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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 Colita (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 Colita. 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 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.

Colita is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Angelina, Hardin, Liberty, San Jacinto, Trinity & Tyler.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Colita)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colita, with the one closest to Colita listed first.
    • Bold Springs
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bold Springs is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bold Springs
    • Onalaska
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Seven Oaks
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
    • Leggett
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • New Willard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • New Willard is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Willard
    • Moscow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Livingston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • West Livingston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • West Livingston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Livingston
    • Corrigan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Lamont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Lamont is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
    • Camden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Skinner Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Skinner Town is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
    • Swartout ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Swartout is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swartout
  • Angelina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colita, with the one closest to Colita listed first.
    • Diboll
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Rutland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rutland is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
    • Shady Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Shady Grove is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
    • Prairie Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Grove is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
    • Blix
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Blix is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blix
    • Burke
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Burke is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burke
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
    • Granville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Granville is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
    • Beulah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Beulah is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
    • Peavy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Peavy is located in Angelina County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peavy
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colita, with the one closest to Colita listed first.
    • Holly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Holly is located in Houston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
    • Lovelady
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Liberty County
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Africa is located in Liberty County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
  • San Jacinto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colita, with the one closest to Colita listed first.
    • Point Blank
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakhurst
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Coldspring
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Laurel Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Laurel Hill is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
    • Evergreen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Evergreen is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Shepherd
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Magnolia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Magnolia is located in San Jacinto County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
  • Trinity County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colita, with the one closest to Colita listed first.
    • Sumpter ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Sumpter is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
    • Woodlake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Woodlake is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake
    • Carlisle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Carlisle is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Chita
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Chita is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chita
    • Groveton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Lacy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Lacy is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
      • Lacy has also been known as:
      • Lacey
    • Glendale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Glendale is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Helmic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Helmic is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmic
    • Friday
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Friday is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friday
    • Mill Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Mill Town is located in Trinity County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Town
    • Trinity
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Apple Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Centralia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Tyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colita, with the one closest to Colita listed first.
    • Peach Tree Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
    • Chester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colita, with the one closest to Colita listed first.
    • Riverside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Dodge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Kittrell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Kittrell is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittrell

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

Cemeteries Near Colita ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colita.

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

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

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

  • Bethel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Robinett Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Wright Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Andrew Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Carmona Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Alexander Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Jones Watts Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Burch Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Sumpter Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Oaks Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Carrington Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Greenfield Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (123 more) ...
    • Kibble Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Josserand Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Abbott Springs Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Colita had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Carmona
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Carmona is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmona
  • Leggett
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Seven Oaks
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
  • Josserand
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Josserand is located in Trinity County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josserand
  • Moscow
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Asia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Asia is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asia
  • Livingston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Groveton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Corrigan
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Point Blank
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hortense
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Hortense is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hortense
  • Saron
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Saron is located in Trinity County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saron
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Goodrich
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Barnum
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Barnum is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnum
    • Coldspring
      (21 miles [33.8 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 Colita. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colita.

Newspapers Published in Colita ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colita.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colita, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colita.

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 Colita:

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 from Point A (ie- Colita) 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 Colita, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.