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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 Vashti (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 Vashti. 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 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.

Vashti is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Cotton (OK), Jefferson (OK), Archer, Jack, Montague & Wichita.

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

  • Clay County     (The home county of Vashti)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vashti, with the one closest to Vashti listed first.
    • Bellevue
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Newport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Newport is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Joy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Joy is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
    • Bluegrove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Shannon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Shannon is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon
    • Henrietta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jolly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jolly is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jolly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
  • Archer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vashti, with the one closest to Vashti listed first.
    • Windthorst
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Scotland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Jack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vashti, with the one closest to Vashti listed first.
    • Postoak
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Postoak is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
    • Antelope
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Antelope is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
    • Jacksboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Wizard Wells
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Wizard Wells is located in Jack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wizard Wells
    • Jermyn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Montague County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vashti, with the one closest to Vashti listed first.
    • Bowie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Bowie is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowie <1>
    • Fruitland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Fruitland is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
    • Salona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Salona is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
    • Sunset
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ringgold
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Montague
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Belcherville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Belcherville is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcherville
    • Nocona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Dye
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Dye is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
    • Forestburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • New Harp
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • New Harp is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Harp
    • Bonita
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bonita is located in Montague County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonita
  • Wise County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vashti, with the one closest to Vashti listed first.
    • Park Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Park Springs is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Springs
    • Chico
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Alvord
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Bridgeport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Bridgeport is located in Wise County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bridgeport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 405 people
    • Runaway Bay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Bridgeport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Jefferson County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vashti, with the one closest to Vashti listed first.
    • Terral
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Terral is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terral
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Terral <1>
    • Fleetwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fleetwood is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleetwood

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

Cemeteries Near Vashti ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vashti.

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 Vashti - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Liberty Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Prairie Branch Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bellevue Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Bellevue Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Bellevue.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1006873 <2>
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Newport Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Brier Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Postoak Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Prospect Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Selma Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • McDonald Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (92 more) ...
    • Silver Hill Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tartar Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Queens Park Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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>

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

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

  • Bellevue
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Newport
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Newport is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
  • Postoak
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Postoak is located in Jack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postoak
  • Bowie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Bowie is located in Montague County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,140 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowie <1>
  • Bluegrove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Crafton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Crafton is located in Wise County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crafton
  • Salona
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Salona is located in Montague County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
  • Sunset
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Montague
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Antelope
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Antelope is located in Jack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
  • Henrietta
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Belcherville ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Belcherville is located in Montague County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcherville
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Chico
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacksboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Alvord
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Vashti ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vashti.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vashti, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vashti.

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 websites either 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 Vashti:

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