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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 Bay Harbor (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 Harbor. 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 Bay Harbor ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bay Harbor: Bay Hbr. (or less commonly used: Bay Harb. or Bay Hrbr.)

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 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.

Bay Harbor is located in Galveston 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 Galveston County: Brazoria & Harris.

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

  • Galveston County     (The home county of Bay Harbor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Harbor, with the one closest to Bay Harbor listed first.
    • Jamaica Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamaica Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamaica Beach
      • Jamaica Beach is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,076 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jamaica Beach <2>
    • Tiki Island
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tiki Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiki Island
      • Tiki Island is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,072 people
      • Tiki Island has also been known as:
      • Village of Tiki Island
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tiki Island <2>
    • Hitchcock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bayou Vista
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Vista
      • Bayou Vista is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,637 people
    • Texas City Terminal Junction
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas City Terminal Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City Terminal Junction
      • Texas City Terminal Junction is located in Galveston County
    • La Marque
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Texas City Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas City Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City Junction
      • Texas City Junction is located in Galveston County
    • Santa Fe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Fe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Fe
      • Santa Fe is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,461 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Fe <2>
    • Galveston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Texas City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Dickinson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickinson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickinson
      • Dickinson is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,216 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickinson <2>
    • Port Bolivar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bacliff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Brazoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Harbor, with the one closest to Bay Harbor listed first.
    • San Luis ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for San Luis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis
      • San Luis is located in Brazoria County
    • Liverpool
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Surfside Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Surfside Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surfside Beach
      • Surfside Beach is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Surfside Beach <2>
    • Oyster Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oyster Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Creek
      • Oyster Creek is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,212 people
    • Bastrop Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bastrop Beach
      • Bastrop Beach is located in Brazoria County
    • Danbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
      • Danbury is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,757 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danbury <2>
    • Quintana
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillcrest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
      • Hillcrest is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 706 people
    • Velasco
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Velasco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velasco
      • Velasco is located in Brazoria County
    • Alvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
      • Alvin is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvin <2>
    • Freeport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <2>
    • Angleton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angleton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angleton
      • Angleton is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,521 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angleton <2>
    • Clute
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clute have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clute
      • Clute is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,724 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clute <2>
  • Chambers County
    • Seabrook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Harris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Harbor, with the one closest to Bay Harbor listed first.
    • Baybrook Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baybrook Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baybrook Village
      • Baybrook Village is located in Harris County
    • Nassau Bay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nassau Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nassau Bay
      • Nassau Bay is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,907 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nassau Bay <2>
    • Webster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,291 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster <2>
    • Clear Lake City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake City
      • Clear Lake City is located in Harris County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clear Lake City <2>
    • El Lago
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Lago have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Lago
      • El Lago is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,736 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Lago <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Bay Harbor ...

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 211 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay Harbor.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bay Harbor, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bay Harbor.

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 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 Harbor:

Cemeteries Near Bay Harbor ...

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

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

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

  • Mainland Memorial Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Alta Loma Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alta Loma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alta Loma Cemetery
  • Galveston Memorial Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Hitchcock Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Grace Memorial Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grace Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grace Memorial Cemetery
  • Liverpool Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Hudgens Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Hudgens Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hudgens Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #4399 <5>
  • Beth Jacob Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Galveston Municipal Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Memorial Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Municipal Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Municipal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Municipal Cemetery
  • Continue List   (47 more) ...
    • Serbian Orthodox Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Greek Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greek 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 Harbor in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bay Harbor.

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

  • Virginia Point
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Point
    • Virginia Point is located in Galveston County
  • La Marque
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Liverpool
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Arcadia
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcadia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Arcadia is located in Galveston County
  • Oyster Creek
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oyster Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Creek
    • Oyster Creek is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,212 people
  • Galveston
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Quintana
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Velasco
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Velasco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velasco
    • Velasco is located in Brazoria County
  • Alvin
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
    • Alvin is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,140 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvin <2>
  • Dickinson
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickinson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickinson
    • Dickinson is located in Galveston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,216 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickinson <2>
  • Chenango
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chenango have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenango
    • Chenango is located in Brazoria County
  • Bonney
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonney
    • Bonney is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people

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

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

The official website for Galveston County: www.co.galveston.tx.us/

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>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.
<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 Harbor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bay Harbor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.1275, Longitude: -95.0685       In this case, the coordinates for Bay Harbor 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 Harbor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024