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 Colonia (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 Colonia. 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 Colonia ...
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.
Colonia has also been known as: Acosta Colonia.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Colonia. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for 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 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.
Colonia is located in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County: Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, Starr & Willacy.
Below are the counties that are near Colonia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colonia:
- Hidalgo County (The home county of Colonia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonia, with the one closest to Colonia listed first.
- Alton North
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Alton North is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton North
- Aloha Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Aloha Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloha Village
- Aloha Village has also been known as:
- Aloha Village Colonia
- Alton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Monte Christo ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Monte Christo is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Christo
- Palmhurst
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Palmhurst is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmhurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,719 people
- West Sharyland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- West Sharyland is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sharyland
- Citrus City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Citrus City is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus City
- Edinburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Seminary Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
- Seminary Village has also been known as:
- Seminary Village Colonia
- Doffing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Doffing is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doffing
- La Homa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- La Homa is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Homa
- Mission
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gate City Acres
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gate City Acres is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City Acres
- Gate City Acres has also been known as:
- Gate City Acres Colonia
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonia, with the one closest to Colonia listed first.
- Ratamosa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
- Ratamosa has also been known as:
- Ratamosa Colonia
- Grand Acres
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
- Santa Rosa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Solis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Solis is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solis
- Solis has also been known as:
- Solis Colonia
- Tierra Bonita
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Tierra Bonita is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Bonita
- Tierra Bonita has also been known as:
- Tierra Bonita Colonia
- Yznaga
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Yznaga is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
- Bixby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bixby is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
- La Feria North
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- La Feria North is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
- North La Feria Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
- North La Feria Village has also been known as:
- North La Feria Village Colonia
- La Feria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Windsong Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
- Windsong Village has also been known as:
- Windsong Village Colonia
- Arroyo Alto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
- Longoria Townsite
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Longoria Townsite is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longoria Townsite
- Longoria Townsite has also been known as:
- Longoria Townsite Colonia
- Starr County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonia, with the one closest to Colonia listed first.
- La Victoria
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- La Victoria is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Victoria
- Alto Bonito
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Alto Bonito is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto Bonito
- Alto Bonito has also been known as:
- Alto Bonito Colonia
- La Grulla
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- La Grulla is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grulla
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,682 people
- West Alto Bonito
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- West Alto Bonito is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Alto Bonito
- West Alto Bonito has also been known as:
- West Alto Bonito Colonia
- Arkansas City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Arkansas City is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansas City
- Garciasville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Delmita
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- San Isidro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- El Refugio
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- El Refugio is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Refugio
- El Refugio has also been known as:
- El Refugio Colonia
- La Carla
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- La Carla is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Carla
- La Carla has also been known as:
- La Carla Colonia
- La Puerta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- La Puerta is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Puerta
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonia, with the one closest to Colonia listed first.
- Lasara
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Zapata Ranch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
- Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
- Zapata Ranch Colonia
- Lyford South
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lyford South is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
- Lyford South has also been known as:
- Lyford South Colonia
- Lyford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sebastian
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ranchette Estates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
- Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
- Ranchette Estates Colonia
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colonia, see our County-by-County Page for Colonia.
Cemeteries Near Colonia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colonia.
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 Colonia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Colonia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colonia, with the one closest to Colonia listed first.
- Valley Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Palm Valley Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Temple Emanuel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Roselawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hillcrest Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Restlawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Restlawn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Restlawn Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Edinburg.
- La Piedad Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Guadalupe Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Old Edinburg Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- San Jose Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Jose Cemetery
- The San Jose Cemetery has also been known as:
- Abram Cemetery
- San Antonio Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (75 more) ...
- Granjeno Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granjeno Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Granjeno Cemetery is located in Granjeno.
- San Juan Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Juan Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the San Juan Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of San Juan.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6707 <2>
- Cibilo Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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.<3>
While we didn't find Colonia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Colonia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colonia, with the one closest to Colonia listed first.
- Hidalgo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Havana
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Havana is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
- Los Angeles
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colonia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colonia.
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 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 Colonia:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Hidalgo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Starr County
- Willacy County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 Colonia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |