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The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Blessing (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 Blessing. 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.

Blessing is located in Matagorda 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 Matagorda County: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Jackson & Wharton.

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

  • Matagorda County     (The home county of Blessing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blessing, with the one closest to Blessing listed first.
    • Elmaton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmaton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmaton
      • Elmaton is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmaton <2>
    • Midfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midfield
      • Midfield is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Midfield <2>
    • Collegeport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collegeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeport
      • Collegeport is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collegeport <2>
    • Markham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Markham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
      • Markham is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Markham <2>
    • Palacios
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Elliott ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
      • Elliott has also been known as:
      • Elliott's
    • Wadsworth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadsworth
      • Wadsworth is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadsworth <2>
    • Bay City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
      • Bay City is located in Matagorda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,474 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay City <2>
    • Matagorda
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Chalmers
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmers
      • Chalmers is located in Matagorda County
    • Caney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
      • Caney is located in Matagorda County
    • McCroskey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCroskey
      • McCroskey is located in Matagorda County
    • Gulf ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf
      • Gulf is located in Matagorda County
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blessing, with the one closest to Blessing listed first.
    • Port Alto
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Alto
      • Port Alto is located in Calhoun County
    • Point Comfort
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Comfort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Comfort
      • Point Comfort is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Comfort <2>
    • Indianola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indianola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianola
      • Indianola is located in Calhoun County
    • Port Lavaca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blessing, with the one closest to Blessing listed first.
    • Francitas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francitas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francitas
      • Francitas is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Francitas <2>
    • La Ward
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Ward
      • La Ward is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Ward <2>
    • Weedhaven
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weedhaven
      • Weedhaven is located in Jackson County
    • Lolita
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lolita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lolita
      • Lolita is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lolita <2>
    • Ganado
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ganado have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganado
      • Ganado is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,085 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ganado <2>
    • Vanderbilt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vanderbilt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderbilt
      • Vanderbilt is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vanderbilt <2>
    • Edna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
      • Edna is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <2>
    • La Salle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Salle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
      • La Salle is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Salle <2>
    • Matilda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
      • Matilda is located in Jackson County
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blessing, with the one closest to Blessing listed first.
    • Danevang
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danevang have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danevang
      • Danevang is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danevang <2>
    • Hillje
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillje
      • Hillje is located in Wharton County
    • Louise
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • El Campo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Campo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Campo
      • El Campo is located in Wharton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,502 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Campo <2>
    • Pierce
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce
      • Pierce is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierce <2>
    • Lane City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane City
      • Lane City is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane City <2>
    • Hahn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hahn
      • Hahn is located in Wharton County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Blessing ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blessing.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Blessing. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Blessing and those printed in the larger area surrounding Blessing.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Blessing.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Blessing:

Cemeteries Near Blessing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blessing.

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

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

  • Blessing Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blessing Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blessing Cemetery
  • Lacy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lacy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lacy Cemetery
  • Hawley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hawley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hawley Cemetery
  • Grimes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grimes Cemetery
  • Partain Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Partain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Partain Cemetery
  • Ashby Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ashby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ashby Cemetery
  • Cornelius Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cornelius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cornelius Cemetery
  • Francitas Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Francitas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Francitas Cemetery
  • Deutschburg Community Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Collegeport Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Collegeport Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Collegeport Cemetery
  • Palacios Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Bay City Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay City Cemetery
  • Continue List   (35 more) ...
    • East End Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East End Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East End Cemetery
    • Matagorda Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Brackenridge Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brackenridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brackenridge Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2533 <5>

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 Blessing in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blessing.

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

  • Ashby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
    • Ashby is located in Matagorda County
  • Elliott ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
    • Elliott has also been known as:
    • Elliott's
  • Matagorda
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Louise
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Ganado
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ganado have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganado
    • Ganado is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,085 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ganado <2>
  • Caney
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
    • Caney is located in Matagorda County
  • Edna
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
    • Edna is located in Jackson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <2>
  • Mackay
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mackay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackay
    • Mackay is located in Wharton County
  • Pledger
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
    • Pledger is located in Matagorda County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <2>
  • El Toro
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Toro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Toro
    • El Toro is located in Jackson County

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

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

The official website for Matagorda County: www.co.matagorda.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blessing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blessing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.8714, Longitude: -96.2180       In this case, the coordinates for Blessing 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 Blessing, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024