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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 La Villa (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 La Villa. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

La Villa is located in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County: Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, Starr & Willacy.

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

  • Hidalgo County     (The home county of La Villa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Villa, with the one closest to La Villa listed first.
    • Edcouch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edcouch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edcouch
      • Edcouch is located in Hidalgo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,277 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edcouch <2>
    • Elsa
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elsa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elsa
      • Elsa is located in Hidalgo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elsa <2>
    • Monte Alto
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monte Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monte Alto
      • Monte Alto is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monte Alto <2>
    • Indian Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
      • Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
    • Mila Doce
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mila Doce have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
      • Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
    • Olivarez
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olivarez have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
      • Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
    • La Blanca
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Heidelberg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heidelberg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
    • Midway North
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
      • Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
    • San Carlos
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Carlos have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Carlos
      • San Carlos is located in Hidalgo County
    • Mercedes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Weslaco
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Muniz
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muniz have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muniz
      • Muniz is located in Hidalgo County
      • Muniz has also been known as:
      • Muniz Colonia
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Villa, with the one closest to La Villa listed first.
    • Tierra Bonita
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Bonita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Bonita
      • Tierra Bonita is located in Cameron County
      • Tierra Bonita has also been known as:
      • Tierra Bonita Colonia
    • Santa Rosa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Rosa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rosa
      • Santa Rosa is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,684 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Rosa <2>
    • Yznaga
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yznaga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
      • Yznaga is located in Cameron County
    • Grand Acres
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
      • Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
    • Ratamosa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ratamosa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
      • Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
      • Ratamosa has also been known as:
      • Ratamosa Colonia
    • Bixby
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
      • Bixby is located in Cameron County
    • La Feria North
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
      • La Feria North is located in Cameron County
    • Solis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solis
      • Solis is located in Cameron County
      • Solis has also been known as:
      • Solis Colonia
    • La Feria
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • North La Feria Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North La Feria Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
      • North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
      • North La Feria Village has also been known as:
      • North La Feria Village Colonia
    • Primera
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Primera have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primera
      • Primera is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,271 people
    • Windsong Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsong Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
      • Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
      • Windsong Village has also been known as:
      • Windsong Village Colonia
    • Arroyo Alto
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arroyo Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Alto
      • Arroyo Alto is located in Cameron County
  • Willacy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Villa, with the one closest to La Villa listed first.
    • Zapata Ranch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zapata Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
      • Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
      • Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
      • Zapata Ranch Colonia
    • Sebastian
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Lasara
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lasara have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasara
      • Lasara is located in Willacy County
      • Lasara has also been known as:
      • La Sara
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lasara <2>
    • Lyford South
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyford South have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
      • Lyford South is located in Willacy County
      • Lyford South has also been known as:
      • Lyford South Colonia
    • Lyford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford
      • Lyford is located in Willacy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,513 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyford <2>
    • Ranchette Estates
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ranchette Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
      • Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
      • Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
      • Ranchette Estates Colonia
    • Raymondville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Angeles Subdivision
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Angeles Subdivision have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles Subdivision
      • Los Angeles Subdivision is located in Willacy County
    • Santa Monica
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Monica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
      • Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
    • Willamar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willamar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
      • Willamar is located in Willacy County
    • San Perlita
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in La Villa ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Villa.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Villa, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Villa.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 La Villa:

Cemeteries Near La Villa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Villa.

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

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

  • San Jose Ranch Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Jose Ranch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Jose Ranch Cemetery
  • Cementerio de las Burras Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cementerio de las Burras Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cementerio de las Burras Cemetery
  • Cementerio Anahuac Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cementerio Anahuac Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cementerio Anahuac Cemetery
  • El Azadon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the El Azadon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the El Azadon Cemetery
  • Highland Memorial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Campacuas Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Campacuas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Campacuas Cemetery
  • Santa Rita Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Santa Rita Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the east of Sebastian.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Rita Cemetery
  • La Capilla Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Hinojosa Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Guadalupe Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Guadalupe Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Sebastian.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Guadalupe Cemetery
  • Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cementerio Bautista Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cementerio Bautista Cemetery
  • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
    • The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Emmanuel Cemetery
    • Mercedes Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2184663 <4>
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Baptist Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
      • The Mercedes Baptist Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Cementerio Bautista
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mercedes Baptist Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2827 <4>
    • Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
      • The Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Principe de Paz Presbyterian Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mercedes Presbyterian Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2403957 <4>
    • Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Mercedes.
      • The Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5844 <4>

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.<5>

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

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

  • Santa Maria
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Maria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Maria
    • Santa Maria is located in Cameron County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Maria <2>
  • Los Angeles
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Los Angeles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Angeles
    • Los Angeles is located in Hidalgo County
  • Hidalgo
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)

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

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

The official website for Hidalgo County: www.co.hidalgo.tx.us/

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- La Villa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Villa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.2979, Longitude: -97.9265       In this case, the coordinates for La Villa 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>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 La Villa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024