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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 Shelbyville (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 Shelbyville. 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/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Shelbyville is located in Shelby 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 Shelby County: De Soto (LA), Sabine (LA), Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine & San Augustine.

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

  • Shelby County     (The home county of Shelbyville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shelbyville, with the one closest to Shelbyville listed first.
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Africa is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Campti
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Campti is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Choice
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Choice is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
    • Short
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Short is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
    • Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Huxley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Huxley is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
    • Haslam
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Joaquin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Tenaha
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Arcadia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Arcadia is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Timpson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shelbyville, with the one closest to Shelbyville listed first.
    • Attoyac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
    • Martinsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chireno
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Garrison
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Swift
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Whispering Pines
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
    • Fitze
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
  • Panola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shelbyville, with the one closest to Shelbyville listed first.
    • Woods
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Woods is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
    • Gary City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Murvaul
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Murvaul is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
    • Buncome
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Buncome is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buncome
  • Rusk County
    • Caledonia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Caledonia is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shelbyville, with the one closest to Shelbyville listed first.
    • Geneva
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosevine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
    • Milam
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bronson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shelbyville, with the one closest to Shelbyville listed first.
    • San Augustine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Denning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Maxey Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
    • Rebecca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
  • De Soto Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shelbyville, with the one closest to Shelbyville listed first.
    • Logansport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Stanley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Longstreet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Grand Cane
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • South Mansfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Oxford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Keachi
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Mansfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pelican
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Sabine Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shelbyville, with the one closest to Shelbyville listed first.
    • Converse
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Noble
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Noble is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Noble <1>
    • Zwolle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Zwolle is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zwolle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,927 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zwolle <1>
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Bayou Scie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie

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

Cemeteries Near Shelbyville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shelbyville.

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

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

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

  • Biggers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Cannon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Center Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Creech Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • McWilliams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Sinclair Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Daugherty Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sample Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Price Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Buckner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Adams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hollow Springs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (218 more) ...
    • Holly Springs Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Prairie View Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Neuvine Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Shelbyville had a population of 272 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Short
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Short is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
  • Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Patroon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Patroon is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patroon
  • Ironosa
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Ironosa is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironosa
  • Joaquin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Huber
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Huber is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
  • Logansport
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Tenaha
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • San Augustine
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Sexton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sexton is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
  • East Hamilton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • East Hamilton is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
  • Denning
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Denning is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Lula
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Lula is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
    • Woods
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Woods is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
    • Cook ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cook is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Shelbyville ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shelbyville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Shelbyville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Shelbyville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Shelbyville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> of Shelbyville.

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 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 Shelbyville:

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 Shelbyville, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shelbyville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.