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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 Briggs (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 Briggs. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Briggs is located in Burnet 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 Burnet County: Bell, Blanco, Lampasas, Llano, San Saba, Travis & Williamson.

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

  • Burnet County     (The home county of Briggs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briggs, with the one closest to Briggs listed first.
    • Bertram
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Oatmeal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Burnet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Naruna
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Naruna is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naruna
    • Mormon Mill ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mormon Mill is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Mill
      • Mormon Mill has also been known as:
      • Mormon Colony
    • Silver Creek Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Silver Creek Village is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek Village
    • Marble Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briggs, with the one closest to Briggs listed first.
    • Maxdale ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Maxdale is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxdale
    • Ding Dong
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ding Dong is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ding Dong
    • Copperas Cove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Killeen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Chaffee Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Chaffee Village is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee Village
    • Fort Hood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • McNair Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • McNair Village is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNair Village
    • Harker Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Walker Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Walker Village is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker Village
    • Nolanville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Salado
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Brookhaven
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Brookhaven is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
  • Coryell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briggs, with the one closest to Briggs listed first.
    • Montague Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Montague Village is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague Village
    • Comanche Village I
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Comanche Village I is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village I
    • Comanche Village II
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Comanche Village II is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village II
    • Comanche Village III
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Comanche Village III is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village III
    • Saint Elijah Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Saint Elijah Village is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elijah Village
    • Mason Crossing ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Mason Crossing is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Crossing
  • Lampasas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briggs, with the one closest to Briggs listed first.
    • Kempner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Sparks Crossing ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Sparks Crossing is located in Lampasas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks Crossing
    • Lampasas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Izoro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Nix
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Nix is located in Lampasas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
  • Travis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briggs, with the one closest to Briggs listed first.
    • Nameless ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Nameless is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameless
      • Nameless has also been known as:
      • Cross Creek
      • Fairview
    • Jonestown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lago Vista
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Volente
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Briggs, with the one closest to Briggs listed first.
    • Andice
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Florence
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Liberty Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Sun City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sun City is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun City
    • Jarrell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Serenada
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Serenada is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serenada
    • Leander
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Leander is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,519 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leander <1>
    • Georgetown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Walburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Schwertner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Weir
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Cedar Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Briggs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Briggs.

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

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

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

  • Fairview Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Mahomet Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Gillum Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Smart Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Horeb Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Gabriel Mills Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Toby Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Andice Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ethridge Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Strickling Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Ratliff Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (113 more) ...
    • Lawler Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Bear Creek Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Buck Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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.<3>

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

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

  • Mahomet
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Mahomet is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahomet
  • Oakalla
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Oakalla is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakalla
  • Florence
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Maxdale ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Maxdale is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxdale
  • Bertram
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sunnylane
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Sunnylane is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnylane
  • Kempner
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Youngsport
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Youngsport is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngsport
  • Liberty Hill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Killeen
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Burnet
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Corn Hill
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Corn Hill is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corn Hill
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lampasas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Theon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Theon is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theon
    • Leander
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Leander is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,519 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leander <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Briggs ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Briggs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Briggs, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Briggs.

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 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 Briggs:

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>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 Briggs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Briggs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.