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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 Alto Real (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 Alto Real. 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 Alto Real ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Alto Real has also been known as: Alto Real Colonia.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Alto Real is located in Cameron 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 Cameron County: Hidalgo & Willacy.

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

  • Cameron County     (The home county of Alto Real)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Real, with the one closest to Alto Real listed first.
    • Bixby
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
      • Bixby is located in Cameron County
    • North La Feria Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North La Feria Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
      • North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
      • North La Feria Village has also been known as:
      • North La Feria Village Colonia
    • Solis
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solis
      • Solis is located in Cameron County
      • Solis has also been known as:
      • Solis Colonia
    • La Feria
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • La Feria North
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
      • La Feria North is located in Cameron County
    • Windsong Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsong Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
      • Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
      • Windsong Village has also been known as:
      • Windsong Village Colonia
    • Arroyo Alto
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arroyo Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
      • Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
    • Ratamosa
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ratamosa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
      • Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
      • Ratamosa has also been known as:
      • Ratamosa Colonia
    • Longoria Townsite
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longoria Townsite have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longoria Townsite
      • Longoria Townsite is located in Cameron County
      • Longoria Townsite has also been known as:
      • Longoria Townsite Colonia
    • Santa Maria
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Maria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Maria
      • Santa Maria is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Maria <2>
    • Bluetown - Iglesia Antigua
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bluetown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluetown
      • Bluetown is located in Cameron County
      • Bluetown has also been known as:
      • Blue Town
      • Bluetown Colonia
    • Grand Acres
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
      • Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
  • Hidalgo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Real, with the one closest to Alto Real listed first.
    • Heidelberg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heidelberg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
    • Mercedes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Indian Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
      • Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
    • Relampago
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Relampago have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relampago
      • Relampago is located in Hidalgo County
    • Rio Rico
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Rico
      • Rio Rico is located in Hidalgo County
    • Progreso
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Progreso have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progreso
      • Progreso is located in Hidalgo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,979 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Progreso <2>
    • Llano Grande
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Llano Grande have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
      • Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
    • Mila Doce
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mila Doce have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
      • Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
    • Progreso Lakes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Progreso Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progreso Lakes
      • Progreso Lakes is located in Hidalgo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Villa Verde
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Villa Verde have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Verde
      • Villa Verde is located in Hidalgo County
      • Villa Verde has also been known as:
      • Villa Verde Colonia
    • Weslaco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Olivarez
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olivarez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
      • Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
    • Midway North
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
      • Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
  • Willacy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Real, with the one closest to Alto Real listed first.
    • Sebastian
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Zapata Ranch
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zapata Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
      • Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
      • Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
      • Zapata Ranch Colonia
    • Lyford South
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyford South have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
      • Lyford South is located in Willacy County
      • Lyford South has also been known as:
      • Lyford South Colonia
    • Lyford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford
      • Lyford is located in Willacy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,513 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyford <2>
    • Santa Monica
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Monica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
      • Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
    • Lasara
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lasara have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasara
      • Lasara is located in Willacy County
      • Lasara has also been known as:
      • La Sara
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lasara <2>
    • Ranchette Estates
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ranchette Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
      • Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
      • Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
      • Ranchette Estates Colonia
    • Raymondville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Los Angeles Subdivision
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Angeles Subdivision have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles Subdivision
      • Los Angeles Subdivision is located in Willacy County
    • Willamar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willamar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
      • Willamar is located in Willacy County
    • San Perlita
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Alto Real ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alto Real.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alto Real, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alto Real.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Alto Real:

Cemeteries Near Alto Real ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alto Real.

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 Alto Real covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Solis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • La Feria Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Mercedes Memorial Restlawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ebony Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ebony Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Mercedes.
    • The Ebony Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Los Ebanos Mercedes Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebony Grove Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3362 <4>
  • Restlawn Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Restlawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Restlawn Memorial Park
  • Anacuitas Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Anacuitas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Anacuitas Cemetery
  • La Capilla Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Emmanuel Cemetery
    • Mercedes Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2184663 <4>
  • Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Baptist Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Mercedes Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cementerio Bautista
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2827 <4>
  • Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Principe de Paz Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2403957 <4>
  • Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5844 <4>
  • Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cementerio Bautista Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Longoria Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Campacuas Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Campacuas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Campacuas Cemetery
    • Hinojosa Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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 Alto Real in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alto Real.

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

  • Santa Maria
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Maria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Maria
    • Santa Maria is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Maria <2>
  • Hidalgo
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Brownsville
    (28 miles [45.1 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 Alto Real. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alto Real.

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

The official website for Cameron County: www.co.cameron.tx.us/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Alto Real) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alto Real. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.1492, Longitude: -97.8572       In this case, the coordinates for Alto Real have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Alto Real, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024