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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 Port Arthur (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 Port Arthur. 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.

Name Variations for Port Arthur ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Port Arthur: Prt. Arthur

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Port Arthur is primarily located in Jefferson County. A portion of Port Arthur extends into Orange 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 Jefferson County: Chambers, Hardin, Liberty & Orange.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Port Arthur)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Arthur, with the one closest to Port Arthur listed first.
    • Groves
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Port Neches
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Neches have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Neches
      • Port Neches is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Neches <1>
    • Port Acres
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Nederland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nederland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nederland
      • Nederland is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nederland <1>
    • Central Gardens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Gardens
      • Central Gardens is located in Jefferson County
    • Sabine Pass
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Taylor Landing
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Landing
      • Taylor Landing is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
    • La Belle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Higgins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Higgins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higgins
      • Higgins is located in Jefferson County
    • Beaumont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Amelia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amelia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
      • Amelia is located in Jefferson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Amelia
      • From Port Arthur to Amelia
    • Hamshire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamshire have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamshire
      • Hamshire is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamshire <1>
    • Pine Island
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Chambers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Arthur, with the one closest to Port Arthur listed first.
    • Stowell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Winnie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnie
      • Winnie is located in Chambers County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winnie <1>
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Arthur, with the one closest to Port Arthur listed first.
    • Loeb
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rose Hill Acres
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose Hill Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill Acres
      • Rose Hill Acres is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 435 people
    • Lumberton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumberton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumberton
      • Lumberton is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,383 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lumberton <1>
    • Pinewood Estates
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinewood Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood Estates
      • Pinewood Estates is located in Hardin County
  • Newton County
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Port Arthur, with the one closest to Port Arthur listed first.
    • Bridge City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridge City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridge City
      • Bridge City is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,810 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridge City <1>
    • Orangefield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orangefield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangefield
      • Orangefield is located in Orange County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orangefield <1>
    • Terry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Terry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
      • Terry is located in Orange County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Terry
      • From Port Arthur to Terry
    • Rose City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
      • Rose City is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
    • Vidor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vidor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vidor
      • Vidor is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,310 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vidor <1>
    • West Orange
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Orange have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Orange
      • West Orange is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Orange <1>
    • Orange
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Pinehurst
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Forest
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Pine Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Mauriceville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lemonville ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lemonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemonville
      • Lemonville is located in Orange County
    • Texla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Calcasieu Parish (LA)
    • Vinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
      • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Port Arthur ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Port Arthur.

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

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Greenlawn Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pace Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pace Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Floyd Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Floyd Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Floyd Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Thomas Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thomas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thomas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McGaffey Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McGaffey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McGaffey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Adcock Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adcock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Adcock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2056 <4>
  • Hillebrandt Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillebrandt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillebrandt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Ridge Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillcrest Memorial Gardens
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (40 more) ...
    • Granger Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Granger Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Granger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Stephenson Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stephenson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stephenson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Kishi Colony Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kishi Colony Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kishi Colony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

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

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

  • Sabine Pass
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • La Belle
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Terry
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Terry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
    • Terry is located in Orange County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Terry
    • From Port Arthur to Terry
  • Tulane
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tulane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulane
    • Tulane is located in Orange County
  • Johnsons Bayou
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsons Bayou have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Bayou
    • Johnsons Bayou is located in Cameron Parish (LA)
  • Orange
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Beaumont
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Amelia
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amelia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
    • Amelia is located in Jefferson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Amelia
    • From Port Arthur to Amelia
  • Echo
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
    • Echo is located in Orange County
  • Rosedale
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale is located in Jefferson County
  • Pine Island
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • China
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China
    • China is located in Jefferson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,204 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for China <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Port Arthur ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Port Arthur.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Port Arthur. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Port Arthur and those printed in the larger area surrounding Port Arthur.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Port Arthur.

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 Port Arthur:

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

The official website for Jefferson County: www.co.jefferson.tx.us/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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>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 Port Arthur, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Port Arthur) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Port Arthur. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.8845, Longitude: -93.9345    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025