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 Payne Springs (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 Payne Springs. 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.
Name Variations for Payne Springs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Payne Springs: Payne Spgs. (or less commonly used: Payne Spngs. or Payne Sprngs.)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 hospitals and 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.
Payne Springs is located in Henderson 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 Henderson County: Anderson, Ellis, Kaufman, Navarro, Smith & Van Zandt.
Below are the counties that are near Payne Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Payne Springs:
- Henderson County (The home county of Payne Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Enchanted Oaks
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Enchanted Oaks is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Oaks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Gun Barrel City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tool
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Seven Points
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Eustace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Caney City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Caney City is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
- Log Cabin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Log Cabin is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Log Cabin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 785 people
- Star Harbor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Star Harbor is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Harbor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Trinidad
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Malakoff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Athens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cross Roads
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cross Roads is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Cayuga
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Springfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Springfield is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Bethel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Blackfoot
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Blackfoot is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackfoot
- Bradford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Greens Bluff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Greens Bluff is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Bluff
- Yard ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Yard is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yard
- Dallas County
- Combine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Combine is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,537 people
- Ellis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Telico
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Telico is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Telico
- Alma
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Alma is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Crisp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Crisp is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisp
- Bristol
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bristol is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Ennis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Walnut Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Springs is located in Ellis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Springs
- Freestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Winkler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Winkler is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
- Streetman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kaufman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Mabank
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tolosa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Tolosa is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolosa
- Kemp
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stubbs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stubbs is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubbs
- Prairieville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Prairieville is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Styx
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Styx is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Styx
- Becker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Becker is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becker
- Grays Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Grays Prairie is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
- Ola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Ola is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
- Cottonwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cottonwood is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Oak Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
- Scurry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Navarro County
- The following are listed by their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Bazette
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bazette is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazette
- Kerens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Goodlow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Goodlow is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Goodlow has also been known as:
- Goodlow Park
- Elm Flat
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elm Flat is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Flat
- Powell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Powell is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Roane
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Roane is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roane
- Chatfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Tupelo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tupelo is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tupelo
- Mildred
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mildred is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mildred
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Eureka
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eureka is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Rice
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Corsicana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Van Zandt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Tundra
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
- Canton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Myrtle Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Ben Wheeler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wills Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Edom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Payne Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Payne Springs.
Cemeteries Near Payne Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Payne Springs.
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 Payne Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Payne Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Mason Ranch Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Clear Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mabank Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Goshen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Baker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Payne Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Moorehead Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Beard Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- King Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Steen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Steen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the west of Malakoff.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2171619 <2>
- Stean Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Malakoff Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malakoff Cemetery
- The Malakoff Cemetery has also been known as:
- Malakoff City Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5025 <2>
- Continue List (139 more) ...
- Ware Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie Point Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Point Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Prairie Point Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the northwest of Kerens.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #304780 <2>
- Samarie Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Payne Springs had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Payne Springs had a population of 756 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Payne Springs, with the one closest to Payne Springs listed first.
- Tolosa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Tolosa is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolosa
- Trinidad
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Malakoff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Roddy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Roddy is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddy
- Bazette
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bazette is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bazette
- Kerens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kemp
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stubbs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stubbs is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubbs
- Prairieville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Prairieville is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Rural Shade
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rural Shade is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Shade
- Athens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Walton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Walton is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Wise
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wise is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wise
- Chatfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Powell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Powell is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Payne Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Payne Springs.
Newspapers Published in Payne Springs ...
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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Payne Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Payne Springs, 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 Payne Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Payne Springs:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Henderson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Dallas County
- Ellis County
- Freestone County
- Kaufman County
- Navarro County
- Van Zandt County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Payne Springs) 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 Payne Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |