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 Cottonwood (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 Cottonwood. 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 Cottonwood ...
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.
Cottonwood has also been known as: Cottonwood Colonia.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Cottonwood. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Cottonwood.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Cottonwood 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 Cottonwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cottonwood:
- Hidalgo County (The home county of Cottonwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cottonwood, with the one closest to Cottonwood listed first.
- Seminary Village
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
- Seminary Village has also been known as:
- Seminary Village Colonia
- Faysville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Faysville is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faysville
- Doolittle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Doolittle is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolittle
- Edinburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Gate City Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Gate City Acres is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City Acres
- Gate City Acres has also been known as:
- Gate City Acres Colonia
- Cesar Chavez
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cesar Chavez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cesar Chavez
- Laguna Seca
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Laguna Seca is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laguna Seca
- Nurillo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Nurillo is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nurillo
- San Carlos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- San Carlos is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Carlos
- Monte Christo ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Monte Christo is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Christo
- Hargill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- La Blanca
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cottonwood, with the one closest to Cottonwood listed first.
- Yznaga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Yznaga is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
- Santa Rosa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Tierra Bonita
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Grand Acres
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
- Ratamosa
(23 miles [37 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
- Bixby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bixby is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
- Solis
(24 miles [38.6 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
- La Feria North
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- La Feria North is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
- La Feria
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- North La Feria Village
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Windsong Village
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Arroyo Alto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
- Starr County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cottonwood, with the one closest to Cottonwood listed first.
- Arkansas City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Arkansas City is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkansas City
- Delmita
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- San Isidro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- La Victoria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- La Victoria is located in Starr County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Victoria
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cottonwood, with the one closest to Cottonwood listed first.
- Lasara
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Zapata Ranch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- 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
- Ranchette Estates
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- 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
- Lyford South
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- 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
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sebastian
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Raymondville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cottonwood, see our County-by-County Page for Cottonwood.
Cemeteries Near Cottonwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cottonwood.
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 Cottonwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cottonwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cottonwood, with the one closest to Cottonwood listed first.
- Cibilo Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Restlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Restlawn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Restlawn Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Edinburg.
- Hillcrest Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Old Edinburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cavazos Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavazos Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cavazos Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the northeast of Edinburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2793 <3>
- Laguna Seca Ranch Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laguna Seca Ranch Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Laguna Seca Ranch Cemetery is located 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the north of Edinburg.
- The Laguna Seca Ranch Cemetery has also been known as:
- Vela Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7398 <3>
- Valle De La Paz Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Palm Valley Memorial Gardens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Valley Memorial Gardens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Guadalupe Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cementerio Anahuac Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Roselawn Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (81 more) ...
- Temple Emanuel Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- La Piedad Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- San Juan Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Juan Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the San Juan Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of San Juan.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6707 <3>
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 Cottonwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cottonwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cottonwood, with the one closest to Cottonwood listed first.
- Los Angeles
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles
- Hidalgo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Havana
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Havana is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
- Santa Maria
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cottonwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cottonwood.
Newspapers Published in Cottonwood ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cottonwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cottonwood, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cottonwood.
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 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 Cottonwood:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Hidalgo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Starr County
- Willacy 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Cottonwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Cottonwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |