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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 Overton (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 Overton. 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 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.

Overton is primarily located in Rusk County. A portion of Overton extends into Smith 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 Rusk County: Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Panola, Shelby & Smith.

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

  • Rusk County     (The home county of Overton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • New London
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New London have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
      • New London is located in Rusk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New London <2>
    • Sexton City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sexton City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton City
      • Sexton City is located in Rusk County
    • Selman City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selman City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selman City
      • Selman City is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selman City <2>
    • Friars
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacobs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Laird Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laird Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird Hill
      • Laird Hill is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laird Hill <2>
    • Turnertown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Pirtle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Joinerville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Price
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Price have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
      • Price is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Price <2>
    • Henderson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Monroe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Monroe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Rusk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Monroe
      • From Overton to Monroe
    • Laneville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Henrys Chapel
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Troup
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Griffin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griffin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
      • Griffin is located in Cherokee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Griffin
      • From Overton to Griffin
    • Blackjack
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gould
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Mixon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mixon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
      • Mixon is located in Cherokee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mixon
      • From Overton to Mixon
    • New Summerfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Summerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Summerfield
      • New Summerfield is located in Cherokee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,187 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Summerfield <2>
    • Bullard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullard
      • Bullard is located in Cherokee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,891 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bullard <2>
    • Mount Selman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Larissa ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larissa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
      • Larissa is located in Cherokee County
    • Ponta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Jacksonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gallatin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Gregg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Kilgore
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
      • Liberty City is located in Gregg County
    • Danville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fredonia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rolling Meadows
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
      • Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
    • Elderville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elderville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
      • Elderville is located in Gregg County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elderville
      • From Overton to Elderville
    • Clarksville City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville City
      • Clarksville City is located in Gregg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
    • Gladewater
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Greggton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakeport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
      • Lakeport is located in Gregg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 997 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakeport <2>
    • Warren City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warren City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren City
      • Warren City is located in Gregg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • White Oak
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Gregg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Oak <2>
    • Longview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Lansing
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lansing. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
      • Lansing is located in Harrison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lansing
      • From Overton to Lansing
    • Hallsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Noonday
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Noonday have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
      • Noonday is located in Harrison County
  • Henderson County
  • Panola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Long Branch
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Beckville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
      • Center Point is located in Panola County
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Jamestown ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jamestown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown is located in Smith County
      • Jamestown has also been known as:
      • Jimtown
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jamestown
      • From Overton to Jamestown
    • Wright City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wright City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright City
      • Wright City is located in Smith County
    • Arp
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sinclair City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sinclair City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair City
      • Sinclair City is located in Smith County
    • Omen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Browning
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • New Chapel Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Chapel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chapel Hill
      • New Chapel Hill is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 667 people
    • Whitehouse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitehouse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
      • Whitehouse is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,108 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitehouse <2>
    • Starrville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Starrville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starrville
      • Starrville is located in Smith County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Starrville
      • From Overton to Starrville
    • Winona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
      • Winona is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 617 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winona <2>
    • Tyler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Gresham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Flint
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Upshur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Overton, with the one closest to Overton listed first.
    • Wilkins
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
      • Wilkins is located in Upshur County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilkins
      • From Overton to Wilkins
    • Union Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
      • Union Grove is located in Upshur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
    • Big Sandy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Center Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Glenwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Pritchett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pritchett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchett
      • Pritchett is located in Upshur County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pritchett
      • From Overton to Pritchett
    • Indian Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wood County

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

Cemeteries Near Overton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Overton.

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Overton had a population of 401 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Overton had a population of 2,503 people.

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

  • Pirtle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Omen
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Browning
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Kilgore
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Troup
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Henderson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Monroe
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Monroe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Monroe is located in Rusk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Monroe
    • From Overton to Monroe
  • Starrville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Starrville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starrville
    • Starrville is located in Smith County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Starrville
    • From Overton to Starrville
  • Elderville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elderville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
    • Elderville is located in Gregg County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Elderville
    • From Overton to Elderville
  • Griffin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griffin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
    • Griffin is located in Cherokee County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Griffin
    • From Overton to Griffin
  • Mixon
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mixon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mixon
    • Mixon is located in Cherokee County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Mixon
    • From Overton to Mixon
  • Gladewater
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Winona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
      • Winona is located in Smith County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 617 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winona <2>
    • Wilkins
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkins
      • Wilkins is located in Upshur County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilkins
      • From Overton to Wilkins
    • Tyler
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Overton ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Overton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Overton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Overton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Overton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6> of Overton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Overton:

The official website for Overton: www.ci.overton.tx.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Overton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Overton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Overton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2744, Longitude: -94.9785    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025