RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> DeWitt County >> Pearl City >> 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 Pearl City (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 Pearl City. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Pearl City 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 Pearl City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pearl City:

  • DeWitt County     (The home county of Pearl City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl City, with the one closest to Pearl City listed first.
    • Hochheim
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Yoakum
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Edgar
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Edgar is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
    • Terryville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
    • Cuero
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Westhoff
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Thomaston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Meyersville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Yorktown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl City, with the one closest to Pearl City listed first.
    • Praha
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Praha is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Praha
      • Praha has also been known as:
      • Hottentot
    • Flatonia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Engle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Engle is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engle
  • Gonzales County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl City, with the one closest to Pearl City listed first.
    • Glaze City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Glaze City is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glaze City
    • Kokernot
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Kokernot is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokernot
    • Hamon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Hamon is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamon
    • Cheapside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Cheapside is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheapside
    • Summerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Summerville is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
    • Gonzales
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Cost
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Cost is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cost
    • Wrightsboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Smiley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Monthalia ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Monthalia is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monthalia
    • Oak Forest
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Forest is located in Gonzales County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Forest
    • Bebe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Lavaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pearl City, with the one closest to Pearl City listed first.
    • Shiner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sweet Home
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Wied
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wied is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wied
    • Hope
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hope is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Moulton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Ezzell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Ezzell is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ezzell
    • Breslau
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Breslau is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breslau
    • Hallettsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Komensky
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Komensky is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komensky
    • Moravia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Moravia is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moravia
    • Gleckler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Gleckler is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gleckler
    • Hackberry ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hackberry is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
  • Victoria County

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

Cemeteries Near Pearl City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pearl City.

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 Pearl City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sons of Hermann Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sons of Hermann Cemetery
    • The Sons of Hermann Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hochheim Prairie Cemetery
    • Sons of Herman Cemetery
    • Sons of Hermann / Hochheim Prairie Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7008 <2>
  • Guadalupe Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Leissner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Nelms Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Teppim Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Tippin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • San Pedro Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Yoakum.
    • The St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6596 <2>
  • Restland Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Restland Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Restland Memorial Park is located outside and to the north of Yoakum.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Yoakum.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5645 <2>
  • Continue List   (147 more) ...
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ebenezer Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • San Pedro Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Hochheim
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Yoakum
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Concrete
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Concrete is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concrete
  • Edgar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Edgar is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgar
  • Hamon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hamon is located in Gonzales County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamon
  • Kokernot
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Kokernot is located in Gonzales County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokernot
  • Cheapside
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Cheapside is located in Gonzales County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheapside
  • Shiner
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Sweet Home
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Stratton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Stratton is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
  • Terryville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Terryville is located in DeWitt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
  • Wied
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wied is located in Lavaca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wied
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Cuero
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Westhoff
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hope
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hope is located in Lavaca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope

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

Newspapers Published in Pearl City ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pearl City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pearl City, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pearl City.

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 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 Pearl City:

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- Pearl City) 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 Pearl City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.