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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 Ragtown (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 Ragtown. 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/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Ragtown is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: De Soto (LA), Sabine (LA), Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine & San Augustine.

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

  • Shelby County     (The home county of Ragtown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragtown, with the one closest to Ragtown listed first.
    • Huxley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Huxley is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
    • Shelbyville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Campti
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Campti is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Choice
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Choice is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Africa is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Short
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Short is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
    • Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Haslam
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Joaquin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Arcadia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Arcadia is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Tenaha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragtown, with the one closest to Ragtown listed first.
    • Attoyac
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
    • Chireno
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Martinsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragtown, with the one closest to Ragtown listed first.
    • Geneva
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Milam
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Rosevine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
    • Hemphill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Bronson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Pineland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Mason
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Mason is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragtown, with the one closest to Ragtown listed first.
    • San Augustine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Maxey Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
    • Rebecca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
    • Denning
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
  • De Soto Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragtown, with the one closest to Ragtown listed first.
    • Stanley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Logansport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Oxford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Pelican
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • South Mansfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Mansfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Cane
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Longstreet
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Butler ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Butler is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Natchitoches Parish (LA)
  • Sabine Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ragtown, with the one closest to Ragtown listed first.
    • Noble
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Noble is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Noble <1>
    • Converse
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Zwolle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Zwolle is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwolle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,927 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zwolle <1>
    • Bayou Scie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Belmont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Negreet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Many
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Many is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Many
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,667 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Many <1>
    • Fisher
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fisher is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <1>
    • Florien
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Ragtown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ragtown.

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

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

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

  • East Hamilton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Latham Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Windham Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Corinth Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Munnerlyn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Strong Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Bell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Crockett Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sweet Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Polley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • McGuire Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Bennetts Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (238 more) ...
    • Hollow Springs Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Holly Springs Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Rather Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

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

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

  • East Hamilton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • East Hamilton is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
  • Patroon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Patroon is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patroon
  • Sexton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Sexton is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
  • Shelbyville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Geneva
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Lula
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lula is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
  • San Augustine
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Milam
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Mitchell
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mitchell is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
  • Short
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Short is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
  • Bayou Scie
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
  • Center
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Ironosa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Ironosa is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironosa
    • Logansport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Cook ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Cook is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook

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

Newspapers Published in Ragtown ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ragtown.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Ragtown:

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 Ragtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ragtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.