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 Shepherd (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 Shepherd. 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 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.
Shepherd is located in San Jacinto 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 San Jacinto County: Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, Trinity & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Shepherd. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shepherd:
- San Jacinto County (The home county of Shepherd)
- The following are listed by their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Coldspring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Magnolia is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Laurel Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Hill is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Evergreen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Point Blank
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakhurst
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Votaw
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Thicket
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bragg ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bragg is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg
- Batson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Africa ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Africa is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
- Rayburn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rayburn is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayburn
- Romayor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Cleveland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Cleveland is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Cleveland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Big Thicket Creekmore Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Nimrod ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nimrod is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
- Rye
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fuqua ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fuqua is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuqua
- Coushatta Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Coushatta Village is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coushatta Village
- Plum Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Plum Grove is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 756 people
- Mariam
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mariam is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariam
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Splendora
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Patton Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Patton Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,207 people
- Cut and Shoot
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Roman Forest
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Roman Forest is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roman Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,035 people
- Woodbranch
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Woodbranch is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbranch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Grangerland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Caney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Willis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Porter Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Porter Heights is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Heights
- Danville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Danville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Conroe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Panorama Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Panorama Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,446 people
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Goodrich
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Swartout ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Swartout is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartout
- Ace
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lamont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lamont is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Schwab City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Schwab City is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schwab City
- West Livingston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- West Livingston is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Livingston
- Livingston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Indian Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Springs is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs
- New Willard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- New Willard is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
- Onalaska
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bold Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bold Springs is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Springs
- Dallardsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity County
- Carlisle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Carlisle is located in Trinity County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Elmina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Elmina is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmina
- New Waverly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dodge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Barado
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Barado is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barado
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Shepherd, see our County-by-County Page for Shepherd.
Cemeteries Near Shepherd ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shepherd.
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 Shepherd - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Shepherd covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Coley Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Big Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Farley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Lovett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ellis Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Milby Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Station Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Roark Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Squier Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cochran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (98 more) ...
- Purkerson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cleveland Memorial Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Butler Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Shepherd had a population of 210 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Shepherd had a population of 2,424 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Shepherd, with the one closest to Shepherd listed first.
- Keno
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Keno is located in Liberty County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keno
- Goodrich
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Coldspring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cleveland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Livingston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Maynard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Maynard is located in San Jacinto County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
- Point Blank
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dallardsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Leggett
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- New Caney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Oaks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Colita
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Colita is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colita
- New Waverly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Willis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Shepherd. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shepherd.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Shepherd ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shepherd.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Shepherd. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Shepherd and those printed in the larger area surrounding Shepherd.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Shepherd.
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 Shepherd:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to San Jacinto County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hardin County
- Liberty County
- Montgomery County
- Polk County
- Trinity County
- Walker County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 Shepherd, 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- Shepherd) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |