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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 El Toro (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 Toro. 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 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.

El Toro is located in Jackson 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 Jackson County: Calhoun, Lavaca, Matagorda, Victoria & Wharton.

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

  • Jackson County     (The home county of El Toro)
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Toro, with the one closest to El Toro listed first.
    • Matilda
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Matilda is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
    • Edna
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Edna is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <1>
    • Vanderbilt
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • La Salle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Morales
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Morales is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morales
    • Lolita
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ganado
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • La Ward
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Weedhaven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Weedhaven is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weedhaven
    • Francitas
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Toro, with the one closest to El Toro listed first.
    • Kamey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Kamey is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kamey
    • Point Comfort
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Port Lavaca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Heyser
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Heyser is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heyser
    • Port Alto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Port Alto is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Alto
  • Colorado County
    • Provident City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Provident City is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Provident City
  • DeWitt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Toro, with the one closest to El Toro listed first.
    • Terryville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
    • Thomaston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Lavaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Toro, with the one closest to El Toro listed first.
    • Speaks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Ezzell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ezzell is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezzell
    • Hope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Hope is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
  • Matagorda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Toro, with the one closest to El Toro listed first.
    • Blessing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Midfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Victoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Toro, with the one closest to El Toro listed first.
    • Inez
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Telferner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dacosta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Dacosta is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacosta
    • Placedo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Victoria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hughes is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
    • Bloomington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Nursery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Aloe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Aloe is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloe
    • Coletoville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Coletoville is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coletoville
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Toro, with the one closest to El Toro listed first.
    • Louise
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillje
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hillje is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillje
    • Hahn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hahn is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hahn
    • Danevang
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near El Toro ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of El Toro.

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 Toro - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for El Toro covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Gideon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sayle Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Prairie City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Milby Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Edwards Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Russell Ward Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Manly Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Burnettville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bischoff Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Laughter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Farrer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (72 more) ...
    • Kerr Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Enon Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Hirchhauser Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, El Toro had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Edna
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Edna is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <1>
  • Inez
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Navidad
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Navidad is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navidad
  • Morales
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Morales is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morales
  • Ganado
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Guadalupe
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Guadalupe is located in Victoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe
  • Victoria
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Placedo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Louise
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Port Lavaca
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Nursery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Aloe
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Aloe is located in Victoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloe
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Ezzell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ezzell is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezzell
    • Hope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Hope is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Terryville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville

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

Newspapers Published in El Toro ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around El Toro.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of El Toro, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for El Toro.

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 El Toro:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- El Toro) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Toro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.