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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 Hoefer (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 Hoefer. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Hoefer is located in Colorado 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 Colorado County: Austin, Fayette, Lavaca & Wharton.

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

  • Colorado County     (The home county of Hoefer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hoefer, with the one closest to Hoefer listed first.
    • Eagle Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Matthews
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Matthews is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matthews
    • Ramsey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Ramsey is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
    • Boedecker Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Boedecker Junction is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boedecker Junction
    • Eldridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Eldridge is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldridge
    • Altair
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Garwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Alleyton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Nada
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Columbus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Rock Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Rock Island is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Island
    • Glidden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Hillcrest
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hillcrest is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Austin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hoefer, with the one closest to Hoefer listed first.
    • Rexville ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Rexville is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexville
    • Wallis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Frydek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Frydek is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frydek
    • Sealy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Brazos Country
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Brazos Country is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Country
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • San Felipe
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cat Spring
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Millheim
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Millheim is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
    • Bellville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • New Ulm
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Industry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckhorn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Buckhorn is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Bleiblerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Fort Bend County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hoefer, with the one closest to Hoefer listed first.
    • Powell Point
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Powell Point is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell Point
    • Orchard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Simonton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Kendleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Weston Lakes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Weston Lakes is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,191 people
    • Beasley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Fulshear
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Cumings
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cumings is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumings
    • Rosenberg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Pleak
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pleak is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,762 people
    • Four Corners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Four Corners is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Katy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Katy is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,889 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Katy <1>
    • Needville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Waller County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hoefer, with the one closest to Hoefer listed first.
    • Clemons
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Clemons is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
    • Brookshire
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pattison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hoefer, with the one closest to Hoefer listed first.
    • Lissie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Nottawa
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Nottawa is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottawa
    • Bonus
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Bonus is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonus
    • East Bernard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Egypt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Glen Flora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Hungerford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Wharton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mackay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Mackay is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackay
    • Hahn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Hahn is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hahn
    • Pierce
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • El Campo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Boling
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Hoefer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hoefer.

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

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

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

  • Lissie Community Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Eagle Lake Community Cemetery East
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake Community Cemetery East
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Eagle Lake Community Cemetery East is located outside and to the southeast of Eagle Lake.
    • The Eagle Lake Community Cemetery East has also been known as:
    • Farmer's Improvement Society Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2534494 <2>
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Frazer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Hartsville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Hartville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • El Pleasant Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Middle Bernard Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Allens Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Elm Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (176 more) ...

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

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

  • Eagle Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Nottawa
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Nottawa is located in Wharton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottawa
  • Ramsey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ramsey is located in Colorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
  • East Bernard
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Altair
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Sealy
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • San Felipe
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Mentz
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mentz is located in Colorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentz
  • Alleyton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cat Spring
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Hungerford
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Millheim
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Millheim is located in Austin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Kendleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Peters
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Peters is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
    • Columbus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Hoefer ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hoefer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hoefer, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hoefer.

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 Hoefer:

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 Hoefer, 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' (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- Hoefer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.