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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 East Columbia (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 East Columbia. 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 East Columbia ...

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.

East Columbia was originally named Bells Landing

  • A typical abbreviation for East Columbia: E. Columbia

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

East Columbia is located in Brazoria 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 Brazoria County: Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Matagorda & Wharton.

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

  • Brazoria County     (The home county of East Columbia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Columbia, with the one closest to East Columbia listed first.
    • West Columbia
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Wild Peach Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wild Peach Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Peach Village
      • Wild Peach Village is located in Brazoria County
    • Bailey's Prairie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey's Prairie
      • Bailey's Prairie is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
    • Holiday Lakes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Lakes
      • Holiday Lakes is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,225 people
    • Brazoria
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Sweeny
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Old Ocean
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Ocean have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Ocean
      • Old Ocean is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Ocean <1>
    • Angleton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angleton
      • Angleton is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,521 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angleton <1>
    • Lake Jackson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jackson
      • Lake Jackson is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,063 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Jackson <1>
    • Damon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Damon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damon
      • Damon is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Damon <1>
    • Danciger
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danciger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danciger
      • Danciger is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danciger <1>
    • Richwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
      • Richwood is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,015 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richwood <1>
    • Bastrop Beach
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bastrop Beach
      • Bastrop Beach is located in Brazoria County
  • Fort Bend County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Columbia, with the one closest to East Columbia listed first.
    • Guy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guy
      • Guy is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guy <1>
    • Fairchilds
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairchilds have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairchilds
      • Fairchilds is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,359 people
    • Four Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
      • Four Corners is located in Fort Bend County
    • Juliff
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juliff
      • Juliff is located in Fort Bend County
    • Needville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needville
      • Needville is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Needville <1>
    • Thompsons
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thompsons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsons
      • Thompsons is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompsons <1>
    • Hawdon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawdon
      • Hawdon is located in Fort Bend County
      • Hawdon has also been known as:
      • Hawdon Junction
    • Sienna Plantation
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sienna Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sienna Plantation
      • Sienna Plantation is located in Fort Bend County
    • Arcola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
      • Arcola is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arcola <1>
    • Booth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Pleak
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleak have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleak
      • Pleak is located in Fort Bend County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,762 people
    • Trammels
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trammels
      • Trammels is located in Fort Bend County
    • Dewalt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewalt
      • Dewalt is located in Fort Bend County
  • Matagorda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Columbia, with the one closest to East Columbia listed first.
    • Cedar Lane
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lane
      • Cedar Lane is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Lane <1>
    • Pledger
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
      • Pledger is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <1>
    • Van Vleck
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Caney
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
      • Caney is located in Matagorda County
    • Sargent
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Chalmers
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalmers
      • Chalmers is located in Matagorda County
    • McCroskey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCroskey
      • McCroskey is located in Matagorda County
    • Bay City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
      • Bay City is located in Matagorda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,474 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bay City <1>
    • Elliott ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
      • Elliott has also been known as:
      • Elliott's
    • Wadsworth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadsworth
      • Wadsworth is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadsworth <1>
    • Markham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Markham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
      • Markham is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Markham <1>
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Columbia, with the one closest to East Columbia listed first.
    • Newgulf
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Boling
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boling
      • Boling is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boling <1>
    • Lane City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane City
      • Lane City is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane City <1>

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

Newspapers Published in East Columbia ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Columbia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Columbia, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Columbia.

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 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 East Columbia:

Cemeteries Near East Columbia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Columbia.

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 East Columbia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<6>

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

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

  • Brazoria
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Chenango
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chenango have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenango
    • Chenango is located in Brazoria County
  • Hinkles Ferry
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hinkles Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkles Ferry
    • Hinkles Ferry is located in Brazoria County
  • Bonney
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonney
    • Bonney is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
  • Pledger
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pledger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pledger
    • Pledger is located in Matagorda County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pledger <1>
  • Sandy Point
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
    • Sandy Point is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
  • Caney
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
    • Caney is located in Matagorda County
  • Velasco
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Velasco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velasco
    • Velasco is located in Brazoria County
  • Oyster Creek
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oyster Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Creek
    • Oyster Creek is located in Brazoria County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,212 people
  • Liverpool
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Quintana
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Thompsons
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thompsons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsons
    • Thompsons is located in Fort Bend County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompsons <1>
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Elliott ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elliott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Elliott is located in Matagorda County
      • Elliott has also been known as:
      • Elliott's
    • Alvin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvin
      • Alvin is located in Brazoria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvin <1>
    • Arcola Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcola Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola Junction
      • Arcola Junction is located in Fort Bend County

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

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

The official website for Brazoria County: www.brazoria-county.com/

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

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 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.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- East Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in East Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.1438, Longitude: -95.6142    
<5>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.
<6>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 East Columbia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024