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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 Bowers (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 Bowers. 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 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.

Bowers is located in Milam 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 Milam County: Bell, Burleson, Falls, Lee, Robertson & Williamson.

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

  • Milam County     (The home county of Bowers)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Buckholts
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Val Verde
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Val Verde is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Val Verde
    • Davilla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tracy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tracy is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
    • Cameron
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Silver City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Silver City is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
    • Burlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Minerva
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Minerva is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
    • Marlow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Marlow is located in Milam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Maysfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Thorndale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Rockdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Rogers
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgeworth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Edgeworth is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
    • Meeks
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Meeks is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeks
    • Cyclone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Cyclone is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
    • Vilas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Vilas is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
    • Academy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Academy is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academy
    • Heidenheimer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sparks
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Sparks is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks
    • Ocker
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Ocker is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocker
    • Little River Academy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Little River Academy is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River Academy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Little River
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Holland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Barclay
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Barclay is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
    • Zipperlandville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Zipperlandville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zipperlandville
      • Zipperlandville has also been known as:
      • Zipperlen
      • Zipperlenville
    • Westphalia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Westphalia is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
    • Rosebud
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Durango
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Durango is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durango
    • Blevins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Blevins is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blevins
    • Lott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilderville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Wilderville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderville
    • Chilton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Bruceville - Eddy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bruceville - Eddy is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville - Eddy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
    • Mooreville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Mooreville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooreville
    • Highbank
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Highbank is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank
  • Lee County
    • Hicks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hicks is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Eddy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Bruceville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Moody
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Moody is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
  • Robertson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Calvert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Hammond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hammond is located in Robertson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bowers, with the one closest to Bowers listed first.
    • Laneport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Laneport is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laneport
    • Friendship ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Friendship is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
    • Granger
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hoxie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hoxie is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxie
    • Schwertner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Thrall
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Thrall is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thrall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,014 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thrall <1>
    • Walburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jarrell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Taylor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Taylor is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,921 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylor <1>
    • Beyersville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Beyersville is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyersville
    • Weir
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Weir is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weir
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weir <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Bowers ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowers.

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

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

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

  • Rogers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Taplin View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hope Lutheran Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Lutheran Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hope Lutheran Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Buckholts.
    • The Hope Lutheran Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Hope Cemetery
    • Hope Lutheran Cemetery
  • McCann Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Bryant Station Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • McFarland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Corinth Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Reed Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hall Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Marak Catholic & Methodius Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Val Verde Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (291 more) ...
    • Dyess Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bentsch Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Graham - McQween Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<2>

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

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

  • Rogers
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Buckholts
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Vilas
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Vilas is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
  • Cyclone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Cyclone is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
  • Donahoe
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Donahoe is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donahoe
  • Davilla
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Heidenheimer
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Seaton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Seaton is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaton
  • Ocker
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Ocker is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocker
  • Little River
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ben Arnold
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Ben Arnold is located in Milam County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Arnold
  • Barclay
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Barclay is located in Falls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Cameron
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Burlington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Holland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Bowers ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowers.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowers, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowers.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Bowers:

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 Bowers, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bowers) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.