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 Harlingen (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 Harlingen. 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 Harlingen ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Port Harlingen: Prt. Harlingen
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 southeast 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 south.
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 south 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 Harlingen is located in Cameron 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 Cameron County: Hidalgo & Willacy.
Below are the counties that are near Port Harlingen. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Port Harlingen:
- Cameron County (The home county of Port Harlingen)
- The following are listed by their distance from Port Harlingen, with the one closest to Port Harlingen listed first.
- Villa del Sol
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- 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 Colorado Estates
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- 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
- Rio Hondo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lozano
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- San Benito
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Green Valley Farms
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Green Valley Farms is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley Farms
- Green Valley Farms has also been known as:
- Green Valley Farms Colonia
- Harlingen
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Arroyo Gardens - La Tina Ranch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lasana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lasana is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasana
- Lasana has also been known as:
- Lasana Colonia
- El Camino Angosto
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- El Camino Angosto is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Camino Angosto
- El Camino Angosto has also been known as:
- El Camino Angosto Colonia
- Lago
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lago is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lago
- Lago has also been known as:
- Lago Colonia
- Combes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Las Palmas - Juarez
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Las Palmas - Juarez is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palmas - Juarez
- Hidalgo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Port Harlingen, with the one closest to Port Harlingen listed first.
- Heidelberg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Indian Hills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Mercedes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rio Rico
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rio Rico is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Rico
- 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
- Relampago
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Relampago is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relampago
- Mila Doce
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
- Edcouch
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Llano Grande
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
- Progreso Lakes
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Progreso Lakes is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progreso Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Progreso
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Olivarez
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
- Weslaco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Port Harlingen, with the one closest to Port Harlingen listed first.
- Santa Monica
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- Sebastian
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Willamar
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
- Zapata Ranch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Lyford South
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- 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
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- San Perlita
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Raymondville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ranchette Estates
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Port Mansfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lasara
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Port Harlingen, see our County-by-County Page for Port Harlingen.
Cemeteries Near Port Harlingen ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Port Harlingen.
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 Port Harlingen - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Port Harlingen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Port Harlingen, with the one closest to Port Harlingen listed first.
- Monte Meta Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rio Hondo City Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- San Benito City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- San Benito Memorial Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Rio Hondo Community Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- 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 <2>
- Harlingan City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Los Omales Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Memorial Park
- The Ashland Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Loma Linda Cemetery
- San Antonio Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- La Leona Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Soldiers Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tanquesitos Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- 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<3> to the south of Santa Monica.
- Continue List (50 more) ...
- Noyola Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- San Rafael Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Restlawn Memorial Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
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 Port Harlingen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Port Harlingen.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Port Harlingen, with the one closest to Port Harlingen listed first.
- Santa Maria
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Port Harlingen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Port Harlingen.
Newspapers Published in Port Harlingen ...
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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Port Harlingen.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Port Harlingen, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Port Harlingen.
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 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 Port Harlingen:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Cameron County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hidalgo County
- Willacy 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> | 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 '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 Harlingen) 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 Port Harlingen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |