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 Primera (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 Primera. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Primera 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 Primera. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Primera:
- Cameron County (The home county of Primera)
- The following are listed by their distance from Primera, with the one closest to Primera listed first.
- Palm Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Palm Valley is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
- Las Palmas - Juarez
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Las Palmas - Juarez is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palmas - Juarez
- Combes
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- 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>
- Lasana
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lasana is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasana
- Lasana has also been known as:
- Lasana Colonia
- Harlingen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Grand Acres is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Acres
- Santa Rosa
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Tierra Bonita
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Tierra Bonita is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Bonita
- Tierra Bonita has also been known as:
- Tierra Bonita Colonia
- La Feria North
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- La Feria North is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Feria North
- Windsong Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Windsong Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Village
- Windsong Village has also been known as:
- Windsong Village Colonia
- Ratamosa
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ratamosa is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratamosa
- Ratamosa has also been known as:
- Ratamosa Colonia
- La Feria
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- North La Feria Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- North La Feria Village is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Feria Village
- North La Feria Village has also been known as:
- North La Feria Village Colonia
- Hidalgo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Primera, with the one closest to Primera listed first.
- Heidelberg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Heidelberg is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Indian Hills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Indian Hills is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- La Villa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- La Villa is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,935 people
- Mercedes
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mila Doce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mila Doce is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mila Doce
- Edcouch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Llano Grande
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Llano Grande is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Llano Grande
- Relampago
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Relampago is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relampago
- Rio Rico
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rio Rico is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Rico
- Olivarez
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Olivarez is located in Hidalgo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivarez
- Progreso
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elsa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Weslaco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Willacy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Primera, with the one closest to Primera listed first.
- Sebastian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Zapata Ranch
(10 miles [16.1 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Santa Monica
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Santa Monica is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Monica
- Raymondville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Los Angeles Subdivision
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ranchette Estates
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- 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
- Willamar
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Willamar is located in Willacy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamar
- Lasara
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- San Perlita
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Port Mansfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Primera, see our County-by-County Page for Primera.
Cemeteries Near Primera ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Primera.
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 Primera - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Primera covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Primera, with the one closest to Primera listed first.
- San Rafael Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hinojosa Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- La Capilla Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Restlawn Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Harlingan City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ashland Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Memorial Park
- The Ashland Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Loma Linda Cemetery
- Los Omales Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- La Feria Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Solis Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- San Benito City Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- San Benito Memorial Park Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Santa Rita Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Santa Rita Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Sebastian.
- Continue List (67 more) ...
- El Azadon Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Anacuitas Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Monte Meta Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
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 Primera in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Primera.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Primera, with the one closest to Primera listed first.
- Santa Maria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Primera. See our List of 1890's Communities around Primera.
Newspapers Published in Primera ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Primera.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Primera, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Primera.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Primera:
- 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> | 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- Primera) 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 Primera, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |