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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 Crystal Beach (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 Crystal Beach. 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 Crystal Beach ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Crystal Beach: Crystal Bch.

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 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.

Crystal Beach is located in Galveston 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 Galveston County: Brazoria & Harris.

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

  • Galveston County     (The home county of Crystal Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
    • Bolivar Peninsula
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolivar Peninsula have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar Peninsula
      • Bolivar Peninsula is located in Galveston County
    • Caplen
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caplen
      • Caplen is located in Galveston County
    • Gilchrist
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilchrist have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilchrist
      • Gilchrist is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilchrist <2>
    • Port Bolivar
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Galveston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • High Island
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Texas City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • San Leon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Texas City Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas City Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City Junction
      • Texas City Junction is located in Galveston County
    • Bayou Vista
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Vista
      • Bayou Vista is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,637 people
    • Tiki Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tiki Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiki Island
      • Tiki Island is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,072 people
      • Tiki Island has also been known as:
      • Village of Tiki Island
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tiki Island <2>
    • La Marque
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Bacliff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Chambers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
    • Double Bayou
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Bayou
      • Double Bayou is located in Chambers County
    • Anahuac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Monroe City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
      • Monroe City is located in Chambers County
    • Beach City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beach City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach City
      • Beach City is located in Chambers County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,825 people
    • Seabrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Turtle Bayou
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Bayou
      • Turtle Bayou is located in Chambers County
    • Shoreacres
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shoreacres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoreacres
      • Shoreacres is located in Chambers County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,578 people
    • Wallisville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallisville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallisville
      • Wallisville is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wallisville <2>
    • Cove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
      • Cove is located in Chambers County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
    • Hankamer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hankamer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hankamer
      • Hankamer is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hankamer <2>
    • Stowell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Baytown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baytown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baytown
      • Baytown is located in Chambers County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77,288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baytown <2>
    • Winnie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnie
      • Winnie is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winnie <2>
  • Harris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Beach, with the one closest to Crystal Beach listed first.
    • Mystic Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mystic Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic Village
      • Mystic Village is located in Harris County
    • Gateway Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gateway Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gateway Village
      • Gateway Village is located in Harris County
    • El Lago
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Lago have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Lago
      • El Lago is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,736 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Lago <2>
    • La Porte
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgan's Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgan's Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan's Point
      • Morgan's Point is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
    • Taylor Lake Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Lake Village
      • Taylor Lake Village is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylor Lake Village <2>
    • Nassau Bay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nassau Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nassau Bay
      • Nassau Bay is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,907 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nassau Bay <2>
    • Cedar Bayou
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Bayou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bayou
      • Cedar Bayou is located in Harris County
    • Chaparral Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chaparral Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaparral Village
      • Chaparral Village is located in Harris County
    • Clear Lake City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clear Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake City
      • Clear Lake City is located in Harris County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clear Lake City <2>
    • Webster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Harris County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,291 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Crystal Beach ...

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 206 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crystal Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crystal Beach, 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 Crystal Beach.

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 websites either 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 Crystal Beach:

Cemeteries Near Crystal Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crystal Beach.

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 Crystal Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Port Bolivar Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Port Bolivar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Port Bolivar Cemetery
  • Davis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
  • Frankland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frankland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frankland Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
  • Godfrey Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Godfrey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Godfrey Cemetery
  • Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
  • Greek Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greek Cemetery
  • Beth Jacob Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Galveston Municipal Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (53 more) ...
    • Memorial Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Municipal Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Municipal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Municipal Cemetery
    • Serbian Orthodox Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)

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.<5>

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

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

  • Smith Point
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smith Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Point
    • Smith Point is located in Chambers County
  • Galveston
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Double Bayou
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Bayou
    • Double Bayou is located in Chambers County
  • Virginia Point
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Point
    • Virginia Point is located in Galveston County
  • La Marque
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Anahuac
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Turtle Bayou
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Bayou
    • Turtle Bayou is located in Chambers County
  • Dickinson
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickinson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickinson
    • Dickinson is located in Galveston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,216 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickinson <2>
  • Wallisville
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallisville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallisville
    • Wallisville is located in Chambers County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wallisville <2>
  • Cedar Bayou
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Bayou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bayou
    • Cedar Bayou is located in Harris County
  • Arcadia
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcadia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Arcadia is located in Galveston County

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

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

The official website for Galveston County: www.co.galveston.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>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 from Point A (ie- Crystal Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Crystal Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.4579, Longitude: -94.6386    
<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>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 Crystal Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024