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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 Alta Vista (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 Alta Vista. 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 Alta Vista ...

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.

Alta Vista has also been known as: Alta Vista 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 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Alta Vista is located in Frio 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 Frio County: Atascosa, Dimmit, La Salle, McMullen, Medina, Uvalde & Zavala.

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

  • Frio County     (The home county of Alta Vista)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
    • Pearsall
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearsall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearsall
      • Pearsall is located in Frio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,620 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pearsall <2>
    • West Pearsall
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pearsall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pearsall
      • West Pearsall is located in Frio County
    • North Pearsall
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Pearsall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pearsall
      • North Pearsall is located in Frio County
    • Derby
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Derby is located in Frio County
      • Derby has also been known as:
      • Derby Colonia
    • Moore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Divot ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divot
      • Divot is located in Frio County
    • Frio Town ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frio Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frio Town
      • Frio Town is located in Frio County
    • Hilltop
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilltop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Hilltop is located in Frio County
      • Hilltop has also been known as:
      • Hilltop Colonia
    • Dilley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dilley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilley
      • Dilley is located in Frio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,527 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dilley <2>
    • Bigfoot
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Atascosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
    • Kyote
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyote
      • Kyote is located in Atascosa County
    • Crown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
      • Crown is located in Atascosa County
    • Davis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
      • Davis is located in Atascosa County
    • Hindes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hindes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hindes
      • Hindes is located in Atascosa County
    • Charlotte
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Iuka
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iuka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
      • Iuka is located in Atascosa County
    • Anchorage
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anchorage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
      • Anchorage is located in Atascosa County
    • Dobrowolski
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dobrowolski have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobrowolski
      • Dobrowolski is located in Atascosa County
    • Rossville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
      • Rossville is located in Atascosa County
    • Amphion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amphion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amphion
      • Amphion is located in Atascosa County
    • Lytle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lytle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytle
      • Lytle is located in Atascosa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lytle <2>
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
    • Millett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
      • Millett is located in La Salle County
    • Woodward ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
      • Woodward is located in La Salle County
    • Los Angeles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • McMullen County
    • Zella
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zella have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zella
      • Zella is located in McMullen County
  • Medina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
    • Yancey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yancey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancey
      • Yancey is located in Medina County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yancey <2>
    • Devine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Devine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devine
      • Devine is located in Medina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,938 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Devine <2>
    • Natalia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natalia
      • Natalia is located in Medina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,622 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natalia <2>
    • Pearson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
      • Pearson is located in Medina County

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

Newspapers Published in Alta Vista ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alta Vista.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alta Vista, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alta Vista.

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 Alta Vista:

Cemeteries Near Alta Vista ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alta Vista.

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 Alta Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pearsall Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Buckhorn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buckhorn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buckhorn Cemetery
  • Derby Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Derby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Derby Cemetery
  • Moore Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moore Cemetery
  • Moore Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moore Cemetery
  • Tehuacana Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Tehuacana Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tehuacana Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tehuacana Cemetery
  • Frio Town Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Miguel Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miguel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miguel Cemetery
  • Tomerlin Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Diller Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Diller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Diller Cemetery
  • Hugo Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hugo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hugo Cemetery
  • Continue List   (37 more) ...
    • Styles Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Styles Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Styles Cemetery
    • Longview Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Longview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Longview Cemetery
    • Yancey Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)

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.<6>

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

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

  • Pearsall
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pearsall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearsall
    • Pearsall is located in Frio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,620 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pearsall <2>
  • Derby
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
    • Derby is located in Frio County
    • Derby has also been known as:
    • Derby Colonia
  • Moore
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Frio Town ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frio Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frio Town
    • Frio Town is located in Frio County
  • Dilley
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dilley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilley
    • Dilley is located in Frio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,527 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dilley <2>
  • Bigfoot
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Devine
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Devine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devine
    • Devine is located in Medina County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,938 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Devine <2>
  • Millett
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
    • Millett is located in La Salle County
  • Anchorage
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anchorage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
    • Anchorage is located in Atascosa County
  • Rossville
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
    • Rossville is located in Atascosa County
  • Noonan
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Noonan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonan
    • Noonan is located in Medina County
  • Amphion
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amphion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amphion
    • Amphion is located in Atascosa County
  • Lytle
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lytle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytle
    • Lytle is located in Atascosa County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lytle <2>

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

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

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 'straight-line' (or 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- Alta Vista) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alta Vista. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.8991, Longitude: -99.1064       In this case, the coordinates for Alta Vista 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>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.
<6>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 Alta Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024