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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 Thornton (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 Thornton. 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 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.

Thornton is located in Limestone 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 Limestone County: Falls, Freestone, Hill, Leon, McLennan, Navarro & Robertson.

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

  • Limestone County     (The home county of Thornton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
    • Kosse
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
      • Kosse is located in Limestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <1>
    • Groesbeck
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Lost Prairie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Prairie
      • Lost Prairie is located in Limestone County
    • Fallon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
      • Fallon is located in Limestone County
    • Personville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
      • Personville is located in Limestone County
    • Frosa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
    • Farrar
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
      • Farrar is located in Limestone County
    • Mexia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
      • Mexia is located in Limestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexia <1>
    • Prairie Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Hill
      • Prairie Hill is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie Hill <1>
    • Tehuacana
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Coolidge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coolidge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolidge
      • Coolidge is located in Limestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coolidge <1>
    • Delia ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
      • Delia is located in Limestone County
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
    • Stranger
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
      • Stranger is located in Falls County
    • Otto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
      • Otto is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otto <1>
    • Reagan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reagan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reagan
      • Reagan is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reagan <1>
    • Marlin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Perry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
      • Perry is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perry <1>
    • Highbank
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank
      • Highbank is located in Falls County
    • Wilderville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilderville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderville
      • Wilderville is located in Falls County
    • Satin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satin
      • Satin is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Satin <1>
    • Golinda
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golinda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
      • Golinda is located in Falls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
    • Lott
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lott
      • Lott is located in Falls County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lott <1>
    • Chilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
    • Donie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Freestone
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
      • Freestone is located in Freestone County
    • Cotton Gin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Teague
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Teague have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
      • Teague is located in Freestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Teague <1>
    • Wortham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wortham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wortham
      • Wortham is located in Freestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,007 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wortham <1>
    • Dew
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
      • Dew is located in Freestone County
    • Kirvin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Hill County
    • Mount Calm
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Calm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Calm
      • Mount Calm is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Calm <1>
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
    • Marquez
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Newby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
      • Newby is located in Leon County
    • Jewett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Concord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
    • Mart
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mart
      • Mart is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,983 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mart <1>
    • Riesel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riesel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riesel
      • Riesel is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,049 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riesel <1>
    • Hallsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hallsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsburg
      • Hallsburg is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Elk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
      • Elk is located in McLennan County
    • Axtell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Downsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
      • Downsville is located in McLennan County
    • Rosenthal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosenthal
      • Rosenthal is located in McLennan County
  • Milam County
    • Baileyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileyville
      • Baileyville is located in Milam County
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thornton, with the one closest to Thornton listed first.
    • Seale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
      • Seale is located in Robertson County
    • Bremond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Owensville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
    • Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
    • New Baden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Franklin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Robertson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,643 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <1>
    • Calvert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Thornton ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thornton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Thornton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Thornton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Thornton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Thornton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Thornton:

Cemeteries Near Thornton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thornton.

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

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

  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
  • King Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the King Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the King Cemetery
  • Cobb Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cobb Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cobb Cemetery
  • Vinson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vinson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vinson Cemetery
  • Tidwell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tidwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tidwell Cemetery
  • Gunter Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gunter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gunter Cemetery
  • Masters Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Masters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masters Cemetery
  • Capps Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Capps Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Capps Cemetery
  • Phifer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Phifer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Phifer Cemetery
  • Carroll Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carroll Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carroll Cemetery
  • Sowders Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sowders Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sowders Cemetery
  • Pippin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pippin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pippin Cemetery
  • Continue List   (189 more) ...
    • Clifton Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clifton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clifton Cemetery
    • Moss Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moss Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moss Cemetery
    • Norris Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norris Cemetery

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 Thornton had a population of 466 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Thornton had a population of 524 people.

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

  • Kosse
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
    • Kosse is located in Limestone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <1>
  • Groesbeck
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Stranger
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
    • Stranger is located in Falls County
  • Oletha
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oletha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oletha
    • Oletha is located in Limestone County
  • Horn Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horn Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Hill
    • Horn Hill is located in Limestone County
  • Headsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Headsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Headsville is located in Robertson County
  • Seale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
    • Seale is located in Robertson County
  • Prairie Grove
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
    • Prairie Grove is located in Limestone County
  • McClanahan
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClanahan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClanahan
    • McClanahan is located in Falls County
  • Petteway
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petteway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petteway
    • Petteway is located in Robertson County
  • Bald Prairie
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
    • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
  • Personville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
    • Personville is located in Limestone County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Kirk
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
      • Kirk is located in Limestone County
    • Frosa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
    • Bremond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)

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

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

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

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 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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thornton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thornton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4114, Longitude: -96.5738    
<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 Thornton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024