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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 Houston (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 Houston. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Houston is located in York County.

To see how the shape of Nebraska's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of York County: Butler, Clay, Fillmore, Hamilton, Polk, Saline & Seward.

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

  • York County     (The home county of Houston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Waco
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Thayer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Thayer is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • York
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Benedict
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Gresham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bradshaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • McCool Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Arborville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Arborville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arborville
    • Henderson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lushton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lushton is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lushton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Surprise
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Surprise is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surprise
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Ulysses
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Rising City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Millerton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Millerton is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
    • Garrison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Garrison is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Dwight
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Sutton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Saronville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fillmore County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Exeter
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Fairmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Grafton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bixby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bixby is located in Fillmore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
    • Geneva
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Milligan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Hampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Hordville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kronborg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Kronborg is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kronborg
    • Aurora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Overland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Overland is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overland
    • Stockham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Stockham is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Marquette
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Merrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Clarks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Central City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Paddock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Paddock is located in Merrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
  • Platte County
    • Gardiner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Gardiner is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardiner
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Stromsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Polk
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Osceola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Swedehome
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Swedehome is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedehome
    • Shelby
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Friend
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dorchester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Seward County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Utica
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Tamora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Tamora is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamora
    • Beaver Crossing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cordova
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Goehner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Staplehurst
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Seward
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Ruby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Ruby is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Bee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bee is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bee <1>
    • Grover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Grover is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
    • Milford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Garland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Houston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Houston.

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 Houston - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Houston had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • York
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Waco
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Thayer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Thayer is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
  • Benedict
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Utica
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Gresham
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Bradshaw
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • McCool Junction
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Stromsburg
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Arborville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Arborville is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arborville
  • Henderson
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lushton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lushton is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lushton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Beaver Crossing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tamora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Tamora is located in Seward County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamora
    • Goehner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Houston ...

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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around Houston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Houston, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Houston.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Houston:

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