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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Merriman. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Merriman to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Merriman, please Contact Us.

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 Merriman (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 Merriman. 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Merriman is historic, it would have been located within present day Eastland 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 Eastland County: Brown, Callahan, Comanche, Erath, Palo Pinto, Shackelford & Stephens.

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

  • Eastland County     (The home county of Merriman)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merriman, with the one closest to Merriman listed first.
    • Ranger
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Olden
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Eastland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Kokomo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Kokomo is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
    • Mangum ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Mangum is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangum
    • Desdemona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Carbon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Gorman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cisco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Cisco is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <2>
    • Okra
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Okra is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okra
    • Nimrod ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Nimrod is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
    • Rising Star
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Callahan County
    • Putnam
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merriman, with the one closest to Merriman listed first.
    • Rucker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Rucker is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
    • Duster
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Duster is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duster
    • Sipe Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Sipe Springs is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipe Springs
    • De Leon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Comyn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Comyn is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comyn
  • Erath County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merriman, with the one closest to Merriman listed first.
    • Thurber
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Hannibal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hannibal is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannibal
    • Lingleville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bunyan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bunyan is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
  • Palo Pinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merriman, with the one closest to Merriman listed first.
    • Strawn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mingus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Gordon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Santo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Shackelford County
    • Moran
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Moran is located in Shackelford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moran
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moran <2>
  • Stephens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Merriman, with the one closest to Merriman listed first.
    • La Casa ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • La Casa is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Casa
    • Gunsight ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Gunsight is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunsight
    • Wayland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wayland is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Necessity
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Necessity is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necessity
    • Caddo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Eureka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Eureka is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
    • Breckenridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Eolian
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Eolian is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eolian

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

Cemeteries Near Merriman ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Merriman.

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

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

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

  • Cross Bend Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Colony Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Gregg Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Eastland City Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Fredom Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Alameda Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cook Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Simpson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (102 more) ...
    • Flatwood Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Acker Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)

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.

While we didn't find Merriman in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Merriman.

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

  • Ranger
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Olden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Tiffin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Tiffin is located in Eastland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiffin
  • Eastland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • La Casa ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • La Casa is located in Stephens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Casa
  • Gunsight ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Gunsight is located in Stephens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunsight
  • Carbon
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Desdemona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Gorman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Strawn
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Wayland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wayland is located in Stephens County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
  • Cisco
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cisco is located in Eastland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <2>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Thurber
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Romney
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Romney is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
    • Victor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Victor is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor

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

Newspapers Published in Merriman ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Merriman.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Merriman:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Merriman, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Merriman) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.