RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Matagorda County >> Bay City >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Texas

The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Bay City (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 Bay City. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Bay City is located in Matagorda County and is the County Seat.

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 Matagorda County: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Jackson & Wharton.

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

  • Matagorda County     (The home county of Bay City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay City, with the one closest to Bay City listed first.
    • Elliott ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
      • Elliott has also been known as:
      • Elliott's
    • Van Vleck
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Caney
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
      • Caney is located in Matagorda County
    • Chalmers
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmers
      • Chalmers is located in Matagorda County
    • Markham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Markham have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
      • Markham is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Markham <2>
    • McCroskey
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCroskey
      • McCroskey is located in Matagorda County
    • Wadsworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadsworth
      • Wadsworth is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadsworth <2>
    • Elmaton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmaton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmaton
      • Elmaton is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmaton <2>
    • Cedar Lane
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lane
      • Cedar Lane is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Lane <2>
    • Pledger
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
      • Pledger is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <2>
    • Midfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midfield
      • Midfield is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Midfield <2>
    • Blessing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blessing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blessing
      • Blessing is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blessing <2>
  • Brazoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay City, with the one closest to Bay City listed first.
    • Old Ocean
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Ocean have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ocean
      • Old Ocean is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Ocean <2>
    • Danciger
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danciger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danciger
      • Danciger is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danciger <2>
    • Sweeny
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Wild Peach Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wild Peach Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Peach Village
      • Wild Peach Village is located in Brazoria County
    • West Columbia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Brazoria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • East Columbia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Columbia
      • East Columbia is located in Brazoria County
    • Damon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Damon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damon
      • Damon is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Damon <2>
    • Jones Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Bailey's Prairie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey's Prairie
      • Bailey's Prairie is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
  • Fort Bend County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay City, with the one closest to Bay City listed first.
    • Four Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
      • Four Corners is located in Fort Bend County
    • Guy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guy
      • Guy is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guy <2>
    • Needville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needville
      • Needville is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Needville <2>
  • Jackson County
    • Francitas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francitas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francitas
      • Francitas is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Francitas <2>
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay City, with the one closest to Bay City listed first.
    • Danevang
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danevang have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danevang
      • Danevang is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danevang <2>
    • Lane City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane City
      • Lane City is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane City <2>
    • Boling
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boling have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boling
      • Boling is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boling <2>
    • Newgulf
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Pierce
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
      • Pierce is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierce <2>
    • El Campo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Campo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Campo
      • El Campo is located in Wharton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,502 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Campo <2>
    • Wharton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hillje
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillje
      • Hillje is located in Wharton County
    • Glen Flora
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Louise
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Hungerford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bay City ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bay City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bay City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bay City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Bay City.

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 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 Bay City:

Cemeteries Near Bay City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bay City.

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 Bay City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Bay City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay City Cemetery
  • East End Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East End Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East End Cemetery
  • Roselawn Memorial Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Matthews Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Matthews Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Matthews Cemetery
  • Free System Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Andrews Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Andrews Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Andrews Cemetery
  • Pleasant Green Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Green Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Green Cemetery
  • Hudgins Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hudgins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hudgins Cemetery
  • Williams Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
  • Union Baptist Church Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Berean Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Berean Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Berean Cemetery
  • Boone Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (54 more) ...
    • Union Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Partain Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Partain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Partain Cemetery
    • Cornelius Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cornelius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cornelius Cemetery

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

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

  • Elliott ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
    • Elliott has also been known as:
    • Elliott's
  • Caney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
    • Caney is located in Matagorda County
  • Ashby
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
    • Ashby is located in Matagorda County
  • Pledger
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
    • Pledger is located in Matagorda County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <2>
  • Matagorda
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Mackay
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mackay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackay
    • Mackay is located in Wharton County
  • Brazoria
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Wharton
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Hinkles Ferry
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hinkles Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkles Ferry
    • Hinkles Ferry is located in Brazoria County
  • Louise
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Hungerford
    (29 miles [46.7 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 Bay City. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bay City.

The official website for Bay City: www.cityofbaycity.org/

The official website for Matagorda County: www.co.matagorda.tx.us/

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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- Bay City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bay City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.9813, Longitude: -95.9604       In this case, the coordinates for Bay City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<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 Bay City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024