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 Vandalia (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 Vandalia. 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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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.
Vandalia is located in Red River 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 Red River County: Choctaw (OK), McCurtain (OK), Bowie, Delta, Franklin, Lamar, Morris & Titus.
Below are the counties that are near Vandalia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vandalia:
- Red River County (The home county of Vandalia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Clarksville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Acworth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Acworth is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acworth
- Annona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bagwell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- English
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- English is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
- Greenwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Greenwood is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Sherry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sherry is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherry
- Albion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Silver City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Silver City is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Liberty
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Liberty is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Cuthand
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cuthand is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthand
- Detroit
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Addielou
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Addielou is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addielou
- Bowie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- De Kalb
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dalby Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dalby Springs is located in Bowie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalby Springs
- Franklin County
- Hagansport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hagansport is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagansport
- Lamar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Pin Hook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pin Hook is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Hook
- Deport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Blossom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Novice
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Novice is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Novice
- Pattonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Sun Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sun Valley is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Sylvan
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sylvan is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
- Clardy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clardy is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clardy
- Cunningham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Amherst
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Amherst is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
- Reno
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Reno is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,349 people
- Taylor Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Taylor Town is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Town
- Biardstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Biardstown is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biardstown
- Titus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Talco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Green Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Green Hill is located in Titus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Choctaw County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Frogville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Frogville is located in Choctaw County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogville
- Swink
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Towson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- McCurtain County (OK)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Idabel
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Idabel is located in McCurtain County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idabel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,876 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Idabel <1>
- Garvin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Millerton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Valliant
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Haworth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Holly Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Holly Creek is located in McCurtain County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Creek
- Golden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Wright City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Slim
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Slim is located in McCurtain County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slim
- Broken Bow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vandalia, see our County-by-County Page for Vandalia.
Cemeteries Near Vandalia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vandalia.
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 Vandalia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vandalia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Shiloh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Free Hope Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Whitemans Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Williams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hebron Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Stone Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Haywood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairgrounds Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shamrock Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (125 more) ...
- Thompson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Shamrock Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- McKenzie Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<2>
While we didn't find Vandalia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Vandalia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vandalia, with the one closest to Vandalia listed first.
- Madras
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Madras is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madras
- Clarksville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Annona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bagwell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- English
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- English is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
- Albion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Cuthand
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Cuthand is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthand
- Manchester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Manchester is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Detroit
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fulbright
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fulbright is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulbright
- Rosalie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rosalie is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosalie
- Bogata
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Woodland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Woodland is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Kanawha
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kanawha is located in Red River County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha
- Deport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vandalia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vandalia.
Newspapers Published in Vandalia ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vandalia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vandalia, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vandalia.
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 Vandalia:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Red River County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bowie County
- Franklin County
- Lamar County
- Titus County
- Choctaw County
- McCurtain 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> | 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 Vandalia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vandalia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |