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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 Indianola (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 Indianola. 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 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 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.

Indianola is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Jackson, Matagorda, Refugio & Victoria.

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

  • Calhoun County     (The home county of Indianola)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Port O'Connor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port O'Connor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port O'Connor
      • Port O'Connor is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port O'Connor <2>
    • Point Comfort
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Comfort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Comfort
      • Point Comfort is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Comfort <2>
    • Port Alto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Alto
      • Port Alto is located in Calhoun County
    • Port Lavaca
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Seadrift
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seadrift have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seadrift
      • Seadrift is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,500 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seadrift <2>
    • Long Mott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Aransas County
    • Spanish Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spanish Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish Village
      • Spanish Village is located in Aransas County
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Weedhaven
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weedhaven
      • Weedhaven is located in Jackson County
    • Lolita
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lolita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lolita
      • Lolita is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lolita <2>
    • Vanderbilt
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vanderbilt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderbilt
      • Vanderbilt is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vanderbilt <2>
    • La Salle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Salle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
      • La Salle is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Salle <2>
    • La Ward
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Ward
      • La Ward is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Ward <2>
    • Francitas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francitas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francitas
      • Francitas is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Francitas <2>
  • Matagorda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Palacios
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Collegeport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collegeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeport
      • Collegeport is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collegeport <2>
    • Blessing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blessing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blessing
      • Blessing is located in Matagorda County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blessing <2>
  • Refugio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Austwell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Austwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austwell
      • Austwell is located in Refugio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Austwell <2>
    • Tivoli
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Victoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Placedo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Placedo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placedo
      • Placedo is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Placedo <2>
    • Bloomington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
      • Bloomington is located in Victoria County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bloomington <2>
    • Dacosta
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacosta
      • Dacosta is located in Victoria County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Indianola ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Indianola.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Indianola. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Indianola and those printed in the larger area surrounding Indianola.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Indianola.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Indianola:

Cemeteries Near Indianola ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Indianola.

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

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

  • Indianola Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Old Town Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Town Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Town Cemetery
  • Zimmerman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Port Lavaca Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Little Mary's Grave
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Ranger Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ranger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ranger Cemetery
  • Matagorda Lighthouse Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Seadrift Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Stiernberg Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Clark Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Clark Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clark Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2538 <4>
  • Clark Family Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clark Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clark Family Cemetery
  • Hatch Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jordan Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Jordan Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jordan Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2420234 <4>
    • Six Mile Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Six Mile Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Six Mile Cemetery

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

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

  • Port Lavaca
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Seadrift
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seadrift have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seadrift
    • Seadrift is located in Calhoun County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,500 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seadrift <2>
  • Long Mott
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Placedo
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Placedo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placedo
    • Placedo is located in Victoria County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Placedo <2>

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

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

The official website for Calhoun County: www.tisd.net/~calhoun/

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Indianola) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Indianola. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.5119, Longitude: -96.4875       In this case, the coordinates for Indianola have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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.
<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 Indianola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024