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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 Big Wells (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 Big Wells. 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 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.

Big Wells is located in Dimmit 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 Dimmit County: Frio, La Salle, Maverick, Webb & Zavala.

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

  • Dimmit County     (The home county of Big Wells)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Wells, with the one closest to Big Wells listed first.
    • Brundage
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brundage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brundage
      • Brundage is located in Dimmit County
    • Asherton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Catarina
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Carrizo Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrizo Hill
      • Carrizo Hill is located in Dimmit County
    • Carrizo Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Frio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Wells, with the one closest to Big Wells listed first.
    • Divot ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divot
      • Divot is located in Frio County
    • Dilley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dilley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilley
      • Dilley is located in Frio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,527 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dilley <2>
    • Hilltop
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilltop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Hilltop is located in Frio County
      • Hilltop has also been known as:
      • Hilltop Colonia
    • Derby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Derby is located in Frio County
      • Derby has also been known as:
      • Derby Colonia
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Wells, with the one closest to Big Wells listed first.
    • Woodward ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
      • Woodward is located in La Salle County
    • Millett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
      • Millett is located in La Salle County
    • Cotulla
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotulla have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotulla
      • Cotulla is located in La Salle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,133 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cotulla <2>
    • Artesia Wells
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Zavala County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Wells, with the one closest to Big Wells listed first.
    • Chula Vista - River Spur
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Crystal City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal City
      • Crystal City is located in Zavala County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal City <2>
    • Las Colonias
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Las Colonias have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Colonias
      • Las Colonias is located in Zavala County
    • Batesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • La Pryor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Pryor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Pryor
      • La Pryor is located in Zavala County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Pryor <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Big Wells ...

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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Wells.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Wells, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Wells.

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 Big Wells:

Cemeteries Near Big Wells ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Wells.

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

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

  • Big Wells Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Wells Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Wells Cemetery
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
  • Loma Vista Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Covey Chapel Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Edgewood Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Benito Juarez Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Juarez Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Juarez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Juarez Cemetery
  • Cotulla East Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cotulla Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hugo Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hugo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hugo Cemetery
  • Diller Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Diller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Diller Cemetery
  • Edgewood - Woodlawn Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • St. Patrick Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Vivian Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vivian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • The Vivian Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Pendencia Creek Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vivian Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7418 <4>
    • Cometa Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)

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.<5>

While we didn't find Big Wells in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Wells.

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

  • Carrizo Springs
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Cotulla
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotulla have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotulla
    • Cotulla is located in La Salle County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,133 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cotulla <2>
  • Millett
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
    • Millett is located in La Salle County
  • Dilley
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dilley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilley
    • Dilley is located in Frio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,527 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dilley <2>
  • Batesville
    (26 miles [41.8 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 Big Wells. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Wells.

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

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Big Wells) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Wells. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.5699, Longitude: -99.5702       In this case, the coordinates for Big Wells have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Big Wells, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024