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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 Lelavale (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 Lelavale. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Lelavale is located in Hardin 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 Hardin County: Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Polk & Tyler.

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

  • Hardin County     (The home county of Lelavale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lelavale, with the one closest to Lelavale listed first.
    • Bragg ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Bragg is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg
    • Village Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Saratoga
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Thicket
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Kountze
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Votaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Batson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Silsbee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Sour Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Grayburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Grayburg is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayburg
    • Lumberton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Pinewood Estates
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Pinewood Estates is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Estates
  • Jasper County
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lelavale, with the one closest to Lelavale listed first.
    • Bevil Oaks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bevil Oaks is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bevil Oaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,209 people
    • Voth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Nome
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Nome is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nome
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 592 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nome <1>
    • China
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • China is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for China <1>
    • Pine Island
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Island is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Island
    • Amelia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Amelia is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
    • Beaumont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Liberty County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lelavale, with the one closest to Lelavale listed first.
    • Fuqua ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Fuqua is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuqua
    • Rye
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Big Thicket Creekmore Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Coushatta Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Coushatta Village is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coushatta Village
    • Hull
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mariam
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mariam is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariam
    • Romayor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Daisetta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hardin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodson is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodson
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Africa is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Dayton Lakes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Dayton Lakes is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
  • Orange County
    • Pine Forest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Forest is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Forest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lelavale, with the one closest to Lelavale listed first.
    • Oak Shade
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Shade is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Shade
    • Dallardsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Ace
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Schwab City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Schwab City is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwab City
    • Indian Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
    • Goodrich
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lelavale, with the one closest to Lelavale listed first.
    • Warren
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Hillister
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Ivanhoe North
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Ivanhoe North is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe North
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 538 people
    • Ivanhoe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Ivanhoe is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,438 people
    • Fred
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Spurger
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Doucette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Lelavale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lelavale.

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

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

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

  • Sutton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Griffin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Brackin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Felps Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Holland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Middle Town Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Olive Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • William W. Hart Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Fred C. Kimmey Memorial Garden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fred C. Kimmey Memorial Garden
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fred C. Kimmey Memorial Garden is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southwest of Kountze.
    • The Fred C. Kimmey Memorial Garden has also been known as:
    • Memorial Garden
  • Old Hardin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Hardin Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Hardin Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southwest of Kountze.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1346999 <2>
  • McNeely Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Village Mills Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (65 more) ...
    • Daniels Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Richardson Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hyatt Community Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt Community Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hyatt Community Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the south of Warren.
      • The Hyatt Community Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Hyatt Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2484789 <2>

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

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

  • Saratoga
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Village Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Kountze
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Nona
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Nona is located in Hardin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nona
  • Hyatt
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hyatt is located in Tyler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
  • Warren
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Dallardsville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Sour Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Hillister
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Woodville
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Felicia
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Felicia is located in Liberty County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
  • China
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • China is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for China <1>
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Rosedale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Rosedale is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Pine Island
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Island is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Island
    • Spurger
      (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 Lelavale. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lelavale.

Newspapers Published in Lelavale ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lelavale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lelavale, 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 Lelavale.

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 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 Lelavale:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lelavale) 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 Lelavale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.