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 Keene (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 Keene. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Keene is located in Johnson 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 Johnson County: Bosque, Ellis, Hill, Hood, Parker, Somervell & Tarrant.
Below are the counties that are near Keene. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Keene:
- Johnson County (The home county of Keene)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Coyote Flats
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coyote Flats is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyote Flats
- Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
- Egan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Egan is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
- Cleburne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Joshua
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Alvarado
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Cross Timber
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cross Timber is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Timber
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Cuba
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cuba is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Briaroaks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Briaroaks is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briaroaks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Burleson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Parker
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Parker is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- Lillian
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bono
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bono is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
- Bosque County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Kimball
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kimball is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
- Eulogy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Eulogy is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulogy
- Kopperl
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lakeside Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lakeside Village is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
- Morgan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Cedar Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ovilla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Glenn Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Shamrock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shamrock is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
- DeSoto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Duncanville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ellis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Venus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mansfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Auburn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Auburn is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
- Britton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Britton is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britton
- Maypearl
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Midlothian
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Boz
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Boz is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boz
- Sardis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sardis is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
- Forreston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Waxahachie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Italy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Milford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Covington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Blum
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Itasca
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Huron ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Huron is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
- Lovelace
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lovelace is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelace
- Carl's Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Hillsboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peoria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Peoria is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Whitney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Fort Spunky
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fort Spunky is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spunky
- Cresson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pecan Plantation
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pecan Plantation is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Plantation
- Acton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- DeCordova
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- DeCordova is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeCordova
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,108 people
- Brazos Bend
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Brazos Bend is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Bend
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Granbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hill City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hill City is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
- Oak Trail Shores
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Oak Trail Shores is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Trail Shores
- Parker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Aledo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Annetta South
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Annetta South is located in Parker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annetta South
- Population from the 2020 Census: 579 people
- Annetta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Annetta is located in Parker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annetta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,319 people
- Annetta North
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Annetta North is located in Parker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annetta North
- Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
- Somervell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Nemo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rainbow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Glen Rose
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tarrant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Oak Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Tarrant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Retta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Retta is located in Tarrant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retta
- Rendon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rendon is located in Tarrant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendon
- Everman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Primrose
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Primrose is located in Tarrant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
- Saint Francis Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Edgecliff Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Edgecliff Village is located in Tarrant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgecliff Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,012 people
- Kennedale
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Wedgewood East
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Wedgewood East is located in Tarrant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wedgewood East
- Forest Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Benbrook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dalworthington Gardens
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Keene, see our County-by-County Page for Keene.
Cemeteries Near Keene ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Keene.
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 Keene - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Keene covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Keene Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene Cemetery
- The Keene Cemetery has also been known as:
- Keene Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4585 <2>
- Buel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buel Cemetery
- The Buel Cemetery has also been known as:
- Buel Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1516763 <2>
- Hopewell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Greenacres Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenacres Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Greenacres Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the north of Cleburne.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3925 <2>
- Lightfoot Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Moss Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cleburne Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleburne Memorial Cemetery
- The Cleburne Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cleburne City Cemetery
- Cleburne Memorial Park
- Confederate Memorial Cemetery
- Confederate Memorial Park Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2936 <2>
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marystown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Old Lane Prairie Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Lane Prairie Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Lane Prairie Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the north of Cleburne.
- Sand Flat Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (145 more) ...
- Old Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Balch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Keene in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Keene.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Cleburne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Egan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Egan is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
- Marystown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Marystown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
- Joshua
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cuba
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cuba is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Alvarado
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Point is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Point
- Burleson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bono
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bono is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
- Rio Vista
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Grandview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Tarrant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Godley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Crowley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Venus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Keene. See our List of 1890's Communities around Keene.
Newspapers Published in Keene ...
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 203 newspapers that have been published in the area around Keene.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Keene, 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 Keene.
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 Keene:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Johnson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bosque County
- Dallas County
- Ellis County
- Hill County
- Hood County
- Parker County
- Somervell County
- Tarrant 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> | 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Keene) 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 Keene, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |