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The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Lela (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 Lela. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Lela is located in Wheeler County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wheeler County: Beckham (OK), Roger Mills (OK), Collingsworth, Gray & Hemphill.

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

  • Wheeler County     (The home county of Lela)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
    • Shamrock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shamrock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
      • Shamrock is located in Wheeler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,720 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shamrock <2>
    • Twitty
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twitty
      • Twitty is located in Wheeler County
    • Magic City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magic City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magic City
      • Magic City is located in Wheeler County
    • Wheeler
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Mobeetie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Briscoe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briscoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briscoe
      • Briscoe is located in Wheeler County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Briscoe <2>
    • Zybach ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zybach
      • Zybach is located in Wheeler County
    • Allison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Collingsworth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
    • Samnorwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samnorwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samnorwood
      • Samnorwood is located in Collingsworth County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Samnorwood <2>
    • Quail
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Wellington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Donley County
    • Hedley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hedley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedley
      • Hedley is located in Donley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hedley <2>
  • Gray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
    • McLean
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McLean have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLean
      • McLean is located in Gray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 742 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McLean <2>
    • Alanreed
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alanreed have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanreed
      • Alanreed is located in Gray County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alanreed <2>
    • Wesco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesco
      • Wesco is located in Gray County
    • Lefors
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lefors have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lefors
      • Lefors is located in Gray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 475 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lefors <2>
  • Beckham County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lela, with the one closest to Lela listed first.
    • Texola
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texola
      • Texola is located in Beckham County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Texola <2>
    • Erick
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erick
      • Erick is located in Beckham County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erick <2>
    • Mayfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Sweetwater
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Lela ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lela.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lela, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lela.

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 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 Lela:

Cemeteries Near Lela ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lela.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Lela Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Pakan Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Dozier Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dozier Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dozier Cemetery
  • Center Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Cemetery
  • Wheeler Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheeler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheeler Cemetery
  • Plymouth Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plymouth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plymouth Cemetery
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Cemetery
  • Kelton Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kelton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kelton Cemetery
  • Mobeetie Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mobeetie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mobeetie Cemetery
  • Texola Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Texola Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Texola Cemetery
  • Quail Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Quail Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Quail.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quail Cemetery
  • Needwood Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Needwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Needwood Cemetery
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Rock Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elderidge Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elderidge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elderidge Cemetery
    • Vannerson Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vannerson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vannerson Cemetery

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 Lela in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lela.

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

  • Aberdeen
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aberdeen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
    • Aberdeen is located in Collingsworth County
  • Mobeetie
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Wellington
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Sweetwater
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lela. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 'straight-line' (or 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- Lela) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lela. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.2276, Longitude: -100.3429       In this case, the coordinates for Lela have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Lela, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024