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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 Golly (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 Golly. 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 hospitals and 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.

Golly is located in DeWitt 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 DeWitt County: Goliad, Gonzales, Karnes, Lavaca & Victoria.

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

  • DeWitt County     (The home county of Golly)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Golly, with the one closest to Golly listed first.
    • Meyersville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Thomaston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cuero
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Yorktown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Edgar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Edgar is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
    • Terryville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
    • Westhoff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nordheim
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Yoakum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hochheim
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Pearl City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Pearl City is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
  • Goliad County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Golly, with the one closest to Golly listed first.
    • Ander
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ander is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ander
    • Weser
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Weser is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weser
    • Kilgore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Kilgore is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
    • Weesatche
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cologne
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Cologne is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cologne
      • Former names for Cologne:
      • Centerville
      • Ira Station
      • Perdido
    • Fannin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Goliad
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Angel City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Angel City is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel City
  • Gonzales County
    • Cheapside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Cheapside is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheapside
  • Karnes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Golly, with the one closest to Golly listed first.
    • Runge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Ecleto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Flaccus ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Flaccus is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaccus
  • Lavaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Golly, with the one closest to Golly listed first.
    • Hope
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hope is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Sweet Home
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Victoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Golly, with the one closest to Golly listed first.
    • Nursery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Coletoville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Coletoville is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coletoville
    • Aloe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Aloe is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloe
    • Oak Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Village is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Village
    • Victoria
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Hughes ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hughes is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes
    • Telferner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Dacosta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Dacosta is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacosta
    • Inez
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Bloomington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • McFaddin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Golly ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Golly.

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

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

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

  • Noll Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Guadalupe Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Ponteon San Isidro Labrador Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Peters Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Thomaston Community Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Captain York Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • McCrabb Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • San Jose Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Mistletoe Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Mission Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (103 more) ...
    • Burns Station Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylor Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Taylor Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the southeast of Cuero.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7186 <3>
    • Rabke Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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 Golly in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Golly.

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

  • Meyersville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Arneckeville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Arneckeville is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arneckeville
  • Mission Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mission Valley is located in Victoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Valley
  • Thomaston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Weser
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Weser is located in Goliad County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weser
  • Nursery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Cuero
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Weesatche
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Yorktown
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Stratton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Stratton is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
  • Aloe
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Aloe is located in Victoria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aloe
  • Fannin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Victoria
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Edgar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Edgar is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
    • Terryville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 Golly. See our List of 1890's Communities around Golly.

Newspapers Published in Golly ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Golly.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Golly, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Golly.

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 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 Golly:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Golly) 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 Golly, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.