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 Castor (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 Castor. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Castor is located in Mills 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 Mills County: Brown, Comanche, Hamilton, Lampasas & San Saba.
Below are the counties that are near Castor. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Castor:
- Mills County (The home county of Castor)
- The following are listed by their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- Goldthwaite
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Center City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Center City is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center City
- Bozar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bozar is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bozar
- Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
- Star
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mullin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ridge is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
- Regency ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Regency is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
- Priddy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Buffalo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Buffalo is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Ebony ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ebony is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebony
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- Zephyr
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Indian Creek is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
- Burnet County
- Naruna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Naruna is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naruna
- Comanche County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- Energy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Newburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Newburg is located in Comanche County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Coryell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- Evant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bee House
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bee House is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee House
- Pearl
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pearl is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- McGirk ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- McGirk is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
- Pottsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ohio ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ohio is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohio
- Slab Crossing ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Slab Crossing is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Crossing
- Lampasas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- Senterfitt ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Senterfitt is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Senterfitt
- Lometa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Nix
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Nix is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Adamsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Adamsville is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Izoro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lampasas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sparks Crossing ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sparks Crossing is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks Crossing
- San Saba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- San Saba
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bend
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Locker ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Locker is located in San Saba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
- Richland Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Cherokee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holt ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Holt is located in San Saba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Castor, see our County-by-County Page for Castor.
Cemeteries Near Castor ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Castor.
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 Castor - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Castor covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- Nabors Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Shaw Bend Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mohler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- McMillin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Center City Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Big Valley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Harmony Ridge Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Spring Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Traylor Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Valley Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Harris Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (88 more) ...
- Oneal Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Estep Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Senterfitt Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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.<3>
While we didn't find Castor in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Castor.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Castor, with the one closest to Castor listed first.
- Goldthwaite
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Big Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Big Valley is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Valley
- Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
- Lometa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- McGirk ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- McGirk is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGirk
- Mullin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- San Saba
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bend
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Nix
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Nix is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Adamsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Adamsville is located in Lampasas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Regency ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Regency is located in Mills County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
- Indian Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Indian Gap is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Gap
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Priddy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Evant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Shive
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Shive is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shive
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Castor. See our List of 1890's Communities around Castor.
Newspapers Published in Castor ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Castor.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Castor, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Castor.
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 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 Castor:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Mills County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Burnet County
- Comanche County
- Coryell County
- Hamilton County
- Lampasas County
- San Saba County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 Castor, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Castor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |