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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 Shirley Creek (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 Shirley Creek. 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.

Name Variations for Shirley Creek ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Shirley Creek: Shirley Crk. (or less commonly used: Shirley Ck. or Shirley Cr.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Shirley Creek is located in Nacogdoches 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 Nacogdoches County: Angelina, Cherokee, Rusk, San Augustine & Shelby.

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

  • Nacogdoches County     (The home county of Shirley Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Creek, with the one closest to Shirley Creek listed first.
    • Etoile
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Chireno
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Woden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Attoyac
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Swift
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swift have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Martinsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Nacogdoches
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Alazan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
      • Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Appleby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
      • Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Redfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
      • Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Creek, with the one closest to Shirley Creek listed first.
    • Ora
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
      • Ora is located in Angelina County
    • Oak Flat
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flat
      • Oak Flat is located in Angelina County
    • Thomas Crossing
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Crossing
      • Thomas Crossing is located in Angelina County
    • Shawnee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee
      • Shawnee is located in Angelina County
    • Zavalla
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Alco
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
      • Alco is located in Angelina County
    • Huntington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Huntington is located in Angelina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,079 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntington <1>
    • Dunagan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunagan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunagan
      • Dunagan is located in Angelina County
    • Rocky Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
      • Rocky Springs is located in Angelina County
    • Shawnee Prairie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawnee Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawnee Prairie
      • Shawnee Prairie is located in Angelina County
    • Platt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platt
      • Platt is located in Angelina County
    • Nancy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nancy
      • Nancy is located in Angelina County
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Creek, with the one closest to Shirley Creek listed first.
    • Harveytown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
    • Sam Rayburn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Browndell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browndell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Creek, with the one closest to Shirley Creek listed first.
    • Bronson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bronson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Pineland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Rosevine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County
    • Brookeland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Geneva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Creek, with the one closest to Shirley Creek listed first.
    • Broaddus
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Broaddus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • White City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
    • Denning
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
    • Maxey Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
    • Rebecca
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
    • San Augustine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Powell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
  • Shelby County
    • Choice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
      • Choice is located in Shelby County
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Creek, with the one closest to Shirley Creek listed first.
    • Colmesneil
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Peach Tree Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
    • Chester
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Shirley Creek ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shirley Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shirley Creek, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shirley Creek.

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 Shirley Creek:

Cemeteries Near Shirley Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shirley Creek.

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 Shirley Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Wooten Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wooten Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wooten Cemetery
  • Smyrna Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smyrna Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smyrna Cemetery
  • Lowery Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lowery Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lowery Cemetery
  • Harvey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harvey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harvey Cemetery
  • Blue Spring Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blue Spring Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blue Spring Cemetery
  • Patterson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Patterson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Patterson Cemetery
  • Cochran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cochran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cochran Cemetery
  • Shofner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shofner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shofner Cemetery
  • Brown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
  • Lee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
  • Williams Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
  • Sowell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sowell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sowell Cemetery
  • Continue List   (248 more) ...
    • Harnington Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harnington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harnington Cemetery
    • Fox Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fox Cemetery
    • Miley Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miley Cemetery

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.<5>

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

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

  • Ora
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
    • Ora is located in Angelina County
  • Etoile
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Chireno
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Macune
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macune have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune
    • Macune is located in San Augustine County
  • Woden
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Homer
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Homer is located in Angelina County
  • Denning
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Denning is located in San Augustine County
  • Melrose
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melrose have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Melrose is located in Nacogdoches County
  • Rockland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Tyler County
  • Lufkin
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufkin
    • Lufkin is located in Angelina County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,955 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lufkin <1>
  • Swift
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swift have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • San Augustine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Keltys
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keltys have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keltys
      • Keltys is located in Angelina County
    • Ironosa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ironosa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironosa
      • Ironosa 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 Shirley Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Shirley Creek.

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

The official website for Nacogdoches County: www.co.nacogdoches.tx.us/

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

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 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.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shirley Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shirley Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.3149, Longitude: -94.3838       In this case, the coordinates for Shirley Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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 Shirley Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024