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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 Johns Valley (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 Johns Valley. 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 Johns Valley ...

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.

Johns Valley has also been known as: Johns Valley Colonia.

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 and hospitals 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.

Johns Valley is located in Jim Wells 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 Jim Wells County: Brooks, Duval, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces & San Patricio.

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

  • Jim Wells County     (The home county of Johns Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns Valley, with the one closest to Johns Valley listed first.
    • Westdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Westdale is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westdale
    • K-Bar Ranch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • K-Bar Ranch is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for K-Bar Ranch
    • Orange Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Casa Blanca
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Casa Blanca is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Blanca
    • Sandia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Alfred - South La Paloma
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Pernitas Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Pernitas Point is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pernitas Point
    • Owl Ranch - Amargosa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Owl Ranch - Amargosa is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl Ranch - Amargosa
    • Water City Estates
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Water City Estates is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water City Estates
      • Water City Estates has also been known as:
      • Water City Estates Colonia
    • Alice
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Alice is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alice <1>
    • Rancho Alegre
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Rancho Alegre is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Alegre
    • Alice Acres
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Alice Acres is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice Acres
      • Alice Acres has also been known as:
      • Alice Acres Colonia
    • Loma Linda East
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Loma Linda East is located in Jim Wells County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Linda East
      • Loma Linda East has also been known as:
      • Loma Linda East Colonia
  • Bee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns Valley, with the one closest to Johns Valley listed first.
    • Tynan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Clareville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Clareville is located in Bee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clareville
    • Skidmore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Berry Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Blue Berry Hill is located in Bee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Berry Hill
  • Duval County
    • San Diego
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Live Oak County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns Valley, with the one closest to Johns Valley listed first.
    • Dinero
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Mikeska
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Mikeska is located in Live Oak County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mikeska
    • George West
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Ike
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ike is located in Live Oak County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ike
  • Nueces County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns Valley, with the one closest to Johns Valley listed first.
    • Sandy Hollow - Escondidas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Bluntzer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bluntzer is located in Nueces County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluntzer
    • Agua Dulce
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Rancho Banquete
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rancho Banquete is located in Nueces County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Banquete
    • Banquete
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Garden - Terra Verde
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Calallen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • North San Pedro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • North San Pedro is located in Nueces County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North San Pedro
    • La Paloma - Lost Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Robstown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Driscoll
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Viola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Viola is located in Nueces County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
    • Bishop
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • San Patricio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Johns Valley, with the one closest to Johns Valley listed first.
    • Lake City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake City is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 514 people
    • Edgewater - Paisano
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Edgewater - Paisano is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater - Paisano
    • Lakeside
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakeside is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Paisano
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Paisano is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paisano
      • Paisano has also been known as:
      • Paisano Park Colonia
      • Paisano Park
    • San Patricio
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • San Patricio is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Patricio
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
    • Lakeshore Gardens - Hidden Acres
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mathis
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mathis is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,671 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mathis <1>
    • Vahlsing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Vahlsing is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vahlsing
    • Edroy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Edroy is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edroy
      • Edroy has also been known as:
      • Edroy Colonia
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edroy <1>
    • Odem
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Odem is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,380 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Odem <1>
    • Morgan Farm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Morgan Farm is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Farm
      • Morgan Farm has also been known as:
      • Morgan Farm Colonia
    • Saint Paul
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Saint Paul is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
    • Del Sol - Loma Linda
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Del Sol - Loma Linda is located in San Patricio County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Sol - Loma Linda

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

Cemeteries Near Johns Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johns Valley.

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 Johns Valley - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Wade Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Reynolds Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • McNeill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Adams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Dilworth Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Old Ranch Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Descanso Eterno Cemetery No. 2
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Descanso Eterno Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Tom Mathis Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Villareal Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Amargosa Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lagarto Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (53 more) ...
    • Old San Patricio Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Cenizo Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cenzo Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Lagarto
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Lagarto is located in Live Oak County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagarto
  • San Patricio
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • San Patricio is located in San Patricio County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Patricio
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
  • Mathis
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mathis is located in San Patricio County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathis
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,671 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mathis <1>
  • Agua Dulce
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Banquete
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • San Diego
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Driscoll
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Papalote
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Papalote is located in Bee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Papalote
  • Skidmore
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • La Para
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • La Para is located in Live Oak County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Para
  • Sinton
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Sinton is located in San Patricio County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,281 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinton <1>
  • Viola
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Viola is located in Nueces County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola

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

Newspapers Published in Johns Valley ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johns Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johns Valley, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johns Valley.

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 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 Johns Valley:

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 Johns Valley, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Johns Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.