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 Wakefield (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 Wakefield. 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 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.
Wakefield is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Angelina, Hardin, Liberty, San Jacinto, Trinity & Tyler.
Below are the counties that are near Wakefield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wakefield:
- Polk County (The home county of Wakefield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Skinner Town
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skinner Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
- Skinner Town is located in Polk County
- Corrigan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Moscow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Moscow is located in Polk County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <2>
- Camden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Camden is located in Polk County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <2>
- Barnum
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
- Barnum is located in Polk County
- Lily Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily Island
- Lily Island is located in Polk County
- Barnes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
- Barnes is located in Polk County
- Seven Oaks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
- Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Leggett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leggett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leggett
- Leggett is located in Polk County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leggett <2>
- Bold Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Springs
- Bold Springs is located in Polk County
- New Willard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Willard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
- New Willard is located in Polk County
- Onalaska
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onalaska have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Onalaska is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,167 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Onalaska <2>
- Angelina County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Rutland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rutland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Rutland is located in Angelina County
- Diboll
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shady Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Angelina County
- Prairie Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
- Prairie Grove is located in Angelina County
- Burke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Burke is located in Angelina County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Blix
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blix. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blix
- Blix is located in Angelina County
- Beulah
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Beulah is located in Angelina County
- Granville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Granville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Granville is located in Angelina County
- Peavy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peavy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peavy
- Peavy is located in Angelina County
- Bald Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Hill
- Bald Hill is located in Angelina County
- Hudson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Hudson is located in Angelina County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,288 people
- Providence
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Providence is located in Angelina County
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Wells
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
- Wells is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 781 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <2>
- Forest
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Forest is located in Cherokee County
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Hagerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hagerville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerville
- Hagerville is located in Houston County
- Fog Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fog Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fog Town
- Fog Town is located in Houston County
- Ratcliff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kennard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennard
- Kennard is located in Houston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kennard <2>
- Holly
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
- Holly is located in Houston County
- Harrison Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Town
- Harrison Town is located in Houston County
- Tadmor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tadmor
- Tadmor is located in Houston County
- Nacogdoches County
- Etoile
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Helmic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmic
- Helmic is located in Trinity County
- Apple Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake
- Woodlake is located in Trinity County
- Sumpter ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sumpter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Sumpter is located in Trinity County
- Lacy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
- Lacy is located in Trinity County
- Lacy has also been known as:
- Lacey
- Centralia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centralia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Centralia is located in Trinity County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centralia <2>
- Groveton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Center Point ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Center Point is located in Trinity County
- Chita
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
- Chita is located in Trinity County
- Pennington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Pennington is located in Trinity County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pennington <2>
- Friday
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday
- Friday is located in Trinity County
- Glendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Glendale is located in Trinity County
- Tyler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Peach Tree Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
- Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
- Chester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Colmesneil
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Doucette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wakefield, see our County-by-County Page for Wakefield.
Cemeteries Near Wakefield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wakefield.
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 Wakefield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Emporia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emporia Cemetery
- The Emporia Cemetery has also been known as:
- Anthony Cemetery
- Pleasant View Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6087 <4>
- Wagner Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wagner Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wagner Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Wagner Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wagner Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wagner Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Abbott Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbott Springs Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbott Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Abbott Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbott Springs Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbott Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Knox Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knox Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Stryker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stryker Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ryan Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Carmona Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carmona Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carmona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- McCarty Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCarty Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCarty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (163 more) ...
- Burch Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burch Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Grimes Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Dubose Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dubose Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dubose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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.<5>
While we didn't find Wakefield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wakefield.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wakefield, with the one closest to Wakefield listed first.
- Asia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asia
- Asia is located in Polk County
- Corrigan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Burke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
- Burke is located in Angelina County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Carmona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmona
- Carmona is located in Polk County
- Apple Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Moscow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Moscow is located in Polk County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <2>
- Barnum
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
- Barnum is located in Polk County
- Josserand
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Josserand have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josserand
- Josserand is located in Trinity County
- Centralia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centralia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Centralia is located in Trinity County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centralia <2>
- Seven Oaks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
- Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Homer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Homer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Homer is located in Angelina County
- Lufkin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Groveton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Colita
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colita
- Colita is located in Polk County
- Chester
(18 miles [29 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 Wakefield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wakefield.
Newspapers Published in Wakefield ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wakefield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wakefield, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wakefield.
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 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 Wakefield:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Polk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Angelina County
- Cherokee County
- Houston County
- Nacogdoches County
- Trinity County
- Tyler County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wakefield. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> | 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. |
<2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
<3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
<4> | 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. |
<5> | 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 Wakefield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<6> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Wakefield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wakefield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.0988, Longitude: -94.8352 In this case, the coordinates for Wakefield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |