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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 Ridings (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 Ridings. 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 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 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.

Ridings is located in Fannin County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Fannin County: Bryan (OK), Collin, Delta, Grayson, Hunt & Lamar.

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

  • Fannin County     (The home county of Ridings)
  • Collin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridings, with the one closest to Ridings listed first.
    • Sedalia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sedalia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
      • Sedalia is located in Collin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sedalia
      • From Ridings to Sedalia
    • Westminster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westminster have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
      • Westminster is located in Collin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westminster <1>
    • Frognot
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Van Alstyne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Delta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridings, with the one closest to Ridings listed first.
    • Pecan Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ben Franklin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ben Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Franklin
      • Ben Franklin is located in Delta County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ben Franklin <1>
    • Jot-Em-Down
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jot-Em-Down. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jot-Em-Down
      • Jot-Em-Down is located in Delta County
      • Jot-Em-Down has also been known as:
      • Mohegan
      • Muddig Prairie
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jot-Em-Down
      • From Ridings to Jot-Em-Down
  • Grayson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridings, with the one closest to Ridings listed first.
    • Bells
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Whiterock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Ida
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Kentucky Town
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Denison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Tom Bean
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Red River City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red River City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River City
      • Red River City is located in Grayson County
    • Luella
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pilot Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Twin City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin City
      • Twin City is located in Grayson County
    • Frontier Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frontier Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier Village
      • Frontier Village is located in Grayson County
    • Knollwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knollwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knollwood
      • Knollwood is located in Grayson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
    • Sherman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Hunt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridings, with the one closest to Ridings listed first.
    • Wolfe City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Aberfoyle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Celeste
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Celeste have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celeste
      • Celeste is located in Hunt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 931 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Celeste <1>
    • White Rock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Fairlie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairlie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlie
      • Fairlie is located in Hunt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fairlie
      • From Ridings to Fairlie
    • Jardin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jardin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jardin
      • Jardin is located in Hunt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jardin
      • From Ridings to Jardin
    • Kingston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Yowell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yowell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yowell
      • Yowell is located in Hunt County
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridings, with the one closest to Ridings listed first.
    • Direct
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Petty
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petty have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petty
      • Petty is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petty <1>
    • High
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for High. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High
      • High is located in Lamar County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to High
      • From Ridings to High
    • Brookston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
      • Brookston is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookston <1>
    • Roxton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Sumner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Garretts Bluff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Toco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toco
      • Toco is located in Lamar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
  • Bryan County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ridings, with the one closest to Ridings listed first.
    • Yuba
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yuba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
      • Yuba is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yuba
      • From Ridings to Yuba
    • Yarnaby
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Kemp
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Albany
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hendrix
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hendrix have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
      • Hendrix is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hendrix <1>
    • Wade
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Achille
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Calera
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calera have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calera
      • Calera is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,414 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calera <1>
    • Colbert
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bennington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
      • Bennington is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bennington <1>
    • Bokchito
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bokchito have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bokchito
      • Bokchito is located in Bryan County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 704 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bokchito <1>
    • Durant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Cartwright
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Choctaw County (OK)
  • Marshall County (OK)
    • McBride
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McBride have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBride
      • McBride is located in Marshall County (OK)

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

Cemeteries Near Ridings ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridings.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Upper Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Upper Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Upper Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sandy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sandy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sandy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odd Fellows Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bettis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bettis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bettis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brown Shed Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Shed Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Shed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Owens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Owens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Owens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • King Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the King Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the King Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eminence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eminence Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eminence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • White Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stancel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stancel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stancel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (266 more) ...
    • Center Grove Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Johnson Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

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

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

  • Ivanhoe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Ravenna
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mulberry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lamasco
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lamasco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamasco
    • Lamasco is located in Fannin County
  • Duplex
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duplex have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duplex
    • Duplex is located in Fannin County
  • Bonham
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Ector
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Lannius
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lannius have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lannius
    • Lannius is located in Fannin County
  • Elwood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
    • Elwood is located in Fannin County
  • Telephone
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Savoy
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bells
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Windom
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windom have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
      • Windom is located in Fannin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windom <1>
    • Randolph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Selfs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selfs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfs
      • Selfs is located in Fannin County

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

Newspapers Published in Ridings ...

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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridings.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridings, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridings.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Ridings:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ridings. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ridings) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ridings. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6994, Longitude: -96.1846    
<5>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.
<6>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 Ridings, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025