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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 Riggs Ford (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 Riggs Ford. 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 Riggs Ford ...

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 occur.

  • A typical abbreviation for Riggs Ford: Riggs Frd.
  • While the name of this community is Riggs Ford, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Riggs Ford may originally have been Rigg's Ford.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Riggs Ford might be written as Rigg Ford.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Riggs Ford is located in Coryell 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 Coryell County: Bell, Bosque, Hamilton, Lampasas & McLennan.

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

  • Coryell County     (The home county of Riggs Ford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riggs Ford, with the one closest to Riggs Ford listed first.
    • Mason Crossing ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Mason Crossing is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Crossing
    • Flat
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Saint Elijah Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Saint Elijah Village is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elijah Village
    • The Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • The Grove is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Grove
    • Leon Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Mound
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Comanche Village I
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Comanche Village I is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village I
    • Comanche Village II
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Comanche Village II is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village II
    • Comanche Village III
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Comanche Village III is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comanche Village III
    • Fort Gates
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Fort Gates is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gates
    • Montague Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Montague Village is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague Village
    • Lime City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lime City is located in Coryell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
    • Gatesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Bell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riggs Ford, with the one closest to Riggs Ford listed first.
    • Brookhaven
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Brookhaven is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
    • Walker Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Walker Village is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker Village
    • Chaffee Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Chaffee Village is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee Village
    • McNair Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • McNair Village is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNair Village
    • Fort Hood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Killeen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Nolanville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Moffat
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Moffat is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffat
    • Harker Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Morgan's Point Resort
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Belton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Copperas Cove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ding Dong
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Ding Dong is located in Bell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ding Dong
  • Burnet County
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riggs Ford, with the one closest to Riggs Ford listed first.
    • Bruceville - Eddy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Bruceville - Eddy is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville - Eddy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
    • Blevins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Blevins is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blevins
    • Durango
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Durango is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durango
    • Mooreville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Mooreville is located in Falls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooreville
  • Lampasas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riggs Ford, with the one closest to Riggs Ford listed first.
    • Kempner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Izoro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Adamsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Adamsville is located in Lampasas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
    • Sparks Crossing ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Sparks Crossing is located in Lampasas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks Crossing
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riggs Ford, with the one closest to Riggs Ford listed first.
    • Moody
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Moody is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <2>
    • Eddy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Bruceville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Crawford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lorena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lorena is located in McLennan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorena
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riggs Ford, with the one closest to Riggs Ford listed first.
    • Florence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Jarrell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Schwertner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Riggs Ford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riggs Ford.

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 Riggs Ford - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Riggs Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Hubbard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Blackburn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Trimmier Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Flint Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Killeen Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Ruth Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • King & Smith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Seaton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (132 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.<4>

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

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

  • Brookhaven
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brookhaven is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
  • The Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • The Grove is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Grove
  • Killeen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Leon Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Mound
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Nolanville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Moffat
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Moffat is located in Bell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffat
  • Fort Gates
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Fort Gates is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gates
  • Pecan Grove ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Pecan Grove is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Grove
  • Whitson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitson is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitson
  • Lime City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lime City is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
  • Pidcoke
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Pidcoke is located in Coryell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pidcoke
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Gatesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Belton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Oglesby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Riggs Ford ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riggs Ford.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riggs Ford, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riggs Ford.

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 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 Riggs Ford:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Riggs Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Riggs Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.