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 Providence (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 Providence. 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 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.
Providence is located in Fort Bend 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 Fort Bend County: Austin, Brazoria, Harris, Waller & Wharton.
Below are the counties that are near Providence. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Providence:
- Fort Bend County (The home county of Providence)
- The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Mission Bend
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mission Bend is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Bend
- Town West
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Town West is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town West
- Clodine
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Oaks Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Oaks Village is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
- Meadows Place
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Meadows Place is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows Place
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,813 people
- Meadows
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Meadows is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Sugar Land
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- New Territory
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- New Territory is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Territory
- Missouri City Estates
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Missouri City Estates is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri City Estates
- Harlem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harlem is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
- Pecan Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pecan Grove is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Grove
- Cinco Ranch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cinco Ranch is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinco Ranch
- Austin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Brazos Country
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Brazos Country is located in Austin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos Country
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Wallis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Frydek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Frydek is located in Austin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frydek
- San Felipe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Brazoria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Fairway Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairway Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Village
- Brookside Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Iowa Colony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Iowa Colony is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,888 people
- West Oaks Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Oaks Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oaks Village
- Manvel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sandy Point is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 238 people
- Pearland
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lochridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lochridge is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochridge
- Westwood Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Westwood Village is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
- Rosharon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Woodcreek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Woodcreek is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcreek
- Bonney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bonney is located in Brazoria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Galveston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Quaker Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Quaker Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
- Carmel Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carmel Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
- Friendswood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Parkwood Village is located in Galveston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Village
- Harris County
- The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Catalina Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Catalina Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catalina Village
- Alief
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Westpark Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Westpark Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpark Village
- Ashford Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ashford Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashford Village
- Parkway Villages
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Parkway Villages is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkway Villages
- Brays Village East
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Brays Village East is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brays Village East
- Addicks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Addicks is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addicks
- Barker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Buckner Haven
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Buckner Haven is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner Haven
- Westlake Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Westlake Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Village
- Westlake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Westlake is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
- Bunker Hill Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bunker Hill Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,901 people
- Waller County
- The following are listed by their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Brookshire
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Pattison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clemons
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clemons is located in Waller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
- Wharton County
- East Bernard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Providence, see our County-by-County Page for Providence.
Cemeteries Near Providence ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Providence.
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 Providence - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Providence covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Alief Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Home Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Addicks Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Czech Moravian Brethren Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Houston.
- The Forest Park - Westheimer Cemetery has also been known as:
- Forest Park West Cemetery
- Forest Park Cemetery
- Forest Park West Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #162130 <2>
- Cementerio San Isidro Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Riceville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Baker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Emanuel Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Memorial Oaks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jones Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (157 more) ...
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Morton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- San Grabiel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Providence in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Providence.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Providence, with the one closest to Providence listed first.
- Clodine
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Land
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Harlem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harlem is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
- Stafford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jeanetta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jeanetta is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeanetta
- Addicks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Addicks is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addicks
- Richmond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Piney Point Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Piney Point Village is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Point Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,416 people
- Piney Point Village has also been known as:
- Piney Point
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Piney Point Village <1>
- Crabb
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Crabb is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabb
- Westfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Westfield is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Foster
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Foster is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
- Rosenberg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Thompsons
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Duke
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Duke is located in Fort Bend County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
- Pierce Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pierce Junction is located in Harris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Junction
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Providence. See our List of 1890's Communities around Providence.
Newspapers Published in Providence ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Providence.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Providence, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Providence.
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 Providence:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Fort Bend County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Austin County
- Brazoria County
- Galveston County
- Harris County
- Waller County
- Wharton 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> | 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 Providence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Providence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |