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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 Selma (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 Selma. 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 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.

Selma is located in Montague 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 Montague County: Jefferson (OK), Love (OK), Clay, Cooke, Jack & Wise.

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

  • Montague County     (The home county of Selma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Selma, with the one closest to Selma listed first.
    • Fruitland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Fruitland is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
    • Bowie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bowie is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowie <1>
    • Sunset
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Salona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Salona is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
    • Montague
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • New Harp
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • New Harp is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Harp
    • Dye
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Dye is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
    • Forestburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Hardy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hardy is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
    • Belcherville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Belcherville is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcherville
    • Nocona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ringgold
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Selma, with the one closest to Selma listed first.
    • Newport
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Newport is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Bellevue
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Joy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Joy is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
    • Shannon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Shannon is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon
    • Bluegrove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Henrietta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Cooke County
  • Jack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Selma, with the one closest to Selma listed first.
    • Postoak
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Postoak is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
    • Wizard Wells
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Wizard Wells is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wizard Wells
    • Jacksboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Antelope
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Antelope is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
    • Westbrook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Westbrook is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
  • Wise County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Selma, with the one closest to Selma listed first.
    • Park Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Park Springs is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Springs
    • Chico
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Alvord
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Bridgeport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Lake Bridgeport is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bridgeport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 405 people
    • Bridgeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Runaway Bay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Greenwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Decatur
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Paradise
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Boonsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Boonsville is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsville
    • Slidell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Herman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Herman is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herman
  • Jefferson County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Selma, with the one closest to Selma listed first.
    • Fleetwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Fleetwood is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleetwood
    • Terral
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Terral is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terral
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Terral <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Selma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Selma.

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

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

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

  • Selma Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Tartar Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Brier Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Prairie Branch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Brushy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Newport Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Crafton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Sunset Beasley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Thomas - Norwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lindale Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (109 more) ...
    • McDonald Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Cumber Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Queens Park Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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 Selma in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Selma.

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

  • Bowie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowie is located in Montague County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,140 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowie <1>
  • Newport
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Newport is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
  • Sunset
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Crafton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Crafton is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crafton
  • Salona
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Salona is located in Montague County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
  • Bellevue
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Chico
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Alvord
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Postoak
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Postoak is located in Jack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
  • Montague
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Dye
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Dye is located in Montague County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
  • Forestburg
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bridgeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hardy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hardy is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
    • Belcherville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Belcherville is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcherville

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

Newspapers Published in Selma ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Selma.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Selma, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Selma.

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 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 Selma:

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>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- Selma) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Selma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.