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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 Thomas 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 Thomas 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 Thomas 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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Thomas Crossing: Thomas Xing.

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Thomas Crossing is located in Angelina 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 Angelina County: Cherokee, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Polk, San Augustine, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Angelina County     (The home county of Thomas Crossing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Crossing, with the one closest to Thomas Crossing listed first.
    • Ewing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Ewing is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewing
    • Alco
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Alco is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Dunagan
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dunagan is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunagan
    • Platt
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Platt is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platt
    • Rocky Springs
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rocky Springs is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
    • Oak Flat
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Oak Flat is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flat
    • Huntington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Moffitt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Moffitt is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt
    • River Crest Estates
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • River Crest Estates is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Crest Estates
    • Ora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Ora is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
    • Homer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Homer is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Herty
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Herty is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herty
    • Davisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Davisville is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davisville
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Crossing, with the one closest to Thomas Crossing listed first.
    • Wells
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Forest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Forest is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
  • Jasper County
    • Harveytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
  • Nacogdoches County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Crossing, with the one closest to Thomas Crossing listed first.
    • Etoile
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Woden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Chireno
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Attoyac
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
    • Swift
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Nacogdoches
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Martinsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Alazan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
    • Redfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
    • Appleby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Whispering Pines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
    • Fitze
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
    • Douglass
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Crossing, with the one closest to Thomas Crossing listed first.
    • Skinner Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Skinner Town is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
    • Barnum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Barnum is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
  • Sabine County
  • San Augustine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Crossing, with the one closest to Thomas Crossing listed first.
    • Broaddus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Zana ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Zana is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
    • Denning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • White City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • White City is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Maxey Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
    • San Augustine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Rebecca
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
  • Shelby County
    • Arcadia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Arcadia is located in Shelby County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Crossing, with the one closest to Thomas Crossing listed first.
    • Apple Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Helmic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Helmic is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmic
  • Tyler County
    • Peach Tree Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village

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

Cemeteries Near Thomas Crossing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomas 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 Thomas Crossing - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rocky Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • McClure Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Baron Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Naren Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rocky Springs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Traweek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Huntington Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Patterson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Jacob Chapel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jonesville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Shofner Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Blue Spring Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (209 more) ...
    • Miley Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Berry Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Homer Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<3>

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

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

  • Etoile
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Homer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Homer is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
  • Ora
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Ora is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
  • Woden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Lufkin
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lufkin is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufkin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,955 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lufkin <1>
  • Chireno
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Melrose
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Melrose is located in Nacogdoches County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Keltys
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Keltys is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keltys
  • Clawson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Clawson is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clawson
  • Burke
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Burke is located in Angelina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
  • Zana ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Zana is located in San Augustine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zana
  • Nacogdoches
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Swift
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Swift is located in Nacogdoches County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
    • Denning
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Denning is located in San Augustine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
    • Martinsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Thomas 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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomas Crossing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thomas Crossing, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thomas Crossing.

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 Thomas Crossing:

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>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 Thomas Crossing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Thomas Crossing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.