Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about West Hamilton. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added West Hamilton to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with West Hamilton, please Contact Us.
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 West Hamilton (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 West Hamilton. 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 West Hamilton ...
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 West Hamilton: W. Hamilton
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/Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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/parishes 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 south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Although our information shows that the community of West Hamilton is historic, it would have been located within present day Shelby 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 Shelby County: De Soto (LA), Sabine (LA), Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine & San Augustine.
Below are the counties/parishes that are near West Hamilton. For each of these counties/parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Hamilton:
- Shelby County (The home county of West Hamilton)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- Huxley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Huxley is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
- Shelbyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Choice
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Choice is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
- Campti
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Campti is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
- Africa ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Africa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
- Short
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Short is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
- Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Haslam
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Haslam is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
- Joaquin
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Arcadia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Arcadia is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Tenaha
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nacogdoches County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- Attoyac
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Attoyac is located in Nacogdoches County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attoyac
- Chireno
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Martinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sabine County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- Geneva
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Milam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rosevine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rosevine is located in Sabine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
- Bronson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hemphill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pineland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mason
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mason is located in Sabine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- San Augustine County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- San Augustine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Maxey Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
- Rebecca
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rebecca is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
- Denning
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Denning is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
- Broaddus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- De Soto Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- Stanley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Stanley is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Logansport
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pelican
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oxford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oxford is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
- South Mansfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Mansfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sabine Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- Noble
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Zwolle
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Converse
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bayou Scie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
- Hamlin ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
- Negreet
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Belmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Many
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Many is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Many
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,667 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Many <2>
- Pleasant Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fisher
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Florien
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Hamilton, see our County-by-County Page for West Hamilton.
Cemeteries Near West Hamilton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Hamilton.
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 West Hamilton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Hamilton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- Windham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- East Hamilton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Crockett Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Corinth Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sweet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Munnerlyn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Latham Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ingram Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Polley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- East Liberty Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- McGuire Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (239 more) ...
- Rather Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lane Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bennetts Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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.
While we didn't find West Hamilton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Hamilton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Hamilton, with the one closest to West Hamilton listed first.
- Patroon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Patroon is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patroon
- Sexton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sexton is located in Sabine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
- East Hamilton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- East Hamilton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
- Geneva
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Shelbyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- San Augustine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Milam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Short
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Short is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
- Lula
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lula is located in De Soto Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
- Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ironosa
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ironosa is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironosa
- Denning
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Denning is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denning
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Macune
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Macune is located in San Augustine County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macune
- Bayou Scie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
- Mitchell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mitchell is located in Sabine Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Hamilton. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Hamilton.
Newspapers Published in West Hamilton ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Hamilton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Hamilton, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Hamilton.
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 West Hamilton:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Shelby County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Nacogdoches County
- Sabine County
- San Augustine County
- De Soto Parish
- Sabine Parish
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 West Hamilton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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- West Hamilton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |