RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Leon County >> Pleasant Ridge >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Pleasant Ridge (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 Pleasant Ridge. 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 Pleasant Ridge ...

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 Pleasant Ridge: Pleasant Rdg. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Rdge. or Pleasant Ridg.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Ridge.

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.

Pleasant Ridge is located in Leon 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 Leon County: Anderson, Freestone, Houston, Limestone, Madison & Robertson.

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

  • Leon County     (The home county of Pleasant Ridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
    • Middleton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Middleton is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
    • Leona
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerview
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Centerview is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
    • Flynn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Russell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Russell is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Concord
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Normangee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jewett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Newby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Newby is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Buffalo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Brazos County
    • Edge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
    • Oakwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Donie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lanely
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lanely is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanely
    • Dew
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Dew is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
    • Freestone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Freestone is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
  • Grimes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
    • Bedias
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Iola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
    • Austonio
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Austonio is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austonio
    • Porter Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
    • Halls Bluff Town ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Halls Bluff Town is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Bluff Town
    • Cooper
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cooper is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper
    • Antioch ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Antioch is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Crockett
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lovelady
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Latexo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Limestone County
    • Farrar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Farrar is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
    • Midway
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Madisonville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • George
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • George is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
    • North Zulch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Ridge, with the one closest to Pleasant Ridge listed first.
    • Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • Seale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Seale is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
    • Bald Prairie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
  • Walker County
    • Kittrell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kittrell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittrell

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

Cemeteries Near Pleasant Ridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Ridge.

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 Pleasant Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Durst Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Culton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Makamsom Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodward Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rogers Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Spillerville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Thomason Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Holleman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Burton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • New Salem Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (164 more) ...
    • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Curtiss Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Seale Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Middleton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Middleton is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
  • Leona
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Centerville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Guys Store
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Guys Store is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guys Store
  • Ash
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Ash is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
  • Russell
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Russell is located in Leon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
  • Concord
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Midway
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Madisonville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Connor
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Connor is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connor
  • Jewett
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Buffalo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Porter Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Porter Springs is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Springs
    • Marquez
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Keechi
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Keechi is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keechi

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

Newspapers Published in Pleasant Ridge ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Ridge.

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

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 Pleasant Ridge:

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 Pleasant Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pleasant Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.