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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 Ward (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. 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.

Ward is located in Ellis 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 Ellis County: Dallas, Henderson, Hill, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro & Tarrant.

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

  • Ellis County     (The home county of Ward)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ward, with the one closest to Ward listed first.
    • Midlothian
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Venus
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Britton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Britton is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britton
    • Sardis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Sardis is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
    • Mansfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Maypearl
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Oak Leaf
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Oak Leaf is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Leaf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
    • Sterrett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Sterrett is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterrett
    • Auburn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Auburn is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Waxahachie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Red Oak
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Boz
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Boz is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boz
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ward, with the one closest to Ward listed first.
    • Cedar Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ovilla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Glenn Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Shamrock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Shamrock is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
    • DeSoto
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Duncanville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lancaster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Prairie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cockrell Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jimtown Junction ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jimtown Junction is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown Junction
      • Jimtown Junction has also been known as:
      • Jim Town Junction
    • Oak Cliff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Cliff is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Cliff
    • Ferris
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Hill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ward, with the one closest to Ward listed first.
    • Itasca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Covington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Carl's Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Lovelace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Lovelace is located in Hill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelace
    • Brandon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Mertens
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ward, with the one closest to Ward listed first.
    • Lillian
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Alvarado
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Egan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Egan is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
    • Grandview
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Briaroaks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Briaroaks is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briaroaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Coyote Flats
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Coyote Flats is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyote Flats
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 368 people
    • Cuba
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cuba is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Cross Timber
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Cross Timber is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Timber
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
    • Burleson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Keene
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Keene is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,588 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keene <1>
    • Crowley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Joshua
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Navarro County
    • Frost
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Tarrant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ward, with the one closest to Ward listed first.
    • Retta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Retta is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retta
    • Rendon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rendon is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendon
    • Johnsons Station
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Johnsons Station is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Station
    • Kennedale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Dalworthington Gardens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Everman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Pantego
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Arlington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • University Park Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Forest Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgecliff Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Edgecliff Village is located in Tarrant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgecliff Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,012 people

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

Cemeteries Near Ward ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ward.

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 - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Newton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Sardis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Center League Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Cope Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ozro Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is located in Mansfield.
    • The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Jude's Catholic Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2705 <2>
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Hillcrest Park Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Estes Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (176 more) ...
    • Estes Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Duke Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Barnesville Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<3>

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

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

  • Midlothian
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Mountain Peak
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Mountain Peak is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Peak
  • Venus
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Sardis
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sardis is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
  • Ovilla
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Cedar Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mansfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Point
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Point is located in Johnson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Point
  • Alvarado
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Auburn
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Auburn is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
  • Waxahachie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sterrett
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Sterrett is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterrett
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Boz
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Boz is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boz
    • Red Oak
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • DeSoto
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Ward ...

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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ward.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ward, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ward.

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 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 Ward:

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, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Ward) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.