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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 Old Center (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 Old Center. 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/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Old Center is located in Panola 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 Panola County: Caddo (LA), De Soto (LA), Harrison, Rusk & Shelby.

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

  • Panola County     (The home county of Old Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Center, with the one closest to Old Center listed first.
    • Woods
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Woods is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
    • Gary City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Murvaul
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Murvaul is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
    • Carthage
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Buncome
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Buncome is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buncome
    • Midyett
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Midyett is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
    • Clayton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Delray
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Delray is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
    • Dotson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Dotson is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotson
    • De Berry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Beckville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Long Branch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Panola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Harrison County
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Center, with the one closest to Old Center listed first.
    • Garrison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fitze
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
    • Whispering Pines
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
    • Martinsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Rusk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Center, with the one closest to Old Center listed first.
    • Caledonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Caledonia is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
    • Concord
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Concord is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Pinehill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Pinehill is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehill
    • Brachfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Brachfield is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brachfield
    • Tatum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Enterprise
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Minden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Center, with the one closest to Old Center listed first.
    • Tenaha
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Joaquin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Haslam
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Timpson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Campti
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Campti is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Africa is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Shelbyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Short
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Short is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
    • Arcadia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Arcadia is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Choice
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Choice is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
    • Huxley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Huxley is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
  • Caddo Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Center, with the one closest to Old Center listed first.
    • Spring Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
    • Bethany
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Keithville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • De Soto Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Center, with the one closest to Old Center listed first.
    • Logansport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Longstreet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Stanley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Keachi
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Grand Cane
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Gloster
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • South Mansfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Mansfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Stonewall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Old Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Center.

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 Old Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Woods Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Restland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lone Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Tennessee Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Bobo Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Truitt Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Adams Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Reeves Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Prospect Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (198 more) ...
    • Hayden Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Yard Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Woods is located in Panola County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
  • Tenaha
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Joaquin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Deadwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Deadwood is located in Panola County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deadwood
  • Logansport
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Carthage
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Timpson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Huber
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Huber is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
  • Center
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Longstreet
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Midyett
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Midyett is located in Panola County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
  • Centennial
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Centennial is located in Panola County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Shelbyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Delray
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Delray is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
    • Short
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Short is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short

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

Newspapers Published in Old Center ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Center.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Old Center:

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 Old Center, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Old Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.