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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 Sam Rayburn (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 Sam Rayburn. 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 and doctors 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.

Sam Rayburn is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Angelina, Hardin, Newton, Orange, Sabine, San Augustine & Tyler.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Sam Rayburn)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sam Rayburn, with the one closest to Sam Rayburn listed first.
    • Browndell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browndell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Harveytown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jasper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Beech Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Kirbyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyville
      • Kirbyville is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kirbyville <2>
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sam Rayburn, with the one closest to Sam Rayburn listed first.
    • Parker Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parker Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Point
      • Parker Point is located in Angelina County
    • Martin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Angelina County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Martin
      • From Sam Rayburn to Martin
    • Dolan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dolan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
      • Dolan is located in Angelina County
    • Nancy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Zavalla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Boynton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
      • Boynton is located in Angelina County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Boynton
      • From Sam Rayburn to Boynton
    • Ora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
      • Ora is located in Angelina County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ora
      • From Sam Rayburn to Ora
    • Manning ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
      • Manning is located in Angelina County
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sam Rayburn, with the one closest to Sam Rayburn listed first.
    • Wiergate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiergate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiergate
      • Wiergate is located in Newton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiergate <2>
    • Shanklerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Burkeville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Newton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Newton is located in Newton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <2>
    • South Toledo Bend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Toledo Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County
    • Toledo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Toledo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
      • Toledo is located in Newton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Toledo
      • From Sam Rayburn to Toledo
    • Bleakwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bleakwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleakwood
      • Bleakwood is located in Newton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bleakwood
      • From Sam Rayburn to Bleakwood
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sam Rayburn, with the one closest to Sam Rayburn listed first.
    • Brookeland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Pineland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bronson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bronson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronson
      • Bronson is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bronson <2>
    • Fairmount
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mason
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hemphill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hemphill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
      • Hemphill is located in Sabine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hemphill <2>
    • Rosevine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Milam
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milam
      • Milam is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milam <2>
    • Geneva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sam Rayburn, with the one closest to Sam Rayburn listed first.
    • Powell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • White City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
      • Zana is located in San Augustine County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zana
      • From Sam Rayburn to Zana
    • Broaddus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broaddus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Rebecca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Maxey Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
  • Tyler County
  • Sabine Parish (LA)
    • Rock ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
      • Rock is located in Sabine Parish (LA)

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

Cemeteries Near Sam Rayburn ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sam Rayburn.

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

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

  • Letney Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Letney Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Letney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McGee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McGee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McGee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Watts - Fuller Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watts - Fuller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watts - Fuller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hancock Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hancock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hancock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brookeland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brookeland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brookeland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Townsend Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Townsend Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Townsend Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hall Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Frisby Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frisby Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frisby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Remlig Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Remlig Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Remlig Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lowe Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lowe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lowe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (223 more) ...
    • Johnson Family Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Family Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lakey Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakey Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Yates Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yates Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yates Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<4>

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

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

  • Brookeland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Jasper
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Farrsville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farrsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrsville
    • Farrsville is located in Newton County
  • Beech Grove
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
    • Zana is located in San Augustine County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Zana
    • From Sam Rayburn to Zana
  • Erin
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
    • Erin is located in Jasper County
  • Town Bluff
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Bluff
    • Town Bluff is located in Tyler County
  • Fairmount
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Tyler County
  • Magnolia Springs
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Springs
    • Magnolia Springs is located in Jasper County
  • Newton
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
    • Newton is located in Newton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <2>
  • Burkeville
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Hemphill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hemphill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
      • Hemphill is located in Sabine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hemphill <2>
    • Colmesneil
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Macune
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macune have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune
      • Macune is located in San Augustine County

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

Newspapers Published in Sam Rayburn ...

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 Sam Rayburn.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sam Rayburn, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sam Rayburn.

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 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 Sam Rayburn:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Sam Rayburn, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Sam Rayburn) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sam Rayburn. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.0636, Longitude: -94.0352    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025