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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 Lorena (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 Lorena. 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 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.

Lorena is located in McLennan 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 McLennan County: Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Hill & Limestone.

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

  • McLennan County     (The home county of Lorena)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
    • Troy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Troy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
      • Troy is located in Bell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,191 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
    • Pendleton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pendleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
      • Pendleton is located in Bell County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pendleton <1>
    • Oenaville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oenaville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oenaville
      • Oenaville is located in Bell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oenaville
      • From Lorena to Oenaville
    • Moffat
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Moffat. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffat
      • Moffat is located in Bell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Moffat
      • From Lorena to Moffat
    • Temple
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Morgan's Point Resort
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgan's Point Resort have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan's Point Resort
      • Morgan's Point Resort is located in Bell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,785 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morgan's Point Resort <1>
    • Ocker
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ocker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocker
      • Ocker is located in Bell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ocker
      • From Lorena to Ocker
    • Cyclone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cyclone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
      • Cyclone is located in Bell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cyclone
      • From Lorena to Cyclone
    • Heidenheimer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heidenheimer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidenheimer
      • Heidenheimer is located in Bell County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heidenheimer <1>
    • Belton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Meeks
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meeks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeks
      • Meeks is located in Bell County
    • Academy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Brookhaven
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brookhaven. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
      • Brookhaven is located in Bell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brookhaven
      • From Lorena to Brookhaven
  • Bosque County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
    • Valley Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greenock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
      • Greenock is located in Bosque County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Greenock
      • From Lorena to Greenock
  • Coryell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
    • McGregor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Oglesby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oglesby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oglesby
      • Oglesby is located in Coryell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 464 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oglesby <1>
    • Lime City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lime City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
      • Lime City is located in Coryell County
    • The Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Leon Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Mound
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound
      • Mound is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mound <1>
    • Flat
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat
      • Flat is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flat <1>
    • South Mountain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mountain
      • South Mountain is located in Coryell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
    • Fort Gates
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Gates have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gates
      • Fort Gates is located in Coryell County
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lorena, with the one closest to Lorena listed first.
    • Bruceville - Eddy
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bruceville - Eddy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville - Eddy
      • Bruceville - Eddy is located in Falls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
    • Mooreville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Golinda
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golinda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
      • Golinda is located in Falls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
    • Satin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satin
      • Satin is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Satin <1>
    • Chilton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Durango
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Durango. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durango
      • Durango is located in Falls County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Durango
      • From Lorena to Durango
    • Lott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lott
      • Lott is located in Falls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lott <1>
    • Perry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Marlin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Westphalia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westphalia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
      • Westphalia is located in Falls County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Westphalia
      • From Lorena to Westphalia
    • Zipperlandville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zipperlandville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zipperlandville
      • Zipperlandville is located in Falls County
      • Zipperlandville has also been known as:
      • Zipperlen
      • Zipperlenville
    • Otto
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
      • Otto is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otto <1>
    • Rosebud
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Hill County
    • Tyson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tyson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
      • Tyson is located in Hill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tyson
      • From Lorena to Tyson
  • Limestone County
  • Milam County

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

Cemeteries Near Lorena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lorena.

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 Lorena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Lorena Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lorena Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lorena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cox Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cox Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lawson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lawson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lawson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moore Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moore Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chapel Hill Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cottonwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cottonwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cottonwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waco Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mooreville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Christian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Fletcher Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fletcher Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fletcher Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Horne Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Horne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Horne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Perry Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (193 more) ...
    • Beulah Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beulah Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beulah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Pauls Memorial Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Memorial Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Robinson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Bruceville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Hewitt
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Eddy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Ritchie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ritchie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritchie
    • Ritchie is located in McLennan County
  • Mooreville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rosenthal
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • South Bosque
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bosque have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bosque
    • South Bosque is located in McLennan County
  • Golinda
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golinda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
    • Golinda is located in Falls County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
  • Robinson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Downs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs
    • Downs is located in McLennan County
  • Downsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Downsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
    • Downsville is located in McLennan County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Downsville
    • From Lorena to Downsville
  • Blevins
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blevins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blevins
    • Blevins is located in Falls County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lorena ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lorena.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lorena. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lorena and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lorena.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6> of Lorena.

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 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 Lorena:

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

The official website for McLennan County: www.co.mclennan.tx.us/

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

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 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.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Lorena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Lorena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lorena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.3863, Longitude: -97.2156    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025