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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 Catherine (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 Catherine. 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.

Name Variations for Catherine ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Catherine has also been known as: Catherine Colonia.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Catherine. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Catherine.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 and doctors 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.

Catherine is located in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County: Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, Starr & Willacy.

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

  • Hidalgo County     (The home county of Catherine)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catherine, with the one closest to Catherine listed first.
    • Edcouch
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Elsa
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Elsa is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elsa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elsa <1>
    • La Villa
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
    • Mila Doce
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
    • Olivarez
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
    • La Blanca
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Indian Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
    • Midway North
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
    • San Carlos
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • San Carlos is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Carlos
    • Monte Alto
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Heidelberg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
    • Muniz
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Muniz is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muniz
      • Muniz has also been known as:
      • Muniz Colonia
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catherine, with the one closest to Catherine listed first.
    • Grand Acres
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
    • Santa Rosa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Tierra Bonita
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Tierra Bonita is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Bonita
      • Tierra Bonita has also been known as:
      • Tierra Bonita Colonia
    • Ratamosa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
      • Ratamosa has also been known as:
      • Ratamosa Colonia
    • Yznaga
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Yznaga is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
    • Bixby
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bixby is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
    • La Feria North
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • La Feria North is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
    • North La Feria Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
      • North La Feria Village has also been known as:
      • North La Feria Village Colonia
    • Solis
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Solis is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solis
      • Solis has also been known as:
      • Solis Colonia
    • Windsong Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
      • Windsong Village has also been known as:
      • Windsong Village Colonia
    • La Feria
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Arroyo Alto
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
  • Willacy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Catherine, with the one closest to Catherine listed first.
    • Zapata Ranch
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
      • Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
      • Zapata Ranch Colonia
    • Sebastian
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lasara
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lyford South
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lyford South is located in Willacy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
      • Lyford South has also been known as:
      • Lyford South Colonia
    • Lyford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ranchette Estates
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
      • Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
      • Ranchette Estates Colonia
    • Raymondville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Angeles Subdivision
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Santa Monica
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
    • San Perlita
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Willamar
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Willamar is located in Willacy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar

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

Cemeteries Near Catherine ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Catherine.

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

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

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

  • Highland Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • San Jose Ranch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Cementerio Anahuac Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Campacuas Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cementerio de las Burras Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Donna City Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donna City Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Donna City Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Donna.
    • The Donna City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Donna Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #323371 <2>
  • Weslaco Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Emmanuel Cemetery
    • Mercedes Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2184663 <2>
  • Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Baptist Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Mercedes Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cementerio Bautista
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2827 <2>
  • Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5844 <2>
  • Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Principe de Paz Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2403957 <2>
  • Continue List   (73 more) ...
    • Anacuitas Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • El Azadon Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • La Capilla Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Santa Maria
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Hidalgo
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Los Angeles
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles

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

Newspapers Published in Catherine ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Catherine.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Catherine, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Catherine.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Catherine:

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