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 Benitez (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 Benitez. 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 Benitez ...
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.
Benitez has also been known as: Benitez 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 northeast 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 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.
Benitez is located in Willacy 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 Willacy County: Cameron, Hidalgo & Kenedy.
Below are the counties that are near Benitez. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Benitez:
- Willacy County (The home county of Benitez)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benitez, with the one closest to Benitez listed first.
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Raymondville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Ranchette Estates
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
- Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
- Ranchette Estates Colonia
- Lyford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- San Perlita
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Lyford South
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lyford South is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
- Lyford South has also been known as:
- Lyford South Colonia
- Willamar
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
- Lasara
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Zapata Ranch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
- Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
- Zapata Ranch Colonia
- Sebastian
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Santa Monica
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- Port Mansfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benitez, with the one closest to Benitez listed first.
- Yznaga
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Yznaga is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
- Tierra Bonita
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Tierra Bonita is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Bonita
- Tierra Bonita has also been known as:
- Tierra Bonita Colonia
- Santa Rosa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Combes
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Combes is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,037 people
- Combes has also been known as:
- Combes Colonia
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Combes <1>
- Grand Acres
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
- Lasana
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lasana is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasana
- Lasana has also been known as:
- Lasana Colonia
- Primera
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Primera is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,271 people
- Las Palmas - Juarez
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Las Palmas - Juarez is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palmas - Juarez
- Palm Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Palm Valley is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Ratamosa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
- Ratamosa has also been known as:
- Ratamosa Colonia
- Rio Hondo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harlingen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Arroyo City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Arroyo City is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo City
- Hidalgo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benitez, with the one closest to Benitez listed first.
- Monte Alto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hargill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- La Villa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
- Edcouch
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Elsa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Heidelberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- La Blanca
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mila Doce
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
- Linn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- San Manuel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- San Manuel is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Manuel
- Doolittle
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Doolittle is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolittle
- Faysville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Faysville is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faysville
- Kenedy County
- Armstrong
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Armstrong is located in Kenedy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Benitez, see our County-by-County Page for Benitez.
Cemeteries Near Benitez ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Benitez.
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 Benitez - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Benitez covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Benitez, with the one closest to Benitez listed first.
- La Piedad Cementerio #1 Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- La Piedad Cementerio #2 Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Raymondville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymondville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Raymondville Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Raymondville.
- Evergreen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Lyford.
- The Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lyford Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2207123 <2>
- Guadalupe Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Guadalupe Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Lyford.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2422545 <2>
- San Martin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Garcia Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Garcia Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garcia Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Garcia Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Lasara.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3744 <2>
- San Luis Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the San Luis Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Lasara.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6714 <2>
- Chavez Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chavez Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Chavez Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southeast of Lasara.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2882 <2>
- Lasara Memorial Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- El Toro Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (49 more) ...
- Santa Rita Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Santa Rita Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Sebastian.
- Las Rucias Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- El Azadon Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 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.<4>
While we didn't find Benitez in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Benitez.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Benitez, with the one closest to Benitez listed first.
- Los Angeles
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles
- Santa Maria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Benitez. See our List of 1890's Communities around Benitez.
Newspapers Published in Benitez ...
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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Benitez.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Benitez, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Benitez.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Benitez:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Willacy County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Hidalgo County
- Kenedy County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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> | 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- Benitez) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Benitez, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |