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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 Rockland (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 Rockland. 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.

Name Variations for Rockland ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: Rock Land.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 doctors and 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.

Rockland is located in Tyler 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 Tyler County: Angelina, Hardin, Jasper & Polk.

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

  • Tyler County     (The home county of Rockland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Colmesneil
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Doucette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Chester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Peach Tree Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
    • Woodville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,442 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodville <1>
    • Hillister
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Ivanhoe North
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe North came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe North
      • Ivanhoe North is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 538 people
    • Ivanhoe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Ivanhoe is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,438 people
    • Spurger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Warren
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Martin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Martin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Angelina County
    • Dolan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dolan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
      • Dolan is located in Angelina County
    • Nancy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancy
      • Nancy is located in Angelina County
    • Zavalla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Parker Point
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parker Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Point
      • Parker Point is located in Angelina County
    • Manning ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
      • Manning is located in Angelina County
    • Boynton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Boynton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
      • Boynton is located in Angelina County
    • Ora
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
      • Ora is located in Angelina County
    • Oak Flat
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flat
      • Oak Flat is located in Angelina County
    • Beulah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
      • Beulah is located in Angelina County
    • Bald Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Hill
      • Bald Hill is located in Angelina County
    • Huntington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Huntington is located in Angelina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,079 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntington <1>
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Harveytown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
    • Beech Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beech Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
      • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
    • Sam Rayburn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jasper
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Browndell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browndell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
  • Nacogdoches County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Barnum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
      • Barnum is located in Polk County
    • Barnes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
      • Barnes is located in Polk County
    • Camden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Polk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <1>
    • Lily Island
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Island
      • Lily Island is located in Polk County
    • Skinner Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skinner Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
      • Skinner Town is located in Polk County
    • Corrigan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Moscow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
      • Moscow is located in Polk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <1>
    • Dallardsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Seven Oaks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
      • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Brookeland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookeland
      • Brookeland is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookeland <1>
    • Pineland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
      • Zana is located in San Augustine County
    • Powell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
    • White City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
    • Broaddus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broaddus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broaddus
      • Broaddus is located in San Augustine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Broaddus <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Rockland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockland.

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

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

  • Weeks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Weeks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Weeks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Carter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Graham Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rockwall Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rockwall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rockwall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gregory Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gregory Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gregory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kitchens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Dunkin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dunk Havard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • William Havard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Grimes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grimes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (197 more) ...
    • Jordan Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jordan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jordan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cameron Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cameron Cemetery
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Cameron Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cameron Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<6> to the northeast of Zavalla.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2716 <5>
    • Hickory Grove Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hickory Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hickory Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rockland had a population of 405 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Colmesneil
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Chester
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Woodville is located in Tyler County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,442 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodville <1>
  • Barnum
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
    • Barnum is located in Polk County
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
    • Zana is located in San Augustine County
  • Ora
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
    • Ora is located in Angelina County
  • Town Bluff
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Bluff
    • Town Bluff is located in Tyler County
  • Beech Grove
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beech Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
    • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
  • Hortense
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hortense have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hortense
    • Hortense is located in Polk County
  • Hillister
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Jasper
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Brookeland
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookeland
    • Brookeland is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookeland <1>
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Homer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Homer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Homer is located in Angelina County
    • Spurger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Etoile
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Rockland ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockland, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockland.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Rockland:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rockland. 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>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>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<4>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.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rockland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.0152, Longitude: -94.3816       In this case, the coordinates for Rockland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>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 Rockland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025