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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 Necessity (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 Necessity. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Necessity is located in Stephens 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 Stephens County: Callahan, Eastland, Palo Pinto, Shackelford, Throckmorton & Young.

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

  • Stephens County     (The home county of Necessity)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Necessity, with the one closest to Necessity listed first.
    • Wayland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wayland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Wayland is located in Stephens County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wayland
      • From Necessity to Wayland
    • La Casa ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Caddo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Gunsight ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Breckenridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breckenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
      • Breckenridge is located in Stephens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,400 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breckenridge <2>
    • Eolian
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Eureka
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Stephens County
  • Eastland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Necessity, with the one closest to Necessity listed first.
    • Ranger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Olden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Eastland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Cisco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <2>
    • Mangum ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mangum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangum
      • Mangum is located in Eastland County
    • Kokomo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Carbon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
      • Carbon is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbon <2>
    • Desdemona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gorman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
      • Gorman is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorman <2>
    • Nimrod ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Erath County
  • Palo Pinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Necessity, with the one closest to Necessity listed first.
    • Strawn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Mingus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mingus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mingus
      • Mingus is located in Palo Pinto County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mingus <2>
    • Gordon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Palo Pinto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palo Pinto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Pinto
      • Palo Pinto is located in Palo Pinto County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palo Pinto <2>
  • Shackelford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Necessity, with the one closest to Necessity listed first.
    • Moran
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moran have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moran
      • Moran is located in Shackelford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moran <2>
    • Albany
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Albany is located in Shackelford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,958 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <2>
  • Throckmorton County
    • Woodson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodson
      • Woodson is located in Throckmorton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodson <2>
  • Young County

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

Cemeteries Near Necessity ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Necessity.

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

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

  • Swenson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swenson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swenson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St.s Rest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Rest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macedonia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Acker Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Acker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Acker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Caddo Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caddo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caddo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hart Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harpersville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harpersville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harpersville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Breckenridge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Post Oak Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Post Oak Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Post Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Picketville Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Picketville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Picketville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (88 more) ...
    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Colony Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colony Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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

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

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

Newspapers Published in Necessity ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Necessity.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Necessity, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Necessity.

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 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 Necessity:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 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.
<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 Necessity, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Necessity) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Necessity. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.6486, Longitude: -98.7753    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025