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 Midway (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 Midway. 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 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.
Midway is located in Howard 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 Howard County: Borden, Dawson, Glasscock, Martin, Midland, Mitchell, Scurry & Sterling.
Below are the counties that are near Midway. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Midway:
- Howard County (The home county of Midway)
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Ziler
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ziler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ziler
- Ziler is located in Howard County
- Coahoma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Big Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Big Spring is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,077 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Spring <2>
- Webb Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webb Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb Village
- Webb Village is located in Howard County
- Fairview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Fairview is located in Howard County
- Forsan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forsan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forsan
- Forsan is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forsan <2>
- Ross City ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ross City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross City
- Ross City is located in Howard County
- Otis Chalk ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otis Chalk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis Chalk
- Otis Chalk is located in Howard County
- Knott
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knott
- Knott is located in Howard County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knott <2>
- Vealmoor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dawson County
- Ackerly
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackerly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackerly
- Ackerly is located in Dawson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ackerly <2>
- Glasscock County
- Garden City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Garden City is located in Glasscock County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garden City <2>
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Stanton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lenorah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenorah have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenorah
- Lenorah is located in Martin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenorah <2>
- Mitchell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Iatan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Iatan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iatan
- Iatan is located in Mitchell County
- Westbrook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
- Westbrook is located in Mitchell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westbrook <2>
- Spade
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spade
- Spade is located in Mitchell County
- Cuthbert ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuthbert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthbert
- Cuthbert is located in Mitchell County
- Scurry County
- Ira
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ira have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Ira is located in Scurry County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ira <2>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Midway, see our County-by-County Page for Midway.
Cemeteries Near Midway ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Midway.
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 Midway covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Coahoma Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coahoma Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coahoma Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Coahoma.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1090378 <4>
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Trinity Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Memorial Park
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Iatan Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Iatan Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Iatan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Vincent Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vincent Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vincent Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Fairview Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #3536 <4>
- Vealmoor Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vealmoor Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vealmoor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Westbrook Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westbrook Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westbrook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Knott Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knott Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Spade Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spade Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spade Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Handley Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lolanthe Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lolanthe Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lolanthe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (7 more) ...
- Fairhaven Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairhaven Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairhaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Evergreen Cemetery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Bluff Creek Cemetery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bluff Creek Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bluff Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Midway in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Midway.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Midway, with the one closest to Midway listed first.
- Big Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Big Spring is located in Howard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,077 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Spring <2>
- Morita
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morita have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morita
- Morita is located in Howard County
- Westbrook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
- Westbrook is located in Mitchell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westbrook <2>
- Cuthbert ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuthbert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthbert
- Cuthbert is located in Mitchell County
- Stanton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Garden City is located in Glasscock County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garden City <2>
- Knapp
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knapp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knapp
- Knapp is located in Scurry County
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Midway. See our List of 1890's Communities around Midway.
Newspapers Published in Midway ...
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 2 newspapers that have been published in the area around Midway.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Midway, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Midway.
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 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 Midway:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Howard County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Dawson County
- Glasscock County
- Martin County
- Mitchell County
- Scurry County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Midway. 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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
<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 Midway, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<6> | 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 from Point A (ie- Midway) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Midway. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2746, Longitude: -101.3704 In this case, the coordinates for Midway have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |