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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 Sims (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 Sims. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Sims is located in Brazos 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 Brazos County: Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson & Washington.

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

  • Brazos County     (The home county of Sims)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Stone City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Stone City is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
    • Rye ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rye is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
    • Bryan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Bryan is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
    • Boonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Boonville is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonville
    • College Station
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Tabor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Tabor is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • Wixon Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Wixon Valley is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wixon Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Wellborn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Kurten
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Edge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
    • Millican
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Allen Farm
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Allen Farm is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen Farm
  • Burleson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Cooks Point
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cooks Point is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Point
    • Tunis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Tunis is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
    • Caldwell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Snook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Chriesman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Merle ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Merle is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merle
    • Frenstat
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Frenstat is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenstat
    • Lyons
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • San Antonio Prairie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • San Antonio Prairie is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio Prairie
    • Deanville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Birch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Birch is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch
    • Scofield ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Scofield is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scofield
    • Clay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Grimes County
    • Iola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Dime Box
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Dime Box
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Dime Box is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Dime Box
    • Hicks
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Hicks is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Tanglewood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tanglewood is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
  • Madison County
    • Zulch ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Zulch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulch
  • Milam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Gause
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Port Sullivan ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Port Sullivan is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sullivan
    • Milano
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Branchville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Branchville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
    • Maysfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Crossroads is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
    • Marlow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Marlow is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Jones Prairie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jones Prairie is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Prairie
    • Minerva
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Minerva is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
    • Rockdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Cameron
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Silver City is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Mumford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Benchley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Benchley is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
    • Hearne
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Wheelock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Elliot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
    • Calvert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Franklin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • New Baden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Owensville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Quarry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Quarry is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry
    • Independence
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gay Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Gay Hill is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay Hill
    • Rehburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Rehburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehburg

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

Cemeteries Near Sims ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sims.

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

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

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

  • Draper Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Canaan Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Teals Prairie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Mumford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Goodwill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Carr Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Zion Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Evangelical UCC Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Salem Baptist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Baptist Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Salem Baptist Cemetery is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<3> to the northeast of Caldwell.
    • The Salem Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Post Oak Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2515702 <2>
  • Cooks Point Brethren Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Goodson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hix Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (258 more) ...
    • Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cook's Point Methodist Church Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kramer Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<4>

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

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

  • Mumford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Cooks Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cooks Point is located in Burleson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Point
  • Benchley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Benchley is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benchley
  • Tunis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Tunis is located in Burleson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunis
  • Bryan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Bryan is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <1>
  • Sutton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Sutton is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
  • Caldwell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Chriesman
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • College Station
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Tabor
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Tabor is located in Brazos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
  • Gause
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Davidson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Davidson is located in Burleson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Hearne
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>
    • Merle ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Merle is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merle
    • Harvey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Harvey is located in Brazos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey

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

Newspapers Published in Sims ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sims.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sims, 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 Sims.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Sims:

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 '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- Sims) 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 Sims, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.