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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 Alvin (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 Alvin. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Alvin is located in Brazoria 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 Brazoria County: Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Matagorda & Wharton.

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

  • Brazoria County     (The home county of Alvin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • Hillcrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Westwood Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Westwood Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Manvel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Manvel is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manvel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manvel <1>
    • Liverpool
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Woodcreek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Pearland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Fairway Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairway Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Village
    • West Oaks Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • West Oaks Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
    • Iowa Colony
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Iowa Colony is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Colony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,888 people
    • Brookside Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Rosharon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Bonney
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Chambers County
  • Fort Bend County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • Arcola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Arcola is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arcola <1>
    • Fresno
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hawdon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Juliff
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Sienna Plantation
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Sienna Plantation is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sienna Plantation
    • Trammels
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dewalt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Missouri City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Fifth Street
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Fifth Street is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifth Street
    • Missouri City Estates
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Missouri City Estates is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri City Estates
    • Stafford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Thompsons
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Galveston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • Carmel Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Carmel Village is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
    • Friendswood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Arcadia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Parkwood Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Parkwood Village is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Village
    • Santa Fe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Quaker Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Quaker Village is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
    • League City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Dickinson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • South Shore Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • South Shore Village is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Shore Village
    • Hitchcock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Clear Lake Shores
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kemah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Kemah is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kemah <1>
  • Harris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin listed first.
    • Baybrook Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Baybrook Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baybrook Village
    • Webster
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Clear Lake City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Nassau Bay
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Genoa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Genoa is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
    • Parkland Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • El Lago
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylor Lake Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • South Houston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Canterbury Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Canterbury Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury Village
    • Glenbrook Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Mystic Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mystic Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic Village

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

Cemeteries Near Alvin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alvin.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alvin, with the one closest to Alvin 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alvin had a population of 261 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alvin had a population of 27,140 people.

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

  • Arcadia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Liverpool
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Dickinson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Bonney
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Genoa
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Genoa is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
  • Arcola Junction
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Arcola Junction is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola Junction
  • Arcola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Arcola is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,775 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arcola <1>
  • Sandy Point
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Duke
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Duke is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
  • La Marque
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Chenango
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Pierce Junction
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pierce Junction is located in Harris County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Junction
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Red Bluff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Red Bluff is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff
    • Harrisburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Harrisburg is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • Magnolia Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Alvin ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alvin.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Alvin. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Alvin and those printed in the larger area surrounding Alvin.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> of Alvin.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Alvin:

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