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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 Nena (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 Nena. 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.

Nena is located in Ellis 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 Ellis County: Dallas, Henderson, Hill, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro & Tarrant.

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

  • Ellis County     (The home county of Nena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nena, with the one closest to Nena listed first.
    • Waxahachie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Forreston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Nash
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Nash is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
    • Boz
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Boz is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boz
    • Howard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Howard is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard
    • Sardis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Sardis is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
    • Boyce
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Boyce is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyce
    • Ike
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Ike is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ike
    • Italy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Avalon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Maypearl
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Bardwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nena, with the one closest to Nena listed first.
    • Ovilla
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Glenn Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • DeSoto
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Shamrock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Shamrock is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
    • Ferris
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lancaster
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Wilmer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Duncanville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hutchins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Lisbon ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Lisbon is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Combine
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Combine is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combine
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,537 people
  • Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nena, with the one closest to Nena listed first.
    • Mertens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Brandon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Carl's Corner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Itasca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lovelace
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lovelace is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelace
    • Irene
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Covington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bynum
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Hillsboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Malone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Chatt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chatt is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nena, with the one closest to Nena listed first.
    • Grandview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Alvarado
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lillian
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cuba
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Cuba is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Coyote Flats
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Coyote Flats is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyote Flats
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
    • Parker
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Parker is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
    • Egan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Egan is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
    • Keene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Keene is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,588 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keene <1>
    • Briaroaks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Briaroaks is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briaroaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Cross Timber
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cross Timber is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Timber
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
  • Kaufman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nena, with the one closest to Nena listed first.
    • Rosser
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cottonwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Cottonwood is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Styx
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Styx is located in Kaufman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Styx
    • Scurry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Navarro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nena, with the one closest to Nena listed first.
    • Frost
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Cryer Creek ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cryer Creek is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cryer Creek
    • Blooming Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Emhouse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Emhouse is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emhouse
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Barry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Rice
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Rice is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 983 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rice <1>
    • Dresden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Dresden is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden
    • Tupelo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Tupelo is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tupelo
    • Chatfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Navarro Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Navarro Mills is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarro Mills
    • Corsicana
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Silver City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Silver City is located in Navarro County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
  • Tarrant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nena, with the one closest to Nena listed first.
    • Retta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Retta is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retta
    • Rendon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Rendon is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendon
    • Johnsons Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Johnsons Station is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Station
    • Kennedale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove

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

Cemeteries Near Nena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nena.

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

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

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

  • Glenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Greathouse Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hillcrest Park Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Forreston Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Boren Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Maloney Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hughes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Dean Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Sardis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Templeton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bee Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (166 more) ...
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Austonia Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bardwell Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<2>

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

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

  • Boz
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Boz is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boz
  • Nash
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Nash is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
  • Waxahachie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Sardis
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Sardis is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
  • Boyce
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Boyce is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyce
  • Italy
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Avalon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Sterrett
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Sterrett is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterrett
  • Mountain Peak
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mountain Peak is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Peak
  • Auburn
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Auburn is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
  • Ennis
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Palmer
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Midlothian
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Milford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Red Oak
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Nena ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nena, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nena.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Nena:

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>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 Nena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Nena) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.