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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 Gilchrist (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 Gilchrist. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Gilchrist is located in Galveston 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 Galveston County: Brazoria & Harris.

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

  • Galveston County     (The home county of Gilchrist)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gilchrist, with the one closest to Gilchrist listed first.
    • Caplen
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caplen
      • Caplen is located in Galveston County
    • Bolivar Peninsula
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolivar Peninsula have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar Peninsula
      • Bolivar Peninsula is located in Galveston County
    • High Island
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Crystal Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Port Bolivar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Galveston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • San Leon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Texas City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bayou Vista
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Vista
      • Bayou Vista is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,637 people
    • Texas City Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas City Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City Junction
      • Texas City Junction is located in Galveston County
    • Tiki Island
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tiki Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiki Island
      • Tiki Island is located in Galveston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,072 people
      • Tiki Island has also been known as:
      • Village of Tiki Island
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tiki Island <2>
    • Bacliff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Chambers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gilchrist, with the one closest to Gilchrist listed first.
    • Double Bayou
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Bayou
      • Double Bayou is located in Chambers County
    • Smith Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smith Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Point
      • Smith Point is located in Chambers County
    • Monroe City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
      • Monroe City is located in Chambers County
    • Stowell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Anahuac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Winnie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnie
      • Winnie is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winnie <2>
    • Turtle Bayou
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Bayou
      • Turtle Bayou is located in Chambers County
    • Hankamer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hankamer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hankamer
      • Hankamer is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hankamer <2>
    • Beach City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beach City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach City
      • Beach City is located in Chambers County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,825 people
    • Wallisville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallisville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallisville
      • Wallisville is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wallisville <2>
    • Cove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
      • Cove is located in Chambers County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
  • Jefferson County
    • Hamshire
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamshire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamshire
      • Hamshire is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamshire <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Gilchrist ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gilchrist.

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

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

  • Jackson Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Port Bolivar Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Port Bolivar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Port Bolivar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Godfrey Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Godfrey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Godfrey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Frankland Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frankland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frankland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Davis Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crook Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crook Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Anahuac Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Anahuac Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Anahuac Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Benjamin Barrow Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Benjamin Barrow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Benjamin Barrow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Broussard Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Broussard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Broussard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whites Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whites Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whites Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (34 more) ...
    • Bayshore Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bayshore Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bayshore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Baxter Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baxter Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baxter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 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.<6>

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

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

  • Double Bayou
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Bayou
    • Double Bayou is located in Chambers County
  • Smith Point
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smith Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Point
    • Smith Point is located in Chambers County
  • Anahuac
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Galveston
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Turtle Bayou
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Bayou
    • Turtle Bayou is located in Chambers County
  • Wallisville
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallisville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallisville
    • Wallisville is located in Chambers County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wallisville <2>
  • Virginia Point
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Point
    • Virginia Point is located in Galveston County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Gilchrist ...

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 183 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gilchrist.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Gilchrist. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Gilchrist and those printed in the larger area surrounding Gilchrist.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Gilchrist.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Gilchrist:

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

The official website for Galveston County: www.co.galveston.tx.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Gilchrist) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gilchrist. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.5125, Longitude: -94.4891       In this case, the coordinates for Gilchrist have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Gilchrist, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025