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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 Pecan 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 Pecan 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 Pecan 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 Pecan Springs: Pecan Spgs. (or less commonly used: Pecan Spngs. or Pecan 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Pecan Springs is located in San Saba 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 San Saba County: Brown, Burnet, Lampasas, Llano, Mason, McCulloch & Mills.

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

  • San Saba County     (The home county of Pecan Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pecan Springs, with the one closest to Pecan Springs listed first.
    • Richland Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cherokee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • San Saba
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Holt ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Holt is located in San Saba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Locker ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Locker is located in San Saba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
  • Llano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pecan Springs, with the one closest to Pecan Springs listed first.
    • Valley Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Castell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Baby Head ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Baby Head is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baby Head
    • Llano
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pecan Springs, with the one closest to Pecan Springs listed first.
    • Fredonia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pontotoc
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Art
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Koockville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Koockville is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koockville
    • Mason
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Grit
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Grit is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grit
    • Hedwigs Hill ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Hedwigs Hill is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedwigs Hill
    • Streeter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Streeter is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streeter
    • Hilda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hilda is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilda
    • Loyal Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Loyal Valley is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyal Valley
  • McCulloch County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pecan Springs, with the one closest to Pecan Springs listed first.
    • Voca
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Camp San Saba
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Camp San Saba is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp San Saba
    • Rochelle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brady
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Brady is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>
    • Calf Creek ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Calf Creek is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calf Creek
    • Milburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
    • Lohn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Menard County
  • Mills County
    • Regency ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Regency is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency

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

Cemeteries Near Pecan Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pecan 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 Pecan Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Deer Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Tabor Mtn. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Spiller Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • New Pontotoc Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Pontotoc Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Blackjack Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Wagram Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Water Valley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Newsom Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Camp San Saba Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Fly Gap Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Cold Creek Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (80 more) ...
    • Polk Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellison Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Ellis Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Fredonia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Voca
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Pontotoc
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Field Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Field Creek is located in Llano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Field Creek
  • Camp San Saba
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Camp San Saba is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp San Saba
  • Katemcy
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Katemcy is located in Mason County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katemcy
  • Rochelle
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Valley Spring
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Brady
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Brady is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>
  • Richland Springs
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Mason
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Castell
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • San Saba
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Hedwigs Hill ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Hedwigs Hill is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedwigs Hill
    • Streeter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Streeter is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streeter

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

Newspapers Published in Pecan 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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pecan Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pecan Springs, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pecan Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Pecan Springs:

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>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 Pecan Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Pecan Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.