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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 Tatum (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 Tatum. 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 southeast 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 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.

Tatum is primarily located in Rusk County. A portion of Tatum extends into Panola 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 Rusk County: Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Panola, Shelby & Smith.

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

  • Rusk County     (The home county of Tatum)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Monroe
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Monroe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Rusk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Monroe
      • From Tatum to Monroe
    • Pinehill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Henderson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pirtle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Brachfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jacobs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Laird Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laird Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird Hill
      • Laird Hill is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laird Hill <2>
    • Minden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minden
      • Minden is located in Rusk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minden <2>
    • Friars
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Sexton City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sexton City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton City
      • Sexton City is located in Rusk County
    • Joinerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • New London
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New London have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
      • New London is located in Rusk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New London <2>
    • Turnertown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Gregg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Easton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Easton is located in Gregg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 525 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Easton <2>
    • Lakeport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
      • Lakeport is located in Gregg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 997 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakeport <2>
    • Elderville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elderville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elderville
      • Elderville is located in Gregg County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elderville
      • From Tatum to Elderville
    • Fredonia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Longview
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Danville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Rolling Meadows
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
      • Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
    • Greggton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Kilgore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Teneryville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Judson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Judson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
      • Judson is located in Gregg County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Judson <2>
    • White Oak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Gregg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Oak <2>
    • Seven Pines
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Pines
      • Seven Pines is located in Gregg County
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Hallsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lansing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lansing. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
      • Lansing is located in Harrison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lansing
      • From Tatum to Lansing
    • Noonday
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Noonday have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonday
      • Noonday is located in Harrison County
    • Marshall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Elysian Fields
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Nesbitt
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nesbitt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
      • Nesbitt is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
    • Scottsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsville
      • Scottsville is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsville <2>
    • Harleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harleton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harleton
      • Harleton is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harleton <2>
    • Morton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton
      • Morton is located in Harrison County
    • Woodlawn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodlawn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
      • Woodlawn is located in Harrison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Woodlawn
      • From Tatum to Woodlawn
    • Jonesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
      • Jonesville is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonesville <2>
    • Pope City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pope City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope City
      • Pope City is located in Harrison County
    • Waskom
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waskom have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waskom
      • Waskom is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,150 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waskom <2>
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Macedonia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macedonia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
      • Macedonia is located in Marion County
    • Jackson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Jackson is located in Marion County
  • Panola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
      • Center Point is located in Panola County
    • Beckville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Delray
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
      • Delray is located in Panola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delray
      • From Tatum to Delray
    • Clayton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Carthage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Branch
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Buncome
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Murvaul
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Murvaul. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
      • Murvaul is located in Panola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Murvaul
      • From Tatum to Murvaul
    • De Berry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Midyett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midyett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
      • Midyett is located in Panola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Midyett
      • From Tatum to Midyett
    • Dotson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Gary City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Panola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panola have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Panola is located in Panola County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panola <2>
  • Shelby County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Timpson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timpson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timpson
      • Timpson is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,130 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Timpson <2>
    • Tenaha
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Wright City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wright City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright City
      • Wright City is located in Smith County
    • Jamestown ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jamestown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Jamestown is located in Smith County
      • Jamestown has also been known as:
      • Jimtown
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jamestown
      • From Tatum to Jamestown
  • Upshur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Tatum, with the one closest to Tatum listed first.
    • Glenwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • James
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
      • Union Grove is located in Upshur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
    • Diana
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Caddo Parish (LA)

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

Cemeteries Near Tatum ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tatum.

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Tatum had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Tatum had a population of 1,417 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Tatum ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tatum.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Tatum. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Tatum and those printed in the larger area surrounding Tatum.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Tatum.

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 helpful 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 Tatum:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 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.
<4>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.
<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 Tatum, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Tatum) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tatum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.3156, Longitude: -94.5170    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025