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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 Union (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 Union. 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 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.

Old Union is located in Bowie 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 Bowie County: Little River (AR), Miller (AR), McCurtain (OK), Cass, Morris & Red River.

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

  • Bowie County     (The home county of Old Union)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Union, with the one closest to Old Union listed first.
    • Carbondale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Carbondale is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbondale
    • Simms
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Bassett
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Bassett is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
    • Maud
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Maud is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maud
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,063 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maud <1>
    • Boston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Boston is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
    • New Boston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Redwater
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Dalby Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Dalby Springs is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalby Springs
    • Hooks
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • De Kalb
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Victory City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Victory City is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory City
    • Leary
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Leary is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 502 people
    • Redbank
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Redbank is located in Bowie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbank
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Union, with the one closest to Old Union listed first.
    • Bryans Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Bryans Mill is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryans Mill
    • Marietta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Douglassville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Red Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Red Hill is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
    • Springdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Springdale is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
    • Domino
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Domino is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Domino
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Queen City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Linden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Atlanta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Hughes Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bivins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Avinger
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Morris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Union, with the one closest to Old Union listed first.
    • Naples
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Naples is located in Morris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
      • Former name for Naples:
      • Station Belden
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Naples <1>
    • Omaha
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rocky Branch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rocky Branch is located in Morris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Branch
    • Daingerfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cason
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jenkins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jenkins is located in Morris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
    • Lone Star
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Red River County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Union, with the one closest to Old Union listed first.
    • Avery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Avery is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avery <1>
    • Boxelder
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Boxelder is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxelder
    • Annona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • English
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • English is located in Red River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
  • Titus County
  • Little River County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Union, with the one closest to Old Union listed first.
    • Richmond
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Richmond is located in Little River County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
    • Foreman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Foreman is located in Little River County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foreman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 922 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Foreman <1>
    • Ogden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ogden is located in Little River County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Ashdown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Ashdown is located in Little River County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashdown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,359 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashdown <1>
  • Miller County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Union, with the one closest to Old Union listed first.
    • Texarkana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Rondo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Rondo is located in Miller County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rondo

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

Cemeteries Near Old Union ...

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

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

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

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

  • Old Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Irby Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Berry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Obie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Harris Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hays Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Barfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • McWright Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Shipp Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipp Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Shipp Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southwest of Boston.
    • The Shipp Cemetery has also been known as:
    • McCright Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2297203 <2>
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Rea Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Morris Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (173 more) ...
    • Center Ridge Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Bell Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Powell Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<4>

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

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

  • Simms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Corley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Corley is located in Bowie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
  • Bassett
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bassett is located in Bowie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassett
  • Bryans Mill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bryans Mill is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryans Mill
  • Boston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Boston is located in Bowie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
  • New Boston
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Malta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Malta is located in Bowie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
  • Whaley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Whaley is located in Bowie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
  • Marietta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Cusseta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Cusseta is located in Cass County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cusseta
  • Douglassville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dalby Springs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Dalby Springs is located in Bowie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalby Springs
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Hooks
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • De Kalb
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Red Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Red Hill is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Old Union ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Union.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Union, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Union.

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 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 Union:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Old Union) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Union, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.