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 Decker (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 Decker. 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 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.
Decker is located in Travis 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 Travis County: Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near Decker. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Decker:
- Travis County (The home county of Decker)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Daffan
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Daffan is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daffan
- Manor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Villa Siesta Retirement Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Del Valle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Austin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Webberville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Sweden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Sweden is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
- Kings Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kings Village is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
- Garfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Garfield is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Littig
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Littig is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littig
- Pflugerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Cele
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cele is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cele
- Bastrop County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Elgin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Wyldwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wyldwood is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyldwood
- Cedar Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mustang Ridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mustang Ridge is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,001 people
- Camp Swift
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Camp Swift is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Swift
- Phelan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Phelan is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelan
- McDade
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bastrop
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bateman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bateman is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bateman
- Hills Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hills Prairie is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Prairie
- Red Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Alum Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Alum Creek is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Creek
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Lytton Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lytton Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton Springs
- Mendoza
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mendoza is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendoza
- Niederwald
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Niederwald is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niederwald
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Saint Johns Colony
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Saint Johns Colony is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns Colony
- Dale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Uhland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Uhland is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uhland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,355 people
- Elm Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Elm Grove is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove
- Lockhart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pettytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pettytown is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettytown
- Taylorsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Taylorsville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
- Hays County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Hays
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hays is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Buda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Estimated population in 2017: 445 people
- Goforth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Goforth is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goforth
- Flatrock Ford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Flatrock Ford is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock Ford
- Mountain City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain City is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
- Fitzhugh
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Fitzhugh is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
- Kyle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Driftwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dripping Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Knobbs Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Knobbs Springs is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobbs Springs
- Blue
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Blue is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Jollyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jollyville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollyville
- Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
- Round Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Anderson Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson Mill is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Mill
- Hutto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Brushy Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brushy Creek is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Creek
- Coupland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Beyersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Beyersville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyersville
- Taylor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Georgetown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Leander
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Decker, see our County-by-County Page for Decker.
Cemeteries Near Decker ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decker.
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 Decker - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Decker covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Decker Free Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Rogers Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hornsby Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bethany Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Plummers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jones Cemeteries
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jones Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hunter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Puckett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gregg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (179 more) ...
- Fiskville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Decker in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Decker.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Decker, with the one closest to Decker listed first.
- Daffan
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Daffan is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daffan
- Manor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dunlap
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dunlap is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Del Valle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Austin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Webberville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Garfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Garfield is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- New Sweden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Sweden is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
- Littig
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Littig is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littig
- McNeil
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- McNeil is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeil
- Bluff Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bluff Springs is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Elgin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Oak Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Carl
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carl is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Decker. See our List of 1890's Communities around Decker.
Newspapers Published in Decker ...
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 329 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decker.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Decker, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Decker.
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 Decker:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Travis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bastrop County
- Caldwell County
- Hays County
- Lee County
- Williamson 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 Decker, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Decker) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |