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 Silver Lake (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 Silver Lake. 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 Silver Lake ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Silver Lake: Silver Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Silver Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Silver Lake.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Silver Lake is located in Van Zandt 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 Van Zandt County: Henderson, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Smith & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Silver Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Silver Lake:
- Van Zandt County (The home county of Silver Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Grand Saline
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Van
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Van is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,778 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van <1>
- Fruitvale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ben Wheeler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Edgewood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Canton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Myrtle Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Myrtle Springs is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Springs
- Edom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Tundra
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
- Wills Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Franklin County
- Winnsboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Brownsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chandler
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Murchison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Leagueville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Leagueville is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leagueville
- Hopkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Black Oak
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Black Oak is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Oak
- Bonanza
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Tazewell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Tazewell is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tazewell
- Como
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Divide
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Divide is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide
- Pickton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Miller Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rockdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rockdale is located in Hopkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Hunt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- West Tawakoni
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Tawakoni is located in Hunt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,994 people
- Lone Oak
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rains County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Emory
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Flats
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Flats is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flats
- Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- East Tawakoni
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Tawakoni is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tawakoni
- Population from the 2020 Census: 991 people
- Hooker Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker Ridge is located in Rains County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker Ridge
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Jamestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Garden Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Carroll
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Hideaway
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hideaway is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hideaway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,208 people
- Lindale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Swan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Swan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Red Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Red Springs is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Tyler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Winona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Rhonesboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rhonesboro is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhonesboro
- Big Sandy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Grice
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Grice is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grice
- Rosewood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rosewood is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Golden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mineola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Alba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Quitman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hainesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hainesville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hainesville
- Gunter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Gunter is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunter
- Forest Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Hill is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
- Pine Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Pine Mills is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Mills
- Yantis
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cartwright
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cartwright is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Coke
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coke is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coke
- Stout
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stout is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
- Hawkins
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Silver Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Silver Lake.
Cemeteries Near Silver Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Silver Lake.
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 Silver Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Silver Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Erwin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Padgett Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Providence Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Green & Ford Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jamestown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Woodside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pace Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bowman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Cemetery
- The Bowman Cemetery has also been known as:
- Village Creek Cemetery
- Cedars Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Roselawn Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rodgers Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (196 more) ...
- Flewellen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Flewellen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bunkley Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Silver Lake had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Silver Lake, with the one closest to Silver Lake listed first.
- Golden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jamestown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jamestown is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Mineola
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Grand Saline
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pruitt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pruitt is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruitt
- Alba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Garden Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Garden Valley is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Quitman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Colfax
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Colfax is located in Van Zandt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Carroll
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Carroll is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Ben Wheeler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Sylvan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Sylvan is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sylvan
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Edgewood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Canton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Emory
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Silver Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Silver Lake.
Newspapers Published in Silver Lake ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Silver Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Silver Lake, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Silver Lake.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Silver Lake:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Van Zandt County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Henderson County
- Hopkins County
- Hunt County
- Rains County
- Smith County
- Upshur County
- Wood 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Silver Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Silver Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |