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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 Lyford (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 Lyford. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Lyford is located in Willacy 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 Willacy County: Cameron, Hidalgo & Kenedy.

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

  • Willacy County     (The home county of Lyford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lyford, with the one closest to Lyford listed first.
    • Lyford South
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • 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
    • Raymondville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Sebastian
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Zapata Ranch
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Los Angeles Subdivision
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Ranchette Estates
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Lasara
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Willamar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Santa Monica
      (12 miles [19.3 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
    • Port Mansfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mansfield
      • Port Mansfield is located in Willacy County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Mansfield <2>
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lyford, with the one closest to Lyford listed first.
    • Yznaga
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Tierra Bonita
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Combes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Combes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combes
      • Combes is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,037 people
      • Combes has also been known as:
      • Combes Colonia
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Combes <2>
    • Grand Acres
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Lasana
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lasana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasana
      • Lasana is located in Cameron County
      • Lasana has also been known as:
      • Lasana Colonia
    • Primera
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Palm Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
      • Palm Valley is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
    • Ratamosa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Las Palmas - Juarez
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palmas - Juarez
      • Las Palmas - Juarez is located in Cameron County
    • Harlingen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harlingen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlingen
      • Harlingen is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,176 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harlingen <2>
    • La Feria North
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
      • La Feria North is located in Cameron County
    • Windsong Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • 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
  • Hidalgo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lyford, with the one closest to Lyford listed first.
    • La Villa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Villa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
      • La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
    • Monte Alto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Edcouch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Hargill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hargill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hargill
      • Hargill is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hargill <2>
    • Indian Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
      • Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
    • Heidelberg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Mila Doce
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • La Blanca
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Olivarez
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Mercedes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • San Carlos
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Doolittle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolittle
      • Doolittle is located in Hidalgo County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lyford ...

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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lyford.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lyford. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lyford and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lyford.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> of Lyford.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Lyford:

Cemeteries Near Lyford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lyford.

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

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

  • La Piedad Cementerio #1 Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Piedad Cementerio #1 Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Piedad Cementerio #1 Cemetery
  • Santa Rita Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Guadalupe Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Raymondville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • La Piedad Cementerio #2 Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Piedad Cementerio #2 Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Piedad Cementerio #2 Cemetery
  • Chavez Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chavez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chavez Cemetery
  • San Martin Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Martin Cemetery
  • El Azadon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Garcia Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Garcia Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garcia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garcia Cemetery
  • Lasara Memorial Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lasara Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lasara Memorial Cemetery
  • Cementerio de las Burras Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (56 more) ...
    • San Rafael Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Rafael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Rafael Cemetery
    • Noyola Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Noyola Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Noyola Cemetery
    • Cementerio Anahuac Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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

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

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

  • Santa Maria
    (23 miles [37 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
    (24 miles [38.6 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

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

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

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lyford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lyford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.4147, Longitude: -97.7896       In this case, the coordinates for Lyford have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Lyford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024