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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 Stephens Crossing (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 Stephens Crossing. 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 Stephens Crossing ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Stephens Crossing: Stephens Xing.
  • While the name of this community is Stephens Crossing, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Stephens Crossing may originally have been Stephen's Crossing.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Stephens Crossing might be written as Stephen Crossing.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Stephens Crossing. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Stephens Crossing.

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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Stephens Crossing is located in Parker 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 Parker County: Erath, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Tarrant & Wise.

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

  • Parker County     (The home county of Stephens Crossing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stephens Crossing, with the one closest to Stephens Crossing listed first.
    • Dennis
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Brock
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Brock is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock
    • Millsap
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Greenwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenwood is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Cool
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Cool is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Weatherford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lemley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Lemley is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemley
    • Annetta South
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Annetta South is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annetta South
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 579 people
    • Annetta
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Annetta is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annetta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,319 people
    • Authon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Authon is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Authon
    • Hudson Oaks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Adell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Adell is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adell
    • Annetta North
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Annetta North is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annetta North
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 583 people
  • Erath County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stephens Crossing, with the one closest to Stephens Crossing listed first.
    • Bluff Dale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Morgan Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hannibal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Hannibal is located in Erath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannibal
    • Thurber
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Stephenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stephens Crossing, with the one closest to Stephens Crossing listed first.
    • Lipan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Oak Trail Shores
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Trail Shores is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Trail Shores
    • Brazos Bend
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Brazos Bend is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Granbury
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Tolar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Cresson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Acton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • DeCordova
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • DeCordova is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeCordova
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,108 people
    • Hill City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Hill City is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Pecan Plantation
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Pecan Plantation is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Plantation
    • Paluxy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Fort Spunky
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Fort Spunky is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spunky
  • Jack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stephens Crossing, with the one closest to Stephens Crossing listed first.
    • Gibtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Gibtown is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibtown
    • Perrin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Johnson County
    • Godley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Palo Pinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stephens Crossing, with the one closest to Stephens Crossing listed first.
    • Brazos
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Brazos is located in Palo Pinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos
    • Santo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Mineral Wells
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wolters Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Wolters Village is located in Palo Pinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolters Village
    • Salesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Salesville is located in Palo Pinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salesville
    • Palo Pinto
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gordon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Graford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mingus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Somervell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stephens Crossing, with the one closest to Stephens Crossing listed first.
    • Rainbow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Glen Rose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Glass
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Glass is located in Somervell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass
    • Nemo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Tarrant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stephens Crossing, with the one closest to Stephens Crossing listed first.
    • Benbrook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Saint Francis Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Primrose
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Primrose is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primrose
    • White Settlement
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Lakeside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakeside is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,586 people

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

Cemeteries Near Stephens Crossing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stephens Crossing.

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 Stephens Crossing - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Stephens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Holder Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hiner Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Johnson Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Dennis.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4530 <3>
  • Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Buckner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Poe Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Brashears Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Brannon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Barnett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grassdale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (135 more) ...
    • Horsehoe Bend Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cox Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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 Stephens Crossing in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Stephens Crossing.

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

  • Buckner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Buckner is located in Parker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner
  • Brock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Brock is located in Parker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brock
  • Lipan
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Millsap
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Brazos
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Brazos is located in Palo Pinto County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos
  • Thorp Spring
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Thorp Spring is located in Hood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorp Spring
  • Weatherford
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lemley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Lemley is located in Parker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemley
  • Garner
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Garner is located in Parker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
  • Santo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Granbury
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Mineral Wells
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Earls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Earls is located in Parker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earls
    • Tolar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Chapin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Chapin is located in Hood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin

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

Newspapers Published in Stephens Crossing ...

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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stephens Crossing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stephens Crossing, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stephens Crossing.

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 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 Stephens Crossing:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Stephens Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Stephens Crossing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.