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 Mount Sylvan (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 Mount Sylvan. 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.
Name Variations for Mount Sylvan ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Mount Sylvan: Mt. Sylvan
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northeast 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 north.
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 north 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.
Mount Sylvan is located in Smith 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 Smith County: Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Upshur, Van Zandt & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Mount Sylvan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mount Sylvan:
- Smith County (The home county of Mount Sylvan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Hideaway
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hideaway is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,208 people
- Carroll
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Lindale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Swan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Garden Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Jamestown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Red Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Red Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Tyler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Noonday
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Noonday is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
- Population from the 2020 Census: 722 people
- Gresham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gresham is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Winona
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lee Spring
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lee Spring is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Spring
- Anderson County
- Frankston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Bullard
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cherokee Landing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cherokee Landing is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Landing
- Larissa ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Larissa is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
- Mount Selman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mount Selman is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Selman
- Cuney
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mixon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mixon is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
- Troup
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reese
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Reese is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese
- Gregg County
- Liberty City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Liberty City is located in Gregg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Chandler
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brownsboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Moore Station
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Moore Station is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
- Leagueville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leagueville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leagueville
- Murchison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Coffee City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Coffee City is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Berryville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Berryville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
- LaRue
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Poynor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Athens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Grove is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Big Sandy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wilkins is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
- Center Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Center Point is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Rhonesboro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rhonesboro is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhonesboro
- Pritchett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pritchett is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchett
- Rosewood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rosewood is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
- Van Zandt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Edom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Van
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Van is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van <1>
- Ben Wheeler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Grand Saline
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fruitvale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tundra
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
- Myrtle Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Edgewood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Mineola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hawkins
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hainesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hainesville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hainesville
- Golden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pine Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Mills is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Quitman
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Alba
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Forest Hill is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
- Cartwright
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cartwright is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Gunter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gunter is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunter
- Stout
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Stout is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mount Sylvan, see our County-by-County Page for Mount Sylvan.
Cemeteries Near Mount Sylvan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Sylvan.
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 Mount Sylvan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mount Sylvan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Mt. Sylvan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- New Harmony Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hubbard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Dover Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lindale City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sitton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitton Cemetery
- The Sitton Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fairview Cemetery (African-American)
- Nebo Cemetery
- Wood / Verner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell Valley Cemetery (African-American)
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jacob Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Damascus Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bunkley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (221 more) ...
- Galena Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- New Harmony Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Retreat Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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 Mount Sylvan had a population of 277 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mount Sylvan, with the one closest to Mount Sylvan listed first.
- Carroll
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Lindale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Swan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Garden Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Edom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chandler
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Jamestown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Tyler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pruitt
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pruitt is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt
- Ben Wheeler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Brownsboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mineola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Colfax
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Colfax is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Silver Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Lake is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Winona
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mount Sylvan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mount Sylvan.
Newspapers Published in Mount Sylvan ...
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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Sylvan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mount Sylvan, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mount Sylvan.
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 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 Mount Sylvan:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Smith County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Cherokee County
- Gregg County
- Henderson County
- Upshur County
- Van Zandt County
- Wood 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 Mount Sylvan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Mount Sylvan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |