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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 Sapoak (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 Sapoak. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Sapoak is located in Erath 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 Erath County: Bosque, Comanche, Eastland, Hamilton, Hood, Palo Pinto & Somervell.

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

  • Erath County     (The home county of Sapoak)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sapoak, with the one closest to Sapoak listed first.
    • Morgan Mill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hannibal
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hannibal is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannibal
    • Thurber
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bluff Dale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Stephenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lingleville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bunyan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bunyan is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
    • Harbin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Harbin is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbin
    • Dublin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Alexander
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Alexander is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
    • Chalk Mountain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Chalk Mountain is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Mountain
    • Duffau
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Duffau is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffau
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sapoak, with the one closest to Sapoak listed first.
    • Comyn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Comyn is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comyn
    • Rucker
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Rucker is located in Comanche County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
    • De Leon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Eastland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sapoak, with the one closest to Sapoak listed first.
    • Desdemona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ranger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Gorman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kokomo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kokomo is located in Eastland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
    • Olden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Hood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sapoak, with the one closest to Sapoak listed first.
    • Lipan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Tolar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Paluxy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Trail Shores
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Oak Trail Shores is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Trail Shores
    • Hill City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hill City is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Granbury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Brazos Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Brazos Bend is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
  • Palo Pinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sapoak, with the one closest to Sapoak listed first.
    • Gordon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Santo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Mingus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brazos
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Brazos is located in Palo Pinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos
    • Strawn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Palo Pinto
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Mineral Wells
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Wolters Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Wolters Village is located in Palo Pinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolters Village
  • Parker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sapoak, with the one closest to Sapoak listed first.
    • Dennis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Brock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Brock is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock
    • Millsap
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Cool
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cool is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Greenwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenwood is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
  • Somervell County
    • Glass
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Glass is located in Somervell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass
  • Stephens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sapoak, with the one closest to Sapoak listed first.
    • La Casa ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • La Casa is located in Stephens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Casa
    • Caddo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Sapoak ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sapoak.

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

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

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

  • Liberty Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Russel Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Blue Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Blue Flat Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • X-Ray Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Sims Valley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Brierton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Morton Chapel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hightower Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Doty Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Hannibal Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (133 more) ...
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Bishop Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Old Gordon Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Hannibal
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Hannibal is located in Erath County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannibal
  • Huckabay
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Huckabay is located in Erath County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huckabay
  • Gordon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Santo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Thurber
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Lipan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Bluff Dale
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Lingleville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Stephenville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Brazos
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Brazos is located in Palo Pinto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos
  • Strawn
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Tolar
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bunyan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bunyan is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
    • Desdemona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Palo Pinto
      (21 miles [33.8 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 Sapoak. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sapoak.

Newspapers Published in Sapoak ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sapoak.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sapoak, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sapoak.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Sapoak:

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 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.
<3>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 Sapoak, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Sapoak) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.