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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 Orchard (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 Orchard. 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 doctors 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.

Orchard is located in Fort Bend 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 Fort Bend County: Austin, Brazoria, Harris, Waller & Wharton.

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

  • Fort Bend County     (The home county of Orchard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard, with the one closest to Orchard listed first.
    • Simonton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Weston Lakes
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Weston Lakes is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,191 people
    • Fulshear
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Beasley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Powell Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Powell Point is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell Point
    • Cumings
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Cumings is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumings
    • Kendleton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Rosenberg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Richmond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Pleak
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Pleak is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,762 people
    • Pecan Grove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Pecan Grove is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Grove
    • Harlem
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Harlem is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
    • Cinco Ranch
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Cinco Ranch is located in Fort Bend County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinco Ranch
  • Austin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard, with the one closest to Orchard listed first.
    • Wallis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Brazos Country
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Brazos Country is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Country
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Frydek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Frydek is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frydek
    • San Felipe
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rexville ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rexville is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexville
    • Sealy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Millheim
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Millheim is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
    • Cat Spring
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Brazoria County
  • Colorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard, with the one closest to Orchard listed first.
    • Eagle Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Matthews
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Matthews is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matthews
    • Boedecker Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Boedecker Junction is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boedecker Junction
    • Eldridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Eldridge is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldridge
    • Ramsey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Ramsey is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
    • Garwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Nada
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Altair
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Harris County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard, with the one closest to Orchard listed first.
    • Westlake Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Westlake Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Village
    • Westlake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Westlake is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
    • Barker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Catalina Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Catalina Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catalina Village
    • Westfield Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Westfield Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Village
    • Westpark Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Westpark Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpark Village
    • Alief
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Addicks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Addicks is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addicks
    • Ashford Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Ashford Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashford Village
    • Deerfield Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Deerfield Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield Village
    • Parkway Villages
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Parkway Villages is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway Villages
    • Settlers Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Settlers Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Settlers Village
    • Highland Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Highland Village is located in Harris County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
  • Matagorda County
  • Waller County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard, with the one closest to Orchard listed first.
    • Brookshire
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Pattison
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Clemons
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Clemons is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
  • Wharton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard, with the one closest to Orchard listed first.
    • East Bernard
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Nottawa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Nottawa is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottawa
    • Hungerford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lissie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Wharton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Bonus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bonus is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonus
    • Egypt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Glen Flora
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Boling
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Newgulf
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Mackay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mackay is located in Wharton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackay
    • Lane City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Pierce
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Orchard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orchard.

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

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

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

  • Orchard Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Krasna Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • San Gabriel Cemetery Annex
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Simonton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simonton Cemetery
    • The Simonton Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Simonton Community Cemetery
  • Little Prayer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Pool Hill Mason Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Wallis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Guardian Angel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Goss Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hill Side Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Side Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hill Side Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northeast of Wallis.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2157954 <2>
  • Wallis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (133 more) ...

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

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

  • East Bernard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fulshear
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Foster
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Foster is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
  • Kendleton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Rosenberg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Nottawa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Nottawa is located in Wharton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottawa
  • Richmond
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Hungerford
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Harlem
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Harlem is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
  • San Felipe
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Pattison
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Crabb
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Crabb is located in Fort Bend County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabb
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Sealy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Clemons
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Clemons is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
    • Clodine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Orchard ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orchard.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orchard, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orchard.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Orchard:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Orchard) 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 Orchard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.