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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 Greatwood Village (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 Greatwood Village. 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 Greatwood Village ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Greatwood Village: Greatwood Vlg. (in Canada, 'Vlge.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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 doctors 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.

Greatwood Village is located in Fort Bend 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 Fort Bend County: Austin, Brazoria, Harris, Waller & Wharton.

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

  • Fort Bend County     (The home county of Greatwood Village)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greatwood Village, with the one closest to Greatwood Village listed first.
    • Greatwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Greatwood is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greatwood
    • New Territory
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • New Territory is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Territory
    • Harlem
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Harlem is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Booth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Richmond
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • First Colony
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • First Colony is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First Colony
    • Sugar Land
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pecan Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pecan Grove is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Grove
    • Thompsons
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cumings
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Cumings is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumings
    • Rosenberg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Dewalt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Dewalt is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewalt
  • Austin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greatwood Village, with the one closest to Greatwood Village listed first.
    • Wallis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Brazos Country
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Brazos Country is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Country
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Frydek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Frydek is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frydek
    • San Felipe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Brazoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greatwood Village, with the one closest to Greatwood Village listed first.
    • Lochridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lochridge is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochridge
    • Sandy Point
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sandy Point is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
    • Iowa Colony
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Iowa Colony is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Colony
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,888 people
    • Damon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Rosharon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairway Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Fairway Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Village
    • Manvel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Manvel is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manvel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manvel <1>
    • Brookside Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • West Oaks Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • West Oaks Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
    • Bonney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bonney is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
    • Pearland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Westwood Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Westwood Village is located in Brazoria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
  • Galveston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greatwood Village, with the one closest to Greatwood Village listed first.
    • Carmel Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Carmel Village is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
    • Friendswood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Quaker Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Quaker Village is located in Galveston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
  • Harris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greatwood Village, with the one closest to Greatwood Village listed first.
    • Catalina Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Catalina Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catalina Village
    • Westpark Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Westpark Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpark Village
    • Alief
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashford Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ashford Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashford Village
    • Brays Village East
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Brays Village East is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brays Village East
    • Post Oak Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Post Oak Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Village
    • Barker
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Parkway Villages
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Parkway Villages is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway Villages
    • Cambridge Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cambridge Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Village
    • Addicks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Addicks is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addicks
    • Westlake Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Westlake Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Village
    • Westlake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Westlake is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
  • Matagorda County
  • Waller County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greatwood Village, with the one closest to Greatwood Village listed first.
    • Brookshire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pattison
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Clemons
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Clemons is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Greatwood Village, with the one closest to Greatwood Village listed first.
    • East Bernard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Newgulf
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Boling
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hungerford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Nottawa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Nottawa is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottawa
    • Wharton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lane City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Greatwood Village ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Greatwood Village.

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 Greatwood Village - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sandberry Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • San Grabiel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Morton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • New Home Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cementerio San Isidro Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • West Gethsemane Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Wow Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Byrd Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Concord Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (131 more) ...
    • Lightfoot Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • McNabb Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Cottonwood Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Crabb
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Crabb is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabb
  • Harlem
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Harlem is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
  • Richmond
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Thompsons
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sugar Land
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rosenberg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Stafford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Clodine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Foster
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Foster is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
  • Duke
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Duke is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
  • Arcola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Arcola is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,775 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arcola <1>
  • Arcola Junction
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Arcola Junction is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola Junction
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Jeanetta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jeanetta is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeanetta
    • Fulshear
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Addicks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Addicks is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addicks

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

Newspapers Published in Greatwood Village ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Greatwood Village.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Greatwood Village, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Greatwood Village.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Greatwood Village:

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>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 Greatwood Village, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Greatwood Village) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.