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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 Portland (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 Portland. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Portland is primarily located in San Patricio County. A portion of Portland extends into Nueces 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 San Patricio County: Aransas, Bee, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Nueces & Refugio.

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

  • San Patricio County     (The home county of Portland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Doyle
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doyle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
      • Doyle is located in San Patricio County
    • Gregory
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
      • Gregory is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gregory <2>
    • Ingleside
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ingleside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
      • Ingleside is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,043 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ingleside <2>
    • Ingleside-On-the-Bay
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ingleside-On-the-Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside-On-the-Bay
      • Ingleside-On-the-Bay is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 608 people
    • Tradewinds
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tradewinds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tradewinds
      • Tradewinds is located in San Patricio County
    • Taft Southwest
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft Southwest
      • Taft Southwest is located in San Patricio County
    • Taft
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
      • Taft is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taft <2>
    • Harbor City ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor City
      • Harbor City is located in San Patricio County
    • Rancho Chico
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rancho Chico have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rancho Chico
      • Rancho Chico is located in San Patricio County
    • Del Sol - Loma Linda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Sol - Loma Linda
      • Del Sol - Loma Linda is located in San Patricio County
    • Sinton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinton
      • Sinton is located in San Patricio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,281 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinton <2>
    • Morgan Farm
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Farm
      • Morgan Farm is located in San Patricio County
      • Morgan Farm has also been known as:
      • Morgan Farm Colonia
  • Aransas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Aransas Pass
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aransas Pass have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aransas Pass
      • Aransas Pass is located in Aransas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,496 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aransas Pass <2>
    • Rockport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Rockport is located in Aransas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,847 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <2>
    • Copano Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copano Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copano Village
      • Copano Village is located in Aransas County
    • Fulton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Nueces County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Corpus Christi
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Viola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Viola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
      • Viola is located in Nueces County
    • Port Aransas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Calallen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Tierra Grande
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Grande have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Grande
      • Tierra Grande is located in Nueces County
    • Chapman Ranch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapman Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman Ranch
      • Chapman Ranch is located in Nueces County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapman Ranch <2>
    • North San Pedro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North San Pedro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North San Pedro
      • North San Pedro is located in Nueces County
    • Robstown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robstown
      • Robstown is located in Nueces County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,133 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Robstown <2>
    • Petronila
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petronila have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petronila
      • Petronila is located in Nueces County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Spring Garden - Terra Verde
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • La Paloma - Lost Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bluntzer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluntzer
      • Bluntzer is located in Nueces County
  • Refugio County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
    • Black Point ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Point
      • Black Point is located in Refugio County
    • Bayside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
      • Bayside is located in Refugio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayside <2>
    • Woodsboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodsboro
      • Woodsboro is located in Refugio County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodsboro <2>
    • Refugio
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Portland ...

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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portland.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Portland. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Portland and those printed in the larger area surrounding Portland.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Portland.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Portland:

Cemeteries Near Portland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portland.

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

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

  • Gregory Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Palms Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Palms Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southeast of Portland.
    • The Palms Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • San Patricio Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palms Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6716 <4>
  • Bayview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bayview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bayview Cemetery
  • Bayview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bayview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bayview Cemetery
  • Old Bayview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Bellevue Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bellevue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bellevue Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Holly Cross Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holly Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holly Cross Cemetery
  • Rose Hill Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • San Ignacio Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Rosita Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosita Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosita Cemetery
  • Continue List   (34 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Portland had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Portland had a population of 17,768 people.

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

  • Gregory
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
    • Gregory is located in San Patricio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gregory <2>
  • Nueces
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nueces have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nueces
    • Nueces is located in Nueces County
  • Corpus Christi
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Viola
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Viola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
    • Viola is located in Nueces County
  • Aransas Pass
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aransas Pass have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aransas Pass
    • Aransas Pass is located in Aransas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,496 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aransas Pass <2>
  • Sinton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinton
    • Sinton is located in San Patricio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,281 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinton <2>
  • Rockport
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
    • Rockport is located in Aransas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,847 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <2>
  • Fulton
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lamar
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lamar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
    • Lamar is located in Aransas County
  • Papalote
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Papalote have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Papalote
    • Papalote is located in Bee County
  • San Patricio
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Patricio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Patricio
    • San Patricio is located in San Patricio County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
  • Refugio
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Banquete
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Banquete have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banquete
    • Banquete is located in Nueces County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Banquete <2>

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

The official website for Portland: www.portlandtx.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Portland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.8809, Longitude: -97.3192    
<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 Portland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024