RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Hunt County >> Merit >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Texas

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 Merit (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 Merit. 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 hospitals and 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.

Merit is located in Hunt 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 Hunt County: Collin, Delta, Fannin, Hopkins, Kaufman, Rains & Rockwall.

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

  • Hunt County     (The home county of Merit)
  • Collin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merit, with the one closest to Merit listed first.
    • Farmersville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
      • Farmersville is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,711 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <2>
    • Frognot
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Josephine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Josephine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
      • Josephine is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,545 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Josephine <2>
    • Valdasta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Copeville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copeville
      • Copeville is located in Collin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Copeville <2>
    • Princeton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <2>
    • Westminster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westminster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
      • Westminster is located in Collin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westminster <2>
    • Nevada
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lavon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lavon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavon
      • Lavon is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,993 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lavon <2>
    • Lowry Crossing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • New Hope
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
      • New Hope is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 641 people
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merit, with the one closest to Merit listed first.
    • Rowlett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowlett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowlett
      • Rowlett is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rowlett <2>
    • Garland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Delta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merit, with the one closest to Merit listed first.
    • Needmore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Jot-Em-Down
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jot-Em-Down. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jot-Em-Down
      • Jot-Em-Down is located in Delta County
      • Jot-Em-Down has also been known as:
      • Mohegan
      • Muddig Prairie
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jot-Em-Down
      • From Merit to Jot-Em-Down
    • Pecan Gap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fannin County
  • Grayson County
  • Hopkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merit, with the one closest to Merit listed first.
    • Cumby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumby
      • Cumby is located in Hopkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 794 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cumby <2>
    • Palestine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palestine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
      • Palestine is located in Hopkins County
    • Ridgeway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Miller Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Kaufman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merit, with the one closest to Merit listed first.
    • Heath
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heath have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heath
      • Heath is located in Kaufman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,718 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heath <2>
    • Poetry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Poetry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poetry
      • Poetry is located in Kaufman County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Poetry
      • From Merit to Poetry
    • Ables Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Rains County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merit, with the one closest to Merit listed first.
    • Hooker Ridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • East Tawakoni
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Tawakoni have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tawakoni
      • East Tawakoni is located in Rains County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 991 people
  • Rockwall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merit, with the one closest to Merit listed first.
    • Fate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Mobile City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Rockwall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwall
      • Rockwall is located in Rockwall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,415 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockwall <2>
    • McLendon - Chisholm
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McLendon - Chisholm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLendon - Chisholm
      • McLendon - Chisholm is located in Rockwall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people

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

Cemeteries Near Merit ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Merit.

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Merit had a population of 189 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Wagner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wagner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
    • Wagner is located in Hunt County
  • Farmersville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
    • Farmersville is located in Collin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,711 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmersville <2>
  • Floyd
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floyd have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
    • Floyd is located in Hunt County
  • Kingston
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Lane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
    • Lane is located in Hunt County
  • Fayburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayburg
    • Fayburg is located in Collin County
  • Kellogg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kellogg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellogg
    • Kellogg is located in Hunt County
  • Celeste
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Celeste have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celeste
    • Celeste is located in Hunt County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 931 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Celeste <2>
  • Pike
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pike have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike
    • Pike is located in Collin County
  • Clinton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Blue Ridge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Verona
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
    • Verona is located in Collin County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Josephine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Josephine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
      • Josephine is located in Collin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,545 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Josephine <2>
    • White Rock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Delba
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delba
      • Delba is located in Fannin County

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

Newspapers Published in Merit ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Merit.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Merit, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Merit.

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 helpful 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 Merit:

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

The official website for Hunt County: www.huntcounty.net

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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Merit) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Merit. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2162, Longitude: -96.2870    
<5>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.
<6>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 Merit, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025