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 Jonah (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 Jonah. 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 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 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.
Jonah is located in Williamson 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 Williamson County: Bastrop, Bell, Burnet, Lee, Milam & Travis.
Below are the counties that are near Jonah. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jonah:
- Williamson County (The home county of Jonah)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Weir
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hutto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Walburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Granger
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Georgetown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Serenada
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Serenada is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serenada
- Taylor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hoxie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hoxie is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxie
- Sun City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sun City is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun City
- Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
- Round Rock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jarrell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Bastrop County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Elgin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- McDade
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Bartlett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Holland
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Vilas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Vilas is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
- Salado
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sparks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sparks is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks
- Academy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Academy is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academy
- Little River Academy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Little River Academy is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River Academy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Little River
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ding Dong
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ding Dong is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ding Dong
- Belton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Harker Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Burnet County
- Briggs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Knobbs Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Knobbs Springs is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobbs Springs
- Blue
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Blue is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue
- Milam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Davilla
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Thorndale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Val Verde
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Val Verde is located in Milam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Val Verde
- Tracy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Tracy is located in Milam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tracy
- Buckholts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Travis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Cele
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cele is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cele
- Pflugerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Windemere
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Windemere is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windemere
- Three Points
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Three Points is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Points
- New Sweden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- New Sweden is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
- Wells Branch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wells Branch is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Branch
- Manda ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Manda is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manda
- Kings Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kings Village is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
- Villa Siesta Retirement Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Manor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Daffan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Daffan is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daffan
- Littig
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Littig is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littig
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jonah, see our County-by-County Page for Jonah.
Cemeteries Near Jonah ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jonah.
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 Jonah - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jonah covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Sloan - Easley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Evangelical Free Church (EFC) Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Gardner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Granger.
- The Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2708 <2>
- New Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Peter Lutheran Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- McFadin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Granger Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Denison Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (231 more) ...
- Shiloh Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Machu Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Jonah had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jonah, with the one closest to Jonah listed first.
- Hutto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Circleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Circleville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circleville
- Walburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Granger
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Georgetown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Theon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Theon is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theon
- Taylor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Round Rock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
- Rices Crossing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rices Crossing is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rices Crossing
- Corn Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Corn Hill is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corn Hill
- Bartlett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- New Sweden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- New Sweden is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
- Coupland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Laneport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Laneport is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laneport
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jonah. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jonah.
Newspapers Published in Jonah ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jonah.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jonah, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jonah.
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 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 Jonah:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Williamson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bastrop County
- Bell County
- Burnet County
- Lee County
- Milam County
- Travis County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 Jonah, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Jonah) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |