RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Brown County >> Ricker >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Ricker. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Ricker to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Ricker, please Contact Us.

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 Ricker (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 Ricker. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Ricker is historic, it would have been located within present day Brown 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 Brown County: Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, McCulloch, Mills & San Saba.

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

  • Brown County     (The home county of Ricker)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ricker, with the one closest to Ricker listed first.
    • Early
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Brownwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Zephyr
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lake Brownwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Brownwood is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Brownwood
    • Blanket
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Indian Creek is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
    • Bangs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Brookesmith
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Keys Crossing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Keys Crossing is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keys Crossing
    • Fry ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Fry is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fry
    • May
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cross Cut
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cross Cut is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Cut
  • Coleman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ricker, with the one closest to Ricker listed first.
    • Trickham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Trickham is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickham
      • Former name for Trickham:
      • Trick'em
    • Santa Anna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Whon ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Whon is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whon
    • Burkett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Coleman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ricker, with the one closest to Ricker listed first.
    • Sidney
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Comanche
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Newburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Newburg is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
    • Sipe Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Sipe Springs is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipe Springs
  • Eastland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ricker, with the one closest to Ricker listed first.
    • Rising Star
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Okra
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Okra is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okra
  • McCulloch County
    • Milburn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
  • Mills County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ricker, with the one closest to Ricker listed first.
    • Ebony ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Ebony is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebony
    • Buffalo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Buffalo is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Ridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ridge is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • Mullin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Regency ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Regency is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
    • Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
    • Bozar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bozar is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bozar
    • Priddy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Goldthwaite
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • San Saba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ricker, with the one closest to Ricker listed first.
    • Locker ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Locker is located in San Saba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
    • Holt ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Holt is located in San Saba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Richland Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Ricker ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ricker.

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

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

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

  • Beairds Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Connell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Eastlawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Jenkins Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Jones Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Greenleaf Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Staley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Cedar Point Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Jordan Springs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Elkins Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Zephyr Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (86 more) ...
    • Moro Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Creek Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Routh Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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.

Ricker itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Brownwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Zephyr
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Blanket
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Indian Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Indian Creek is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
  • Bangs
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Thrifty
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Thrifty is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thrifty
  • Mullin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Trickham
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Trickham is located in Coleman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickham
    • Former name for Trickham:
    • Trick'em
  • Regency ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Regency is located in Mills County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
  • May
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Sidney
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Milburn
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
    • Comanche
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Santa Anna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Ricker ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ricker.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ricker, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ricker.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ricker:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Ricker, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Ricker) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.