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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 Peoria (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 Peoria. 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 and 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.

Peoria is located in Hill 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 Hill County: Bosque, Ellis, Johnson, Limestone, McLennan & Navarro.

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

  • Hill County     (The home county of Peoria)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Hillsboro
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Whitney
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Chatt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Aquilla
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lovelace
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Huron ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huron have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
      • Huron is located in Hill County
    • Abbott
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bynum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bynum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
      • Bynum is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bynum <1>
    • Carl's Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carl's Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
      • Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Tyson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tyson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
      • Tyson is located in Hill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tyson
      • From Peoria to Tyson
    • Covington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <1>
    • Itasca
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Blum
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blum
      • Blum is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blum <1>
  • Bosque County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Laguna Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greenock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
      • Greenock is located in Bosque County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Greenock
      • From Peoria to Greenock
    • Lakeside Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
      • Lakeside Village is located in Bosque County
    • Kimball
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kopperl
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Womack
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Morgan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Clifton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Bosque County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,410 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clifton <1>
    • Meridian
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meridian have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Bosque County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,502 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meridian <1>
    • Valley Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Eulogy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Norse
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Norse. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norse
      • Norse is located in Bosque County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Norse
      • From Peoria to Norse
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Milford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Italy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Italy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italy
      • Italy is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,964 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Italy <1>
    • Maypearl
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maypearl have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maypearl
      • Maypearl is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maypearl <1>
    • Boz
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Forreston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Avalon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avalon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
      • Avalon is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avalon <1>
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Parker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rio Vista
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Grandview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Grandview is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,817 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grandview <1>
    • Cuba
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cuba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Cuba is located in Johnson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cuba
      • From Peoria to Cuba
    • Coyote Flats
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Cleburne
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bono
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bono. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
      • Bono is located in Johnson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bono
      • From Peoria to Bono
    • Alvarado
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvarado have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvarado <1>
    • Keene
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keene have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
      • Keene is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,588 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keene <1>
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • West
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West
      • West is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,969 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West <1>
    • Ross
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ross have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Ross is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <1>
    • Tours
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Gholson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gholson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
      • Gholson is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gholson
      • From Peoria to Gholson
    • Patrick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Patrick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
      • Patrick is located in McLennan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Patrick
      • From Peoria to Patrick
    • Leroy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leroy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
      • Leroy is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leroy <1>
    • Rock Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Elm Mott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • China Spring
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Northcrest
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northcrest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcrest
      • Northcrest is located in McLennan County
    • Bosqueville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Lacy - Lakeview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lacy - Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy - Lakeview
      • Lacy - Lakeview is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,803 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacy - Lakeview <1>
    • Axtell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Navarro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Peoria, with the one closest to Peoria listed first.
    • Frost
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Blooming Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blooming Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
      • Blooming Grove is located in Navarro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blooming Grove <1>
    • Dawson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dawson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Dawson is located in Navarro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 798 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dawson <1>
    • Spring Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Peoria ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Peoria.

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Peoria had a population of 349 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Woodbury
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbury have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
    • Woodbury is located in Hill County
  • Vaughan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vaughan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
    • Vaughan is located in Hill County
  • Hillsboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Whitney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Aquilla
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Osceola
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osceola have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Osceola is located in Hill County
  • Abbott
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Blanton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
    • Blanton is located in Hill County
  • Tyson
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tyson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
    • Tyson is located in Hill County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tyson
    • From Peoria to Tyson
  • Bynum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bynum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
    • Bynum is located in Hill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bynum <1>
  • Itasca
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Covington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
    • Covington is located in Hill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • West
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West
      • West is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,969 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West <1>
    • Derden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derden
      • Derden is located in Hill County
    • Blum
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blum
      • Blum is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blum <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Peoria ...

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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Peoria.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Peoria. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Peoria and those printed in the larger area surrounding Peoria.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Peoria.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Peoria:

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

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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>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- Peoria) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Peoria. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9785, Longitude: -97.2222    
<6>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 Peoria, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025