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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 Providence (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 Providence. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Providence is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Angelina, Hardin, Liberty, San Jacinto, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Providence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Livingston
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lamont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Lamont is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Goodrich
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Schwab City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Schwab City is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwab City
    • Swartout ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Swartout is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartout
    • West Livingston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • West Livingston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Livingston
    • Indian Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Indian Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
    • New Willard
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • New Willard is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
    • Ace
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Leggett
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Seven Oaks
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
    • Bold Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Bold Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Springs
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Votaw
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Thicket
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bragg ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Bragg is located in Hardin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg
  • Liberty County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Africa is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Big Thicket Creekmore Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Romayor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Rye
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rayburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Rayburn is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
    • Fuqua ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fuqua is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuqua
    • Cleveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • North Cleveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • North Cleveland is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cleveland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
    • Coushatta Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Coushatta Village is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coushatta Village
    • Nimrod ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Nimrod is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
  • San Jacinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Shepherd
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Coldspring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Laurel Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Laurel Hill is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
    • Point Blank
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Magnolia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Magnolia is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Evergreen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Oakhurst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Carlisle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Carlisle is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Woodlake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Woodlake is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake
    • Chita
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Chita is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
    • Sumpter ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sumpter is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
    • Groveton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
    • Chester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Peach Tree Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
    • Ivanhoe North
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Ivanhoe North is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe North
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 538 people
    • Woodville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Doucette
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Ivanhoe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Ivanhoe is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,438 people
    • Warren
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Hillister
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Walker County

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

Cemeteries Near Providence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Providence.

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

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

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

  • Peebles Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Restland Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Restland Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Old City Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bluff Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Kibble Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Lake Station Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Alexander Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Milby Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (109 more) ...
    • Ellis Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Camp Ruby Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Rice Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<4>

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

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

  • Livingston
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Goodrich
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Leggett
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Shepherd
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Seven Oaks
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
  • Coldspring
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Dallardsville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Colita
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Colita is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colita
  • Hortense
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hortense is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hortense
  • Moscow
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Point Blank
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Keno
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Keno is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
    • Carmona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Carmona is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmona
    • Barnum
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Barnum is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum

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

Newspapers Published in Providence ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Providence.

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

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 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 Providence:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Providence) 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 Providence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.