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 Porfirio (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 Porfirio. 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 and hospitals 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.
Porfirio is located in Willacy 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 Willacy County: Cameron, Hidalgo & Kenedy.
Below are the counties that are near Porfirio. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Porfirio:
- Willacy County (The home county of Porfirio)
- The following are listed by their distance from Porfirio, with the one closest to Porfirio listed first.
- Santa Monica
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- Willamar
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
- San Perlita
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lyford South
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lyford South is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyford South
- Lyford South has also been known as:
- Lyford South Colonia
- Lyford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Raymondville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sebastian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ranchette Estates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranchette Estates
- Ranchette Estates has also been known as:
- Ranchette Estates Colonia
- Zapata Ranch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Zapata Ranch is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zapata Ranch
- Zapata Ranch has also been known as:
- Zapata Ranch Colonia
- Port Mansfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lasara
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porfirio, with the one closest to Porfirio listed first.
- Arroyo City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Arroyo City is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo City
- Rio Hondo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lasana
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lasana is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasana
- Lasana has also been known as:
- Lasana Colonia
- Combes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Combes is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,037 people
- Combes has also been known as:
- Combes Colonia
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Combes <1>
- Arroyo Colorado Estates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Arroyo Colorado Estates is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Colorado Estates
- Arroyo Colorado Estates has also been known as:
- Arroyo Colorado Estates Colonia
- Villa del Sol
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Villa del Sol is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa del Sol
- Villa del Sol has also been known as:
- Villa del Sol Colonia
- Arroyo Gardens - La Tina Ranch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Yznaga
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Yznaga is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yznaga
- Harlingen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Lozano
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Primera
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Primera is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primera
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,271 people
- Las Palmas - Juarez
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Las Palmas - Juarez is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palmas - Juarez
- Palm Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Palm Valley is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Hidalgo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Porfirio, with the one closest to Porfirio listed first.
- La Villa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
- Heidelberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Indian Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Monte Alto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Edcouch
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mila Doce
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
- Elsa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mercedes
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hargill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Olivarez
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
- La Blanca
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Llano Grande
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
- Midway North
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Midway North is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway North
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Porfirio, see our County-by-County Page for Porfirio.
Cemeteries Near Porfirio ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Porfirio.
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 Porfirio - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Porfirio covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Porfirio, with the one closest to Porfirio listed first.
- Las Rucias Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- La Jarita Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Noyola Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Tanquesitos Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanquesitos Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Tanquesitos Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the south of Santa Monica.
- Cavazos Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavazos Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cavazos Family Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the southeast of San Perlita.
- The Cavazos Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sabino Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2492338 <3>
- San Antonio Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- El Toro Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Raymondville Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymondville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Raymondville Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Raymondville.
- Ashland Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Memorial Park
- The Ashland Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Loma Linda Cemetery
- Los Omales Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rio Hondo Community Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Hondo Community Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rio Hondo Community Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Rio Hondo.
- The Rio Hondo Community Cemetery has also been known as:
- Jack Carpenter Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188890 <3>
- Guadalupe Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guadalupe Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Guadalupe Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Lyford.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2422545 <3>
- Continue List (44 more) ...
- Evergreen Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Lyford.
- The Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lyford Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2207123 <3>
- Rio Hondo City Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- La Piedad Cementerio #2 Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
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 Porfirio in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Porfirio.
- Santa Maria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Porfirio. See our List of 1890's Communities around Porfirio.
Newspapers Published in Porfirio ...
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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Porfirio.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Porfirio, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Porfirio.
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 Porfirio:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Willacy County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Hidalgo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Porfirio) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Porfirio, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |