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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 Biry (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 Biry. 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.

Biry is located in Medina 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 Medina County: Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Frio, Uvalde & Zavala.

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

  • Medina County     (The home county of Biry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Biry, with the one closest to Biry listed first.
    • Devine
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Natalia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Pearson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Pearson is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearson
    • Yancey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • New Fountain
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • New Fountain is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Fountain
    • Quihi
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Quihi is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quihi
    • Hondo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Castroville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • LaCoste
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • LaCoste is located in Medina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaCoste
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,263 people
      • LaCoste has also been known as:
      • La Coste
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaCoste <1>
    • Rio Medina
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • D'Hanis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mico
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Atascosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Biry, with the one closest to Biry listed first.
    • Lytle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Lytle is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lytle <1>
    • Kyote
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Kyote is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyote
    • Iuka
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Iuka is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iuka
    • Anchorage
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Anchorage is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
    • Rossville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rossville is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
    • Crown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Crown is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
    • Amphion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Amphion is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amphion
    • Poteet
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bexar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Biry, with the one closest to Biry listed first.
    • Atascosa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Bexar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Bexar is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexar
    • Macdona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Somerset
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Von Ormy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Lackland City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Lackland City is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackland City
    • Lackland Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Westwood Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Westwood Village is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Helotes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Leon Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Frio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Biry, with the one closest to Biry listed first.
    • Moore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bigfoot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • North Pearsall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • North Pearsall is located in Frio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pearsall
    • West Pearsall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • West Pearsall is located in Frio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pearsall
    • Frio Town ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Frio Town is located in Frio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frio Town
    • Pearsall
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Uvalde County
    • Sabinal
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Biry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Biry.

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 Biry - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Biry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Roberson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mussman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Tomerlin Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Yancey Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Styles Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Tehuacana Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Tehuacana Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (74 more) ...
    • Moore Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Louis Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Zion Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Devine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Noonan
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Noonan is located in Medina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noonan
  • New Fountain
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • New Fountain is located in Medina County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Fountain
  • Moore
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Hondo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Castroville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lytle
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lytle is located in Atascosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytle
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lytle <1>
  • Bigfoot
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Atascosa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • D'Hanis
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bexar
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Bexar is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexar
  • Macdona
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Anchorage
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Anchorage is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
    • Frio Town ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Frio Town is located in Frio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frio Town
    • Rossville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rossville is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville

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

Newspapers Published in Biry ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Biry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Biry, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Biry.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Biry:

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>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 Biry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Biry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.