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 Ward Prairie (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 Ward Prairie. 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 Ward Prairie ...
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 Ward Prairie: Ward Pr.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Ward Prairie is located in Freestone 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 Freestone County: Anderson, Leon, Limestone & Navarro.
Below are the counties that are near Ward Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ward Prairie:
- Freestone County (The home county of Ward Prairie)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Fairfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
- Turlington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turlington is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turlington
- Dew
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dew is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
- Kirvin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Winkler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Winkler is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
- Lanely
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lanely is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanely
- Red Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Red Lake is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lake
- Teague
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Streetman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Butler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Butler is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
- Cotton Gin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Yard ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yard is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yard
- Greens Bluff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greens Bluff is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Bluff
- Massey Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Massey Lake is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massey Lake
- Bethel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Cayuga
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tennessee Colony
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Harmony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harmony is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Blackfoot
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Blackfoot is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackfoot
- Ward
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ward is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
- Long Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Long Lake is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
- Tucker
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tucker is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
- Springfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Springfield is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Cross Roads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Roads is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
- Trinidad
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Malakoff
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Star Harbor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Star Harbor is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Harbor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Leon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Buffalo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Jewett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Newby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Newby is located in Leon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Fallon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fallon is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
- Personville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Personville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
- Mexia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Farrar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Farrar is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
- Lost Prairie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lost Prairie is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Prairie
- Tehuacana
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Groesbeck
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coolidge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Navarro County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Eureka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Richland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Richland is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Navarro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Navarro is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Mildred
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mildred is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mildred
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Goodlow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Goodlow is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Goodlow has also been known as:
- Goodlow Park
- Angus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Angus is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
- Elm Flat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elm Flat is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Flat
- Mustang
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mustang is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
- Kerens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Powell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Powell is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Pursley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pursley is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pursley
- Oak Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Valley is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ward Prairie, see our County-by-County Page for Ward Prairie.
Cemeteries Near Ward Prairie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ward Prairie.
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 Ward Prairie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ward Prairie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Hickory Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lakes Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fairfield Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Day Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Chancellor Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor Union Cemetery
- The Chancellor Union Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chancellor Cemetery
- Old Anglan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- George Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Post Oak Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rehobath Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (164 more) ...
- Driver Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Edwards Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tyus Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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 Ward Prairie in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ward Prairie.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ward Prairie, with the one closest to Ward Prairie listed first.
- Fairfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stewards Mill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Stewards Mill is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewards Mill
- Young
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Young is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young
- Dew
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dew is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
- Winkler
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Winkler is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winkler
- Cotton Gin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Butler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Butler is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
- Luna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Luna is located in Freestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luna
- Bethel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Tennessee Colony
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Rural Shade
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rural Shade is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Shade
- Eureka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Eureka is located in Navarro County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Wortham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mexia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Personville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Personville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ward Prairie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ward Prairie.
Newspapers Published in Ward Prairie ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ward Prairie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ward Prairie, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ward Prairie.
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 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 Ward Prairie:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Freestone County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Henderson County
- Leon County
- Limestone County
- Navarro 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 Ward Prairie, 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- Ward Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |