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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 Nopal (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 Nopal. 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 and hospitals 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.

Nopal is located in DeWitt 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 DeWitt County: Goliad, Gonzales, Karnes, Lavaca & Victoria.

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

  • DeWitt County     (The home county of Nopal)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nopal, with the one closest to Nopal listed first.
    • Westhoff
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Yorktown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Nordheim
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cuero
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Edgar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Edgar is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
    • Hochheim
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Meyersville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pearl City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Pearl City is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
    • Thomaston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Yoakum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Terryville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
  • Goliad County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nopal, with the one closest to Nopal listed first.
    • Weesatche
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Weser
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Weser is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weser
    • Ander
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Ander is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ander
    • Angel City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Angel City is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel City
    • Kilgore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kilgore is located in Goliad County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
  • Gonzales County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nopal, with the one closest to Nopal listed first.
    • Smiley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cheapside
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cheapside is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheapside
    • Nixon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Nixon is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,508 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nixon <1>
    • Wrightsboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Bebe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cost
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Cost is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cost
    • Leesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dewville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Dewville is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewville
    • Monthalia ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Monthalia is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monthalia
    • Summerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Summerville is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
    • Hamon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Hamon is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamon
    • Glaze City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Glaze City is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glaze City
  • Karnes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nopal, with the one closest to Nopal listed first.
    • Ecleto
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Gillett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Flaccus ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Flaccus is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaccus
    • Runge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Helena
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Helena is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Panna Maria
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Panna Maria is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panna Maria
    • Pawelekville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Pawelekville is located in Karnes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawelekville
    • Karnes City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hobson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Kenedy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Falls City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Nopal, with the one closest to Nopal listed first.
    • Pandora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Union
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Union is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Denhawken
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Denhawken is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denhawken
    • Caddo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Caddo is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caddo
    • Kosciusko
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Kosciusko is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosciusko
    • Plummer Crossing ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Plummer Crossing is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer Crossing
    • Nockenut
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Nockenut is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nockenut
    • Stockdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Alum
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Alum is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum
    • Sunnyside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Sunnyside is located in Wilson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Poth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Sutherland Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Nopal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nopal.

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

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

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

  • Sand Gate Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Billings Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Salt Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • House Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Westhoff Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Aloysius Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Sample Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Smiley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Westside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Woods Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Bundick Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Smiley Masonic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (121 more) ...
    • Lord Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Paul Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)

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>

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

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

  • Westhoff
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Smiley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Yorktown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cheapside
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cheapside is located in Gonzales County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheapside
  • Wrightsboro
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Cuero
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Runge
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Concrete
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Concrete is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concrete
  • Helena
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Helena is located in Karnes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
  • Arneckeville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Arneckeville is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arneckeville
  • Union
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Union is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
  • Weesatche
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Meyersville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Leesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Edgar is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar

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

Newspapers Published in Nopal ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nopal.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nopal, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nopal.

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 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 Nopal:

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 Nopal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Nopal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.