunt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tawakoni
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,994 people
    • Hendrix
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Navarro County
  • Rains County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • East Tawakoni
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • East Tawakoni is located in Rains County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tawakoni
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 991 people
    • Flats
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hooker Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockwall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kaufman, with the one closest to Kaufman listed first.
    • McLendon - Chisholm
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • McLendon - Chisholm is located in Rockwall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLendon - Chisholm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people
    • Blackland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Mobile City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Rockwall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Fate
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Van Zandt County

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

Cemeteries Near Kaufman ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kaufman.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Kaufman had a population of 1,282 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Kaufman had a population of 8,576 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Kaufman ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kaufman.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Kaufman. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Kaufman and those printed in the larger area surrounding Kaufman.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Kaufman.

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 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 Kaufman:

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