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The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Rising Star (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 Rising Star. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Rising Star is located in Eastland 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 Eastland County: Brown, Callahan, Comanche, Erath, Palo Pinto, Shackelford & Stephens.

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

  • Eastland County     (The home county of Rising Star)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rising Star, with the one closest to Rising Star listed first.
    • Okra
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Okra. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okra
      • Okra is located in Eastland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Okra
      • From Rising Star to Okra
    • Nimrod ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Carbon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
      • Carbon is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbon <3>
    • Mangum ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mangum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangum
      • Mangum is located in Eastland County
    • Gorman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
      • Gorman is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorman <3>
    • Cisco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <3>
    • Kokomo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Eastland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Olden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Desdemona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ranger
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rising Star, with the one closest to Rising Star listed first.
    • May
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
      • May is located in Brown County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for May <3>
    • Cross Cut
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Brownwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Brownwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Brownwood
      • Lake Brownwood is located in Brown County
    • Blanket
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fry ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fry
      • Fry is located in Brown County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fry
      • From Rising Star to Fry
    • Early
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Brownwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
      • Brownwood is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brownwood <3>
    • Ricker ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ricker have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricker
      • Ricker is located in Brown County
    • Bangs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bangs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangs
      • Bangs is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangs <3>
    • Zephyr
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Callahan County
  • Coleman County
  • Comanche County

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

Cemeteries Near Rising Star ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rising Star.

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 Rising Star covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rising Star had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Rising Star had a population of 831 people.

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

  • Pioneer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
    • Pioneer is located in Eastland County
  • May
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
    • May is located in Brown County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for May <3>
  • Cross Cut
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Sipe Springs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Romney
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Romney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
    • Romney is located in Eastland County
  • Cross Plains
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Nimrod ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Carbon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
    • Carbon is located in Eastland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbon <3>
  • Burkett
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Sidney
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Sidney is located in Comanche County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sidney <3>
  • Duster
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Duster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duster
    • Duster is located in Comanche County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Duster
    • From Rising Star to Duster
  • Scranton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scranton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scranton
    • Scranton is located in Eastland County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Cottonwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Gorman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
      • Gorman is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorman <3>
    • Cisco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <3>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rising Star ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rising Star.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rising Star. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rising Star and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rising Star.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Rising Star.

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 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 Rising Star:

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

The official website for Eastland County: www.eastlandcountytexas.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rising Star) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rising Star. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0958, Longitude: -98.9639    
<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 Rising Star, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025