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 Valley Grove (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 Valley Grove. 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 Valley Grove ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Valley Grove: Valley Grv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Valley Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Valley Grove.
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 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.
Valley Grove is located in Rusk 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 Rusk County: Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Nacogdoches, Panola, Shelby & Smith.
Below are the counties that are near Valley Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Valley Grove:
- Rusk County (The home county of Valley Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Sulphur Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Oak Flats
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Flats is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Flats
- Laneville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Enterprise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- New Salem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Minden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Concord
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Concord is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Brachfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brachfield is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brachfield
- Big Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Big Springs is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Caledonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Caledonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Henderson
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pinehill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pinehill is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehill
- Price
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Angelina County
- Pollok
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Reklaw
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ponta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ponta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponta
- Griffin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Griffin is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
- Gallatin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- New Birmingham ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- New Birmingham is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Birmingham
- New Summerfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rusk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Blackjack
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Blackjack is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackjack
- Henrys Chapel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Henrys Chapel is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Chapel
- Alto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Turney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Turney is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turney
- Gould
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Gould is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Dialville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dialville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dialville
- Houston County
- Bluff City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff City is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Nacogdoches County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Cushing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sacul
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Looneyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Looneyville is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looneyville
- Trawick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Trawick is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trawick
- Dextra
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dextra is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dextra
- Nat
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Nat is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nat
- Douglass
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Appleby
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
- Redfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Fitze
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
- Whispering Pines
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Whispering Pines is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Garrison
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Alazan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Alazan is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alazan
- Panola County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Dotson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Dotson is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotson
- Long Branch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Buncome
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Buncome is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buncome
- Delray
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Delray is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
- Gary City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Murvaul
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Murvaul is located in Panola County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Timpson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Arcadia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Arcadia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Wright City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wright City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright City
- Sinclair City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sinclair City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinclair City
- Arp
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Omen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Omen is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omen
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Valley Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Valley Grove.
Cemeteries Near Valley Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valley Grove.
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 Valley Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Valley Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Kipp Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Simon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Dansby Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Fuller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Blackburn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bagley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lyles - Sanders Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Blanton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gould Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jones - Seagroves Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (253 more) ...
- Glenfawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Blanton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fenton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
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 Valley Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Valley Grove.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Valley Grove, with the one closest to Valley Grove listed first.
- Glenfawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Glenfawn is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenfawn
- Laneville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Linn Flat
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Linn Flat is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Flat
- Mount Enterprise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Looneyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Looneyville is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looneyville
- New Salem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Salem is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Minden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawsonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lawsonville is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Lone Star
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lone Star is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
- Douglass
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Redfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Redfield is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfield
- Appleby
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Appleby is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Caledonia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Caledonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Fitze
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Fitze is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitze
- Linwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Linwood is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Valley Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Valley Grove.
Newspapers Published in Valley Grove ...
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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valley Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Valley Grove, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Valley Grove.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Valley Grove:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Rusk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Angelina County
- Cherokee County
- Houston County
- Nacogdoches County
- Panola County
- Shelby County
- Smith County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 Valley Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Valley Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |