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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 Springs (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 Springs. 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 Springs ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Alto Springs: Alto Spgs. (or less commonly used: Alto Spngs. or Alto Sprngs.)

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 hospitals 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.

Alto Springs is located in Falls 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 Falls County: Bell, Limestone, McLennan, Milam & Robertson.

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

  • Falls County     (The home county of Alto Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Springs, with the one closest to Alto Springs listed first.
    • Stranger
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Stranger is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
    • Reagan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • McClanahan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • McClanahan is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClanahan
    • Highbank
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Highbank is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank
    • Otto
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Marlin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Perry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilderville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilderville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderville
    • Satin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Rosebud
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Chilton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Golinda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Golinda is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Springs, with the one closest to Alto Springs listed first.
    • Donie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Freestone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Freestone is located in Freestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Springs, with the one closest to Alto Springs listed first.
    • Marquez
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Newby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Newby is located in Leon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Limestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Springs, with the one closest to Alto Springs listed first.
    • Kosse
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Kosse is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <1>
    • Thornton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ben Hur
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Ben Hur is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Hur
    • Groesbeck
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Kirk
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Kirk is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
    • Frosa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
    • Lost Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Lost Prairie is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Prairie
    • Fallon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fallon is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
    • Farrar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Farrar is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
    • Personville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Personville is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
    • Prairie Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Watt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Watt is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
    • Delia ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Delia is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Springs, with the one closest to Alto Springs listed first.
    • Mart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Mart is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,983 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mart <1>
    • Riesel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Battle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Battle is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battle
    • Hallsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Hallsburg is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Harrison
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Harrison is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Downsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Downsville is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
    • Rosenthal
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Rosenthal is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosenthal
    • Elk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Elk is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
    • Robinson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Milam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Springs, with the one closest to Alto Springs listed first.
    • Baileyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Baileyville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileyville
    • Crossroads
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Crossroads is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
    • Jones Prairie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jones Prairie is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Prairie
    • Burlington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Port Sullivan ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Port Sullivan is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sullivan
    • Branchville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Branchville is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
    • Maysfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Silver City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Silver City is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto Springs, with the one closest to Alto Springs listed first.
    • Bremond
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hammond
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Hammond is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
    • Bald Prairie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
    • Seale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Seale is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
    • Owensville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
    • Calvert
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Franklin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Baden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
    • Elliot
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
    • Hearne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Alto Springs ...

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

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 Alto Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mustang Prairie Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Hopewell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Glade Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Kosse Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Eutaw Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Stranger Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Moss Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sowders Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Garrett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Waite Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (202 more) ...
    • Bremond Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • St. Mary Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cloverleaf Rest Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Kosse
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kosse is located in Limestone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <1>
  • Stranger
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Stranger is located in Falls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
  • Reagan
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Bremond
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Petteway
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Petteway is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petteway
  • Headsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Headsville is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
  • Thornton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • McClanahan
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • McClanahan is located in Falls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClanahan
  • Hammond
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Hammond is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
  • Nesbitt
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Nesbitt is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
  • Marlin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Bald Prairie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Oletha
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Oletha is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oletha
    • Wilderville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilderville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderville
    • Seale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Seale is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale

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

Newspapers Published in Alto Springs ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alto Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alto Springs, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alto Springs.

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 Springs:

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 Alto Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alto Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.