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 Bernal (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 Bernal. 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 Bernal ...
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.
Bernal has also been known as: Bernal Colonia.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bernal. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bernal.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Bernal is located in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County: Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, Starr & Willacy.
Below are the counties that are near Bernal. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bernal:
- Hidalgo County (The home county of Bernal)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bernal, with the one closest to Bernal listed first.
- Indian Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Heidelberg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Mila Doce
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
- La Villa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
- Edcouch
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mercedes
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Olivarez
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
- Elsa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Llano Grande
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
- Midway North
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
- Weslaco
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Midway South
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Midway South is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway South
- Midway Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Midway Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway Village
- Midway Village has also been known as:
- Midway Village Colonia
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bernal, with the one closest to Bernal listed first.
- Ratamosa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
- Ratamosa has also been known as:
- Ratamosa Colonia
- Grand Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
- Santa Rosa
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Tierra Bonita
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Bixby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bixby is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
- La Feria North
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- La Feria North is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
- North La Feria Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
- North La Feria Village has also been known as:
- North La Feria Village Colonia
- Solis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Solis is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solis
- Solis has also been known as:
- Solis Colonia
- Windsong Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
- Windsong Village has also been known as:
- Windsong Village Colonia
- La Feria
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Yznaga
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Yznaga is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
- Arroyo Alto
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
- Palm Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Palm Valley is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bernal, with the one closest to Bernal listed first.
- Zapata Ranch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lyford South
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Lyford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lasara
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ranchette Estates
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- 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
- Raymondville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Santa Monica
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- Willamar
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
- San Perlita
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bernal, see our County-by-County Page for Bernal.
Cemeteries Near Bernal ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bernal.
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 Bernal - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bernal covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bernal, with the one closest to Bernal listed first.
- San Jose Ranch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Campacuas Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Emmanuel Cemetery
- Mercedes Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2184663 <2>
- Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Baptist Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Mercedes Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cementerio Bautista
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2827 <2>
- Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery has also been known as:
- Principe de Paz Presbyterian Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2403957 <2>
- Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5844 <2>
- Anacuitas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- La Capilla Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Highland Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Solis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- La Feria Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (72 more) ...
- Hinojosa Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- El Azadon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Weslaco Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Bernal in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bernal.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bernal, with the one closest to Bernal listed first.
- Santa Maria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hidalgo
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Los Angeles
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bernal. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bernal.
Newspapers Published in Bernal ...
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 Bernal.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bernal, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bernal.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Bernal:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Hidalgo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Willacy 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bernal) 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 Bernal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |