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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 Buena Vista (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 Buena Vista. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Buena Vista is located in Cameron 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 Cameron County: Hidalgo & Willacy.

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

  • Cameron County     (The home county of Buena Vista)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
    • Arroyo City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arroyo City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo City
      • Arroyo City is located in Cameron County
    • Bayview
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Arroyo Gardens - La Tina Ranch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Laguna Vista
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laguna Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laguna Vista
      • Laguna Vista is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,217 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laguna Vista <2>
    • Laguna Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laguna Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laguna Heights
      • Laguna Heights is located in Cameron County
    • Lozano
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lozano have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lozano
      • Lozano is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lozano <2>
    • Del Mar Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Del Mar Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Mar Heights
      • Del Mar Heights is located in Cameron County
      • Del Mar Heights has also been known as:
      • Del Mar Heights Colonia
    • Chula Vista - Orason
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chula Vista - Orason
      • Chula Vista - Orason is located in Cameron County
    • Laureles
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laureles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laureles
      • Laureles is located in Cameron County
    • Port Isabel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
      • Indian Lake is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
    • Los Fresnos
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Fresnos have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Fresnos
      • Los Fresnos is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,826 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Los Fresnos <2>
  • Willacy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
    • Santa Monica
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Santa Monica. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
      • Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
    • Port Mansfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mansfield
      • Port Mansfield is located in Willacy County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Mansfield <2>
    • Willamar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willamar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
      • Willamar is located in Willacy County
    • San Perlita
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sebastian
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Lyford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford
      • Lyford is located in Willacy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,513 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyford <2>
    • Lyford South
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lyford South. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
      • Lyford South is located in Willacy County
      • Lyford South has also been known as:
      • Lyford South Colonia
    • Zapata Ranch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zapata Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
      • Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
      • Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
      • Zapata Ranch Colonia

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

Cemeteries Near Buena Vista ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Buena Vista.

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

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

  • La Leona Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Leona Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Leona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Soldiers Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Soldiers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Soldiers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rio Hondo Community Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rio Hondo Community Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rio Hondo Community Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Rio Hondo.
    • The Rio Hondo Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Jack Carpenter Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188890 <4>
  • Cavazos Family Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cavazos Family Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cavazos Family Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<5> to the northwest of San Perlita.
    • The Cavazos Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sabino Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2492338 <4>
  • Rio Hondo City Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Monte Meta Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monte Meta Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monte Meta Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • San Benito City Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • San Benito Memorial Park Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • La Jarita Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Jarita Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Jarita Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tanquesitos Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tanquesitos Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tanquesitos Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<5> to the north of Santa Monica.
  • San Antonio Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Antonio Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the San Antonio Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6681 <4>
  • Noyola Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Noyola Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Noyola Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Las Rucias Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Los Omales Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Ashland Memorial Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ashland Memorial Park
      • The Ashland Memorial Park has also been known as:
      • Loma Linda Cemetery

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

  • Brownsville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Buena Vista ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Buena Vista.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Buena Vista, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Buena Vista.

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 Buena Vista:

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

The official website for Cameron County: www.co.cameron.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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Buena Vista) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Buena Vista. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.2451, Longitude: -97.3489       In this case, the coordinates for Buena Vista have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Buena Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 16 Jul 2025