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 Luna (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 Luna. 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 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.
Luna is located in Freestone 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 Freestone County: Anderson, Leon, Limestone & Navarro.
Below are the counties that are near Luna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Luna:
- Freestone County (The home county of Luna)
- The following are listed by their distance from Luna, with the one closest to Luna listed first.
- Freestone
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Freestone is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
- Dew
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dew is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
- Donie
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Teague
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lanely
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lanely is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanely
- Fairfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cotton Gin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Turlington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Turlington is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
- Kirvin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Red Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Red Lake is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lake
- Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
- Butler
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Butler is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Luna, with the one closest to Luna listed first.
- Yard ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Yard is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yard
- Long Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Long Lake is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
- Greens Bluff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Greens Bluff is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Bluff
- Massey Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Massey Lake is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey Lake
- Tucker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Tucker is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- Harmony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Harmony is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Tennessee Colony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Leon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Luna, with the one closest to Luna listed first.
- Buffalo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jewett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Newby
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Newby is located in Leon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
- Concord
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Marquez
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Centerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Russell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Russell is located in Leon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Flynn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Luna, with the one closest to Luna listed first.
- Farrar
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Farrar is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Personville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Personville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
- Lost Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lost Prairie is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Prairie
- Fallon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fallon is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
- Mexia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Groesbeck
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Tehuacana
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Thornton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Frosa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Frosa is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
- Coolidge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kosse
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ben Hur
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ben Hur is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
- Navarro County
- Richland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Richland is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Robertson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Luna, with the one closest to Luna listed first.
- Seale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Seale is located in Robertson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
- Bald Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
- Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ridge is located in Robertson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Luna, see our County-by-County Page for Luna.
Cemeteries Near Luna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Luna.
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 Luna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Luna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Luna, with the one closest to Luna listed first.
- Philpott Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kendrick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Varnell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oakes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakes Cemetery
- The Oakes Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oaks Cemetery
- Holt Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Holly Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Post Oak Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Driver Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (157 more) ...
- Antioch Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wilsons Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Luna had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Luna, with the one closest to Luna listed first.
- Dew
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Dew is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
- Personville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Personville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
- Farrar
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Farrar is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Buffalo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cotton Gin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Prairie Grove is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
- Jewett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Keechi
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Keechi is located in Leon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keechi
- Oletha
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oletha is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oletha
- Mexia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Seale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Seale is located in Robertson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Butler
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Butler is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
- Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
- Groesbeck
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Luna. See our List of 1890's Communities around Luna.
Newspapers Published in Luna ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Luna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Luna, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Luna.
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 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 Luna:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Freestone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Leon County
- Limestone County
- Navarro County
- Robertson 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> | 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 Luna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Luna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |