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 El Mesquite (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 El Mesquite. 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 El Mesquite ...
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.
El Mesquite has also been known as: El Mesquite Colonia.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named El Mesquite. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for El Mesquite.
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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
El Mesquite 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 El Mesquite. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to El Mesquite:
- Hidalgo County (The home county of El Mesquite)
- The following are listed by their distance from El Mesquite, with the one closest to El Mesquite listed first.
- Elsa
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Edcouch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- La Blanca
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Olivarez
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
- La Villa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
- Mila Doce
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
- San Carlos
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- San Carlos is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Carlos
- Muniz
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Muniz is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muniz
- Muniz has also been known as:
- Muniz Colonia
- Monte Alto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Midway North
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
- Murillo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Murillo is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murillo
- Murillo has also been known as:
- Murillo Colonia
- Cesar Chavez
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cesar Chavez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cesar Chavez
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from El Mesquite, with the one closest to El Mesquite listed first.
- Grand Acres
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
- Santa Rosa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Tierra Bonita
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Ratamosa
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Yznaga
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Yznaga is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
- Bixby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bixby is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
- La Feria North
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- La Feria North is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
- North La Feria Village
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Solis
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Windsong Village
(13 miles [20.9 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
- La Feria
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Arroyo Alto
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from El Mesquite, with the one closest to El Mesquite listed first.
- Zapata Ranch
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Sebastian
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lasara
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lyford South
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ranchette Estates
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- 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
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Raymondville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Santa Monica
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- San Perlita
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Willamar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to El Mesquite, see our County-by-County Page for El Mesquite.
Cemeteries Near El Mesquite ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of El Mesquite.
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 El Mesquite - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for El Mesquite covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from El Mesquite, with the one closest to El Mesquite listed first.
- Cementerio Anahuac Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- San Jose Ranch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cementerio de las Burras Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Old Edinburg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Donna City Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donna City Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Donna City Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Donna.
- The Donna City Cemetery has also been known as:
- Donna Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #323371 <2>
- Campacuas Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Restlawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- 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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Weslaco Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cavazos Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- 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]<3> to the northeast of Edinburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2793 <2>
- El Azadon Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (73 more) ...
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
- The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Emmanuel Cemetery
- Mercedes Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2184663 <2>
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 El Mesquite in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of El Mesquite.
These communities are listed based on their distance from El Mesquite, with the one closest to El Mesquite listed first.
- Santa Maria
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hidalgo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Los Angeles
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around El Mesquite. See our List of 1890's Communities around El Mesquite.
Newspapers Published in El Mesquite ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around El Mesquite.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of El Mesquite, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for El Mesquite.
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 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 El Mesquite:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Hidalgo County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron 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> | 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- El Mesquite) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 El Mesquite, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |