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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 Zion Hill (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 Zion Hill. 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.

Zion Hill is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Angelina, Hardin, Newton, Orange, Sabine, San Augustine & Tyler.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Zion Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zion Hill, with the one closest to Zion Hill listed first.
    • Jasper
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Beech Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beech Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
      • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
    • Kirbyville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyville
      • Kirbyville is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kirbyville <1>
    • Sam Rayburn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Call Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Call Junction
      • Call Junction is located in Jasper County
    • Harveytown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveytown
      • Harveytown is located in Jasper County
    • Browndell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browndell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Buna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buna
      • Buna is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buna <1>
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zion Hill, with the one closest to Zion Hill listed first.
    • Parker Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parker Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker Point
      • Parker Point is located in Angelina County
    • Martin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Angelina County
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zion Hill, with the one closest to Zion Hill listed first.
    • Newton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Newton is located in Newton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
    • Call
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Call have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Call
      • Call is located in Newton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Call <1>
    • Shanklerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County
    • Wiergate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiergate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiergate
      • Wiergate is located in Newton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiergate <1>
    • Bon Wier
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bon Wier have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Wier
      • Bon Wier is located in Newton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bon Wier <1>
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hughes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
      • Hughes is located in Newton County
    • Burkeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • South Toledo Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Toledo Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County
  • Sabine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zion Hill, with the one closest to Zion Hill listed first.
    • Brookeland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookeland
      • Brookeland is located in Sabine County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookeland <1>
    • Pineland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Fairmount
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
      • Fairmount is located in Sabine County
    • Mason
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Sabine County
  • San Augustine County
    • Powell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
      • Powell is located in San Augustine County
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zion Hill, with the one closest to Zion Hill listed first.
    • Spurger
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fred
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillister
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ivanhoe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Ivanhoe is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,438 people
    • Colmesneil
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Doucette
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Woodville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,442 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodville <1>
    • Ivanhoe North
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe North came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe North
      • Ivanhoe North is located in Tyler County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 538 people
    • Warren
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Beauregard Parish (LA)
    • Merryville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Vernon Parish (LA)
    • Evans
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
      • Evans is located in Vernon Parish (LA)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evans <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Zion Hill ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Zion Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Zion Hill, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Zion Hill.

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 Zion Hill:

Cemeteries Near Zion Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Zion Hill.

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 Zion Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • McLemore Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McLemore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLemore Cemetery
  • Dunn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dunn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunn Cemetery
  • Smith Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
  • Boyett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boyett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boyett Cemetery
  • Cole Springs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cole Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cole Springs Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jasper City Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Kyle Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kyle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kyle Cemetery
  • Gilgal Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gilgal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gilgal Cemetery
  • Trotti Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trotti Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trotti Cemetery
  • Big Spring Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Spring Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Spring Cemetery
  • Ryalis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ryalis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ryalis Cemetery
  • Continue List   (132 more) ...
    • Allen Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Allen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Allen Cemetery
    • Good Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Good Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Good Cemetery
    • Byerly Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Byerly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Byerly Cemetery

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.<7>

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

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

  • Erin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
    • Erin is located in Jasper County
  • Jasper
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Magnolia Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Springs
    • Magnolia Springs is located in Jasper County
  • Beech Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beech Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Grove
    • Beech Grove is located in Jasper County
  • Town Bluff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Bluff
    • Town Bluff is located in Tyler County
  • Newton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
    • Newton is located in Newton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,329 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
  • Bleakwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bleakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleakwood
    • Bleakwood is located in Newton County
  • Farrsville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farrsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrsville
    • Farrsville is located in Newton County
  • Spurger
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Belgrade
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belgrade have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
    • Belgrade is located in Newton County
  • Burkeville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Brookeland
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookeland
    • Brookeland is located in Sabine County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookeland <1>
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Hillister
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Tyler County
    • Colmesneil
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Zion Hill. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

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 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.
<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>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Zion Hill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Zion Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.8355, Longitude: -93.9716       In this case, the coordinates for Zion Hill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.
<7>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 Zion Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024