RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Atascosa County >> Leal >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Leal (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 Leal. 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.

Leal is located in Atascosa 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 Atascosa County: Bexar, Frio, Karnes, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina & Wilson.

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

  • Atascosa County     (The home county of Leal)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leal, with the one closest to Leal listed first.
    • Coughran
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Coughran is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coughran
    • McCoy
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • McCoy is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCoy
    • Black Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Black Hill is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hill
    • Pleasanton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Verdi
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Verdi is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdi
    • Christine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jourdanton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Campbellton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Leming
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • La Parita
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • La Parita is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Parita
    • Espey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Espey is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espey
    • Poteet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fashing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fashing is located in Atascosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fashing
  • Bee County
  • Bexar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leal, with the one closest to Leal listed first.
    • Sandy Oaks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Sandy Oaks is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Oaks
    • Elmendorf
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Somerset
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bexar
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bexar is located in Bexar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bexar
    • Von Ormy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Karnes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leal, with the one closest to Leal listed first.
    • Coy City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Coy City is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coy City
    • Falls City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Hobson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Karnes City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Pawelekville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pawelekville is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawelekville
    • Panna Maria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Panna Maria is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panna Maria
  • Live Oak County
  • McMullen County
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leal, with the one closest to Leal listed first.
    • Loma Vista ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Loma Vista is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Vista
    • Three Oaks ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Three Oaks is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Oaks
    • Darilek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Darilek is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darilek
    • Fairview
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Fairview is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Loire
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Loire is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loire
    • Dewees
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Dewees is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewees
    • Ridout ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ridout is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridout
    • Canada Verde
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Canada Verde is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Verde
    • Floresville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Poth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Poth is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,332 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poth <1>
    • Graytown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Graytown is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
    • Calaveras
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Calaveras is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calaveras
    • Saspamco
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Saspamco is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saspamco

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

Cemeteries Near Leal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leal.

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

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

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

  • Leal Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Andrews Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sotelo Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Andrews Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • San Ysidro Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Brister Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Rodriguez Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Jourdanton City Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Bautista Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Campbellton Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Brite Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cementerio Catolico San Jose
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (84 more) ...
    • Tumlinson Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Dewees Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewees Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dewees Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the southwest of Poth.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968779 <2>

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.<4>

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

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

  • Pleasanton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Verdi
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Verdi is located in Atascosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdi
  • Fairview
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Fairview is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
  • Poteet
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Amphion
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Amphion is located in Atascosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amphion
  • Floresville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Calaveras
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Calaveras is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calaveras
  • Rossville
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rossville is located in Atascosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
  • Elmendorf
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Anchorage
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Anchorage is located in Atascosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
  • Earle
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Earle is located in Bexar County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earle
  • Cestohowa
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cestohowa is located in Karnes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cestohowa
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Karnes City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Panna Maria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Panna Maria is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panna Maria
    • Kicaster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Kicaster is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kicaster

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

Newspapers Published in Leal ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leal.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leal, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leal.

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 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 Leal:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Leal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Leal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.