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 Del Rio (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 Del Rio. 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 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.

Del Rio is located in Val Verde County and is the County Seat.

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 Val Verde County: Crockett, Edwards, Kinney, Sutton & Terrell.

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

• Val Verde County     (The home county of Del Rio)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Del Rio, with the one closest to Del Rio listed first.
  • Cienegas Terrace
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cienegas Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cienegas Terrace
    • Cienegas Terrace is located in Val Verde County
    • Cienegas Terrace has also been known as:
    • Cienegas Terrace Colonia
  • Val Verde Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Val Verde Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Val Verde Park
    • Val Verde Park is located in Val Verde County
    • Val Verde Park has also been known as:
    • Val Verde Park Colonia
  • Lake View
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
    • Lake View is located in Val Verde County
  • Johnstone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstone
    • Johnstone is located in Val Verde County
  • Amistad Village
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amistad Village
    • Amistad Village is located in Val Verde County
  • Amistad Acres
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amistad Acres
    • Amistad Acres is located in Val Verde County
    • Amistad Acres has also been known as:
    • Amistad
  • Box Canyon - Amistad
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Canyon - Amistad
    • Box Canyon - Amistad is located in Val Verde County
  • Comstock
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
    • Comstock is located in Val Verde County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Comstock <2>
• Kinney County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Del Rio, with the one closest to Del Rio listed first.
  • Standart
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standart
    • Standart is located in Kinney County
  • Brackettville
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brackettville
    • Brackettville is located in Kinney County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,679 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brackettville <2>
  • Alamo Village
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo Village
    • Alamo Village is located in Kinney County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Del Rio ...

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 Del Rio.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

• A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Del Rio. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Del Rio and those printed in the larger area surrounding Del Rio.
• An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Del Rio.

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 Del Rio:

• Websites specific to Texas
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the //www.tsl.texas.gov/

• Pages specific to Val Verde County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Kinney County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Texas
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Texas
  • Cemeteries of Val Verde County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Texas
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Texas

Cemeteries Near Del Rio ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Del Rio.

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 Del Rio covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

• Masonic Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Masonic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Del Rio.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masonic Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1960114 <4>
• Westlawn Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Westlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Del Rio.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westlawn Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7567 <4>
• Sacred Heart Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sacred Heart Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Del Rio.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #268157 <4>
• St. Joseph's Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph's Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Del Rio.
  • The St. Joseph's Cemetery has also been known as:
  • St. Jose Cemetery
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph's Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2484548 <4>
• Old San Felipe Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old San Felipe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old San Felipe Cemetery
• San Felipe Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Felipe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Felipe Cemetery
• Oaklawn Memorial Park
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oaklawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oaklawn Memorial Park
• Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery
• Ballantyne Cemetery
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ballantyne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ballantyne Cemetery

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Del Rio had a population of 1,980 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Del Rio had a population of 35,722 people.

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

• Johnstone
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstone
  • Johnstone is located in Val Verde County
• Amanda
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amanda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amanda
  • Amanda is located in Kinney County
• Standart
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standart
  • Standart is located in Kinney County
• Comstock
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
  • Comstock is located in Val Verde County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Comstock <2>
• Brackettville
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brackettville
  • Brackettville is located in Kinney County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,679 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brackettville <2>

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

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Del Rio: www.cityofdelrio.com/

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/